The relationship between Dharma and culture is something Sangharakashita thought very deeply about, and wrote extensively about. How will the Dharma take root outside of Asia? What will it take? This matter is integral to his vision of the Order, initially called “The Western” Buddhist Order.

Though our name as a community has changed, the idea of “Western Buddhism” remains a powerful concept, for good reason. It also carries the shadows of a colonial legacy within the very transmission of the Dharma which we are being invited to bravely explore.

This module exposes us to wider discussions about unexamined racism in attitudes and views commonly held about Asian Buddhists by white Buddhists, as a long-lasting result of what is called “orientalism.” These harmful racialized stereotypes not only impact people of Asian descent in Asia and in the diaspora outside of Asia, but can foster a lack of cultural humility and self-awareness more broadly — something other folks of color, not just Asian, pick up on. Our attitudes about “other” Buddhists has had an impact on who feels welcome at our centers, or not.

The materials below may be challenging at times. Some of them include expressions of deep pain and suffering from Asian Buddhists who are rising up and speaking back to a white Buddhist mainstream that has often horribly mischaracterized and misunderstood them. Let us listen deeply, and learn together. This will lead us to explore issues related to ideas of “Ethnic Going for Refuge.” It may also raise uncomfortable but important questions about attitudes in Triratna towards the Indian Wing of Triratna. More generally, this module will lead us to question who gets included and excluded in “Western” Buddhism? Why? How? And what do we do about it?

1) “Two” Buddhisms? Who gets to decide?

(estimated time for this section: 60 to 90 minutes)

Note: When you read “American” you might replace the word with “Western” or “British” and see to what degree these debates are relevant to other contexts.

Video: Please watch a section (4:37- 33:28) of an interview with the Chenxing Han, author of Be the Refuge about limits of the theory of “two Buddhisms” (immigrant vs. white convert). This link goes straight to that section, but you are welcome to listen to the entire conversation.

As an alternative to this video, you can read an article the author published in 2017, called “We’re Not Who You Think We Are”, which covers similar ground.

Reading: please read the following article by Funie Hsu., and the short response to the critics of that article from Ajahn Amaro.

Funie Hsu. “We’ve Been Here All Along” Buddhadharma, Winter 2016.

Ajahn Amaro. “A response to critics of “We’ve Been Here All Along,” Buddhadharma, Spring 2016

2) “True” Buddhism? Who gets to decide?

(estimated time for this section: 45 to 90 minutes)

Video: This is a talk from Bhikkhu Analayo on the topic of Buddhist religious diversity, the idea of “authentic Buddhism” and the trap of relating to Early Buddhism as the “real thing.” In this compelling and unusually personal talk, Ven. Analayo shares an experience of realizing his own cultural arrogance which led him to be insensitive to the Sinhalese Buddhists around him. He also discusses the risks in presenting a personal synthesis of Buddhism as “the right way,” naming the colonial habit within this. If you don’t have time to listen to the entire talk (30 min), please listen at least from 11:30 min to 21:00 min (10 minutes).

Reading: Heuman, Linda. “Whose Buddhism is Truest?” Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Summer 2011

3) Optional: A garland of terms

The materials above reference certain concepts:

• orientalism

• Buddhist modernism

• Buddhist exceptionalism

• racial re-articulation vs. cultural re-articulation

These concepts can help us better spot the colonial shadows of Western Buddhism. These are largely academic theories, but many of them have made they way into our community discussions. They come up when people are discussing “cultural appropriation” for example, and the delicate ethics of borrowing, adapting and interpreting Buddhist practices, images and ideas to new circumstances. When grasped, these concepts can help us unravel and heal from on-going issues of racial conceit and racialized religious arrogance.

Acknowledging the range of knowledge about these topics among us, this section includes some key quotes and materials related to these ideas, and more can be found in the Additional Resources Section.

Short talk summarizing the terms and issues (17 min)

About Orientalism:

Edward Said and Orientalism (7 min)

Edward Said - Framed: The Politics of Stereotypes in News (3 min video)

Angry Asian Buddhist, “Stereotypology Of Asian American Buddhists”, 2014.

About Cultural Appropriation:

Chenxing Han and Trent Walker. “The Many Faces of Cultural Appropriation,” Lion’s Roar, December 2021.

About Racial Re-articulation vs. Cultural Re-articulation:

The scholar Joseph Cheah introduced a distinction between “cultural re-articulation” and “racial re-articulations” in Buddhism. Not all cultural re-articulations are racialized, but sometimes they are. Learning to spot this in gross and subtle forms can be helpful to avoid racial harm in our sanghas and beyond. This is a 2 page excerpt from Joseph Cheah’s book. The full chapter 3 can be found in the Resources for Going Deeper.

Natalie E Quli. “When White Buddhists Don’t See Race,” Buddhadharma, Winter 2020.

About Buddhist modernism / exceptionalism:

Some definitions of Buddhist modernism and Buddhist exceptionalism (handout - 1.5 page)