Session 9:
Materials


1) Orientalism, Buddhist modernism and Buddhist exceptionalism

Edward Said - An Introduction to Orientalism (3.5 min video)

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

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

Some pointers about Session 9 and 10 (17 min) - optional (might be helpful if these are new topics for you)

2) Two Buddhisms? Who gets to decide?

These are 5 relatively short articles that will help up to explore issues around “Ethnic Going for Refuge,” and what gets included and excluded from “Western Buddhism.” When you read “American” you might replace the word with “Western” or “British” and see if it makes sense or not.

“Sweet- And-Sour Buddhism” by Hori, Victor Sogen. Tricycle, Fall 1994

Han, Chenxing. “We’re Not Who You Think We Are” Buddhadharma, May 15, 2017

Hsu, Funie. “We’ve Been Here All Along” Buddhadharma, May 17, 2017.

Amaro, Ajhan “A response to critics of “We’ve Been Here All Along,” from the Winter 2016 Buddhadharma” Buddhadharma December 1, 2016

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

Recently an important ritual was held in Los Angeles at a Buddhist temple that was vandalized, to honor those who have lost their lives to anti-Asian violence. More about that in the Resources for Going Deeper.

3) Racial re-articulations in Buddhist modernism

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.

Also, on this theme, you may find it helpful to listen to 6 minutes of Eleanor Hancock, co-founder of White Awake, at a panel at the Harvard Divinity School conference on “Buddhism and Race” in 2016. She offers a plain-spoken intervention on this topic from 44:30’ min to 50:00’ min (6 minutes).

4) Buddhist religious diversity and superiority conceit

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.” If you don’t have time to listen to the entire talk (30 min), please only listen from 11:30 min to 21 min (10 minutes).

Ven. Analayo shares a personal 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.

Moving through the Mandala…

Resources to Go Deeper

A historic ritual happened on May 4th, 2021, “May We Gather: A National Buddhist Memorial Ceremony for Asian American Ancestors.” It was the first national Buddhist memorial service in response to anti-Asian violence. The event brought together Asian American Buddhists and their allies to heal in community together. You can watch the full ritual, read an article about it from the New York Times, or an interview with 2 of the 3 organizers.

If you watch the ritual or parts it, I recommend listening to the short talks by Rev. Duncan Ryuken Williams, Zenshuji Soto Mission 20:10​ - by Rev. Cristina Moon, Daihonzan Chozen-ji International Zen Dojo 1:12:40​- and by Dr. Larry Ward, The Lotus Institute 1:17:51​.​

1) Orientalism, Buddhist modernism and Buddhist exceptionalism

“Orientalism and the Discovery of ‘Buddhism’” by Richard King, in Orientalism and Religion: Postcolonial Theory, India and “the Mystic East.” New York: Routledge, 1999. Link here.

“Buddhism, A World Religion” (chapter 4) by Tomoko Masuzawa, in The Invention of World Religions, or, How European Universalism Was Preserved in the Language of Pluralism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005. Link here.

“Buddhist Modernism”, by David L. McMahan, in Buddhism in the Modern World. Religions in the Modern World. Hoboken: Taylor & amp; Francis, 2011. Link here.

“Buddhism in Britain and British Buddhism” by Robert Bluck, in British Buddhism : Teachings, Practice and Development. New York: Routledge, 2006. Link here.

Documentary about Edward Said and Orientalism (40 min)

About the “model minority myth” (about Asians with implications for Buddhist exceptionalism): The Model Minority Trope, Explained (18 min)

Materials from the Philosophy Symposium at Adisthana in January 2020 dedicated to Buddhist modernism:

Also, books:

Almond, Philip C. The British Discovery of Buddhism. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

McMahan, David L. The Making of Buddhist Modernism. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.

Said, Edward W. Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books, 1979.

2) Two Buddhisms? Who gets to decide?

Hickey, Wakoh Shannon. “Two Buddhisms, Three Buddhisms, and Racism.” Journal of Global Buddhism 11, no. 0 (February 1, 2015): 1–25.

“Lineage of Resistance: When Asian American Buddhists Confront White Supremacy” Funie Hsu, 2017, Buddhist Peace Fellowship.

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

Nattier, Jan. “Visible & Invisible: the Politics of Representation In Buddhist America” Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Fall 1995

Also, books:

American Sutra: A Story of Faith and Freedom in the Second World War, by Duncan Ryūken Williams, 2019.

Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian American Buddhists, by Chenxing Han, 2021.

3) Racial re-articulations in convert Buddhist modernism

Sebene Selassie and Brian Lesage, “A Conversation about Cultural Spiritual Bypassing,” Interview, Insight Journal, 2019.

“Adaptation of Vipassana Meditation by Convert Buddhists and Sympathizers” by Joseph Cheah, in Race and Religion in American Buddhism White Supremacy and Immigrant Adaptation, 2011. Link here.

“Colonial Legacy of White Supremacy in American Buddhism”, by Joseph Cheah, in Race and Religion in American Buddhism White Supremacy and Immigrant Adaptation, 2011. Link here.

4) On Buddhist religious diversity and superiority conceit

Leung, Charlene. “The Healing Practice of Cultural Humility”, Lion’s Roar, July 16, 2018

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

Also, books:

Superiority Conceit in Buddhist Traditions, A Historical Perspective, by Bhikkhu Analayo