Cultural Appropriation of Buddhism is Positive Cultural Diversity

There has been a bit of talk lately about this idea of cultural appropriation of Buddhism here in the West, which has been viewed many times in a rather negative light. Some critics of Buddhism’s progress in the West have even compared it something called cultural imperialism, going as far as to call it cultural theft. Voice of America published an article a couple of days ago talking about the Dalai Lama’s current visit to the US that I think address some of these issues. (Oh shit, yes, they even mention Richard Gere….for the love of God!)

VOA - American Buddhism Keeps Asian Influence, Adapts to West



Here is the interesting part that I wanted to look at.

An American-born priest at the International Buddhist Meditation Center in Los Angeles, Kusala Bhikshu, said Buddhism has a history of more than 100 years in the United States.

"And it now has dug its roots into the soil of America, so there are people [like] myself being born in Iowa - people who were born in America - who are coming as a convert to Buddhism, some becoming ordained as Buddhist monks or nuns, and bringing those teachings to everyday Americans."
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There are Tibetan Buddhist facilities around the United States. Kusala Bhikshu said his Los Angeles center brings together several Buddhist schools. He studied under a teacher from Sri Lanka and was ordained in the Vietnamese tradition. His center was founded by a monk from Vietnam, and is located in a Korean-American neighborhood.

He noted that Buddhism's rich body of teaching varies from one tradition to another. Here at the Hsi Lai Temple, they say that despite the diversity, the core of the teaching is the same: a respect for the tradition, a desire to adapt it to the American context, and a search for harmony among people of all faiths.

"Every being is connected. It is like we are connected to this world," said Miao. "So I think we should be working towards harmonizing with one another. Harmony and peace would be something that we should all work toward."

Buddhists say there is a bridge that links the many strains of American Buddhism. It is the American-born children, who share a Buddhist faith and American culture, regardless of where their parents were born.

Ignoring the hippie feel good harmony and marshmallow talk, the Buddhist priest Kusala Bhikshu, brings up some very interesting and quite valid points. The West, the United States and Canada in particular, have had a long history, for better or for worse, due to the extreme diverse cultural, racial and historical make up of its people, of integrating various parts of 100’s and 100’s of vastly different cultures, most of which usually resonates well with a large portions of the population, and lets go or discards many other parts. However, while there are some instances of racial or cultural prejudice that have, and continue to occur in this integration process, most of the cultural assimilation that takes place is most definitely a celebration of the accomplishments of these societies, rather than a negative reflection, and is indeed the embodiment of true cultural diversity.

While I disagree with the theme of the article that there is an ‘American Buddhism’, I find it refreshing that true cultural diversity or our melting pot of numerous cultures, which is one of our greatest strengths, hasn’t been totally forgotten in this discussion. Obviously we don’t need to throw the baby out with the bathwater when it comes to the historic roots of Buddhism, but we can certainly keep our tradition of slowly working towards a Western Buddhism that is unique and fits the needs of our society in much more equitable manner. And while we still have a long ways to go, as the racial and cultural divide of Buddhist practitioners is still vast, we shouldn’t be sidetracked of our tradition of an inclusive, rather than an exclusive society.