Buddhist Experience in North America

Ven. Mahinda Deegalle

Student of the History of Religions, University of Chicago, and member of the Sri Lankan Buddhist community

The arrival of two leading Buddhists—Anagarika Dharmapala and Soyen Shaku—to attend the World's Parliament of Religions held in Chicago in 1893 was, and is, an important event for all Buddhists who are living in North America today. These two representatives are frequently named in tracing the birth of Buddhist traditions on this continent. In fact, however, Buddhism did not become a visible religious alternative to the Judeo-Christian tradition until the 1970s. Yet, as a minority tradition, its contribution to the religious life of Americans was quite apparent at the 1993 World's Parliament of Religions. This participation included very wide representation from Buddhist denominations which trace their affiliations to many different Asian countries. Largely within the last three or four decades, a variety of Asian Buddhist traditions have found the United States a fertile land in which to establish their religious centers. As a result, Buddhist centers in all major American cities serve both Asian immigrants and non-immigrants who are interested in Buddhism. They provide facilities for meditation and educate Americans in the customs and cultural events of Asian countries. Like any other American religious group, American Buddhists are definitely a diverse group. In major cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Toronto there is a great deal of ethnic variety among the Buddhist denominations.

Nevertheless, Buddhist communities in these major cities seem to work very harmoniously together to spread the Buddha's teachings. For example, in Chicago, the members of The Buddhist Council of the Midwest celebrate Vesak—the birthday, the day of samma sambodhi (perfect awakening), and the passing away (parinirvana) of Gautama Buddha -- jointly each year in May, with cultural festivals from Japan, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma and Laos. This unity among diverse denominations which trace their roots to different Asian nations is based on the understanding that, as Buddhists, they share certain fundamental doctrines in common, even while demonstrating cultural variety through their specific festivals and religious practices. As members of immigrant communities and representatives of an alien religion, immigrant American Buddhists have to adapt to the cultural and religious setting of the United States and to deal with people who do not share their world view. It is important that Buddhists understand the way the people of other world religions think about the world and its problems.

Unlike Buddhists, for many Americans the notion of God is fundamental to life; all Judeo-Christian religious communities derive inspiration from a concept of "God." Also, American society is structured around individualism; there is a strong emphasis on the primacy of individuality rather than on the interests of the society or community as in Buddhist cultures. So Buddhists in general and Theravadins in particular have to struggle to understand these two world views. At the same time, since all Buddhist communities profess a doctrine of selflessness in one form or another, it is difficult for most Americans, who think mainly in terms of "self" and "individual," to understand Buddhism.

With the development of an awareness of the earth, environment, plants and animals, American Buddhists seem to have embraced positive teachings of the Buddhist traditions with regard to plants and the environment. Rather than thinking that human beings are separate from nature and that human beings are rulers of the earth, people are starting to think of the entire universe as a "whole," of which humanity is only a "part." This sense of a global community sharing the resources of the earth harmoniously is a very positive development which has been encouraged during the last few decades, and is growing fast in the United States. This kind of a world view or consciousness of the environment and nature marks a shift in human thinking: human beings not as rulers of the earth but as a part of a larger global community.

In the development of an awareness of nature and the environment, Buddhist teachings, in particular the theories of co-dependent origination (paticcasamuppada) and interconnectedness, have a great deal to offer to Western thinkers. For example, the doctrine of co-dependent origination proposes an interdependence between nature and human beings. Furthermore, Buddhist teachings maintain that the nature of the human psyche affects the natural environment, while the natural environment in turn influences the shape of the human psyche positively or negatively. In particular, the doctrine of five laws (niyama dhammas) proposes that human beings and nature are bound together in a mutual causal relationship. The five laws are: physical, biological, psychological, moral, and causal. Among these five, the causal law operates within each of the first four; likewise, the physical law conditions biological growth, and all the laws influence human thought patterns, which eventually shape the moral standards of a society. These Buddhist doctrines and insights, which seem to appeal to modern Western thinking, attempt to suggest that human beings and the environment mutually condition and influence each other in the formation of the human psyche and of the nature of the world. The notions of interdependence and interconnectedness have become the centerpiece of the declaration, Towards a Global Ethic, of the 1993 Parliament of the World Religions.

Though some Buddhist communities have experienced resistance from certain segments of the American population, this does not reflect the attitude of the majority of Americans, whose pluralist tradition shows in their openness and willingness to help religious and ethnic minorities. However, some hostile elements are still present in certain sections of society and parts of this country; in the recent past, several temples have been burned or bombed, and some practitioners have even been murdered. The most positive response towards Buddhism is found in the genuine interest of Americans from many parts of the country in knowing and practicing Buddhism. This positive tendency is quite evident in the curriculum of American colleges and universities. In several major universities, I have witnessed a genuine interest in learning about Buddhism, and private colleges and universities provide the facilities to do so. Every year, American universities produce a large number of academic specialists in diverse forms of Buddhism, such as Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Tibetan, Sri Lankan, Thai or Burmese.

While in many places Buddhism functions as a cultural resource and inspiration for Asian immigrant Buddhist communities, non-immigrant Caucasian converts are drawn to Buddhism for its contemplative and meditative aspects rather than because of its cultural specificity. One of the strengths which Buddhism offers to American practitioners of Zen, Theravadan or Tibetan meditation is its tradition of contemplative practice. The considerable growth of meditation centers shows that Buddhism is becoming a vital force in the pluralistic American society and is having an influential impact on it. The Buddhist experience in the United States highlights the ability of its practitioners to adapt to a completely different cultural and social environment and make remarkable progress in shaping the lives of others who encounter Buddhism. Since the establishment of Buddhism in the United States is still in progress, its impact and influence will become more clearly visible in the 21st century.