Buddhism in the West - a Perspective 28 years in...and I am only a young pratitioner

I have not posted to Zen Mirror in a very long time. I have been busy helping others, and others have been busy helping me. I maintain this site as a wealth of knowledge and will continue to do so as time allows me to do such.

I have had a burning question that I have been carrying for a few years and I would like to direct it to all my Buddhist Friends in the West who happen to read this blog. When the Venerable Thich Thien-An, Yasuntani Roshi, Matsuoka Roshi, Maezumi Roshi, Zen Master Seung Sahn, Mahaghosananda and other Eastern Buddhist teachers came to the West they would quite often celebrate Buddhist high holidays together in joint ceremonies, they would invite each other to engage their groups, why do Buddhist Groups today not do this? 

Following the passing of all the First Generation Eastern Teachers who have come to the West, we find ourselves in a desolate wasteland of sectarian segregation. We now find that we have Buddhist Clubs not Buddhist Sanghas that are more concerned with adherence to their particular ideology than with adherence to Buddhist ideals. They have become more like Gym Memberships than real Buddhist Sanghas. Buddhism does not sell anything while Clubs are selling some shining thing that will make your life better.

In my experience, most Western Buddhist groups do not accept Buddhist Precepts (even the 5 Precepts) from another group, stating that you must be totally indoctrinated to “their brand" of practice before you can be accepted as a Buddhist member. 

None of this follows the tradition in Asia, and I am a bit frustrated that all of these exclusive Buddhist Clubs are paying for advertising on Media and in Print to support their organizations. The Buddhist Community in the West has truly become “a cult of personality.” I want to ask a question to Buddhist practitioners out there, how much do you think it costs to take out a full page ad in a Buddhist Magazine, (more than you think) and who do you think is paying to have your leaders mug displayed across the pages of these Buddhist National Inquirers? You are my friend, no one else. You are supporting a cult of ego that does not take heed the Buddhadharma. Web sites are relatively inexpensive, a few dollars a month, while advertisement in print is outrageously expensive. I do not attack advertising that way, yet I wonder if it is a wise usage of the sangha's commitment to practice.

These organization founders take out huge full page ads in Buddhist publications with their faces as the graphics instead of some graphic of helping others, further they elicit that you should come to me as I am the enlightened guru, all of this nonsense instead of a middle way approach to Buddhist compassion. Sanghas only exist to help the Sangha (the West only wishes to fill their coffers.) Most Buddhist Clubs advertise or establish their leaders to be some Great Socially Enlightened being so I am not sure what they are attempting to be. The job of a teacher is to help others wake up to their own inherent nature, the nature they were born with for Buddha's sake!

In the world with helping hands..........

What happened to liberation from the self? Is this about receiving sanctification to wear pius clothing and shave your head? No, we must break free and realize we all the same family, seeking the aspiration. 

I would like to see a Western Society where we as, a minority of Religious Practitioners in the West, try to live out our lives as compassionate and dedicated Buddhists who can come together in a unified spirit of the Buddhadharma. Let us shed our auspices of teaching something unique or special or even mystical, and let us come together upon the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and the manifestation of compassion and love in our lives. 

We are, after all, part of the greater family of interconnected humans; can we not start acting this way? Thank you for reading this post and I do hope you take it to heart and do something to build a bridge with another Buddhist in your own community. 

There is only one reform in life, and that is to become more loving.