What syncretism may offer

[BethL]

This follows a side-discussion on the syncretic potential of western liturgical and religious traditions for introducing Buddhism to people. You know, people who wouldn’t otherwise get anywhere close to a Buddhist monastery or temple.

@Snowbird

However a more religious presentation of Buddhism would appeal to the group of people that the secular approach misses.

@Aahan

The idea is that, if you want to really spread the Dhamma into the West. It has to syncretise with and absorb aspects of other religious traditions that exist over here. That includes making use of western liturgical languages.

Admittedly, my phrase syncretic potential will turn some people off or even be upsetting – please don’t keep reading if it does!

Otherwise, Snowbird and Aahan’s comments above seem worthy of attention and more discussion.

@Khemarato.bhikkhu

I think the yoga side is the more religious presentation. The religious Westerners tend to gravitate towards Tibetan Buddhism: bells and smells as they say.

As well as Ven. Khemarato’s. I found my way to Buddhism through a yoga studio – not through the yoga itself but because the front desk had postcards on display that advertised a Buddhist outreach event in the community. If not for that, I don’t know how much longer it would have taken this blind turtle to poke its head into the yoke.

I agree with Ven. Khemarato that, absent a yoga studio experience, people may gravitate toward Tibetan centers (here in the US, anyway). They think, Oh, prayer flags and Tibetan-looking monastics who are obviously religious…Let me check that out. Are there more Tibetan centers in the US than any other kind of Buddhist center? (I don’t know which is why I’m asking.)

Interestingly, in the small-size city in the southeast US where I grew up, there’s now a Tibetan center right in the center of suburbia. A converted house and lawn. Visited by the Dalai Lama himself .

The few times I’ve been there, I’ve notice a preponderance of cars in the parking lot with window stickers from the local Roman Catholic high schools. It makes me think that, indeed, there’s magnetism for Roman Catholics because of the ornate atmosphere inside, the bells, the incense, the chanting – even though no one understands what’s being chanted.

And I have to think that most of these folks go back and forth between their Roman Catholic mass experience and the Tibetan Sunday programs.

@Khemarato.bhikkhu

This article talks about a Vietnamese Pure Land temple being a hit with former Catholics in Texas. They seem especially impressed by Guanyin’s compassionate (worldly) miracles.

I read the article and did a little more research on the cited temple. Importantly, the temple is located in Houston, Texas, which is one of the largest cities with a heavy evangelical Christian presence.

So we see an unimagined syncretism between a version of Vietnamese Pure Land Buddhism and Latino Roman Catholicism in a large city dominated by the so-called prosperity gospel movement.

For those who aren’t averse to going on Instagram every now and then, here’s a very short video that reflects this syncretism. It’s posted on the temple’s official Instagram site.

I have learned of syncretic evangelical Christian and Latino Roman Catholic communities as well. So I realize that’s happening too.

This reflection leads me to larger questions of what’s happening as these Buddhist syncretisms develop.

I, for one, increasingly sense a kind of materialist abyss with more secularized meditation programs. The Covid/post-Covid online culture has given way to a proliferation of these programs, most of which seem stripped of any respectful nod to their obvious Buddhist roots. (I think I’m done with those.)

Of course we can’t ignore the monumental crises that rightly demand our attention, effort, and repair. But is there such a thing as over-saturation with our earth-based commitments? This is what a secularized & stripped Buddhist approach feels like to me.

Many people in this culture would gingerly approach Buddhism if they felt like they didn’t have to give up their faith community at the same time. That’s the only way they would ever get close. I think that’s part of what’s happening in that Houston temple. Isn’t that Plum Village for a lot of people too?

[brunobr]

Thinking about the reality I live in, in Brazil, one way to use religious syncretism in favor of Buddhism would be to reinterpret the practices of other religions that involve generosity and merit-making, even for those who will not convert to Buddhism.

For example, refraining from animal slaughter for christian churches festivities or, less commonly in my reality, in religious sacrifices, would already bring significant benefits to people of other beliefs. Likewise, abstaining from alcohol and other intoxicants during religious celebrations in general would be highly beneficial.

Non-Buddhist devotees could also prioritize offering food and other basic necessities to those in need and to virtuous religious practitioners as a form of generosity and merit-making.

As for the dedication of merit to the departed ones, this is perfectly compatible with Brazil’s reincarnationist religions (Kardecist Spiritism and African-derived traditions) as well as with Catholicism (“intercession for the dead”).

Finally, it is also possible to dedicate merit to living people, to God, Jesus Christ, angels, saints, “orixás” (orishas), and nature spirits.

African and Indigenous traditions sometimes make offerings to their deities and ancestors in the form of food, which in many cases is not intended for human consumption. In such situations, it would be meaningful to express the intention of feeding other beings with these offerings and to dedicate the merit of this good action to those for whom the offering is made.

These practices alone would greatly increase the benefits people gain from religious devotion. And if they somehow make a connection with the Buddha’s teachings and feel inspired by that connection, the benefits they receive could be even greater.

[thistle]

I’m digging up this thread because yesterday I went to the local post office and had a look at some postcards (those which feature a funny slogan on one side) and saw this one:

“If karma doesn’t take charge of it, I will” (translated to English)

It’s obviously confusing kamma with vipaka (and oversimplifying the whole issue a bit )but it made me think how succesfully Buddhist language and symbols made it to the West.
If you judged by the quantity of Buddha statues displayed in front yards and shop windows, you’d think Germany was a Buddhist country.

But yes, there has been a lot of change in the last two decades: Where I live there are now 4 Tibetan Centres and two Theravada sites nearby.
The self-help section in bookshops has its own sub-section on mindfulness and the books are legion.

My impression is that e.g. Christian organizations increasingly use the word “mindfulness” (or maybe I’m just more aware of it) - even though there is quite a long-standing tradition of contemplative practises in Christianity.

I’m not really sure what syncretism may offer in the long run: people get in contact with the dhamma - that’s for sure - but the danger of watering the teachings is also there. Tune down the consumption of alcohol would be a good start imo but I can’t see the fifth precept making a career here.

The dana-principle has been altered in many instances here (i.e. charging money for dhamma talks ) and people justify it because of the capitalist logic underlying the economic system. And last but not least: The whole mindfulness being incorporated into therapy and treatment is a two-sided sword imo.