The Forth Quarter

Frankly, I think that the practice of Buddhism does have an American exponent. And this may spill over into the Western hemisphere in general, but I wouldn’t know as I’ve only lived in the USA.

I would say that the practice of American Buddhism, or Buddhism in America, has caused me to reevaluate American culture, standards, and expectations in a very deep manner.

What I am trying to get at here is that we here as Americans have a commonly held culture, a way of living: TV, cars, supermarkets and malls, cell phones and instant meals: a life centered upon entertainment.

When I practice Buddhism in America, to me it is not about going to the Zendo to sit and to listen to the Dharma talk on Saturday morning. It isn’t about participating in the rituals that have been imported from another country that nestle the practice of Zen within a comfortable time honored context of practice. Those things are fine; I’m not trying to suggest that they are unnecessary.

But when Buddhism is brought to America and we practice it, then for me at least, I have had to look back at the culture that I am participating in. I look at it with compassion, with awareness, hopefully with clarity, and as a Zen Buddhist, with simplicity and reverence in mind.

Therefore, I look upon the earth with compassion as it is suffering under the burden of too many automobiles and industries polluting the planet in order to support this way of American life. And so I choose to ride a bicycle around town instead of a car. I don’t buy the latest gadget, just because its there. I try to minimize the impact of my need for clothing that industry burdens the earth with by purchasing organic or minimally processed clothing.

Along the way I have discovered recycling, composting, even just drying the clothes on the line is another way that compassion for our environment can be undertaken.

I envision a balance to life: the middle way. That throughout our lives we take from the planet in order to support our life here. By the time we reach the end of our life we will have been able to give something back. We give our bodies up to the insects and plants that grow in the soil. We have given carbon dioxide to nourish the plants through the air. We have taken from our culture its entertainments and pleasures, and given back our ideas, morals and our own creativity (even if its just in the paycheck we have earned that pays for the movie we watch).

And so, rather than just sitting around bored with nothing to do, I get going and work on something I care about – painting a picture, witting, helping others. (I don’t imagine that I will ever really balance what I’ve taken from the planet with what I have given, but I am aware of this coincidence.)

This is what Buddhism in America is about: not what we can take from America and add to Buddhism, but how I can let Buddhism reawaken my participation in America. And this is what is unique to practicing Buddhism in America.