Introduction
The reading for this topic focuses on politically conservative Buddhism in the US, especially those who push back against attempts to actively diversify convert Buddhist communities in the US (which, despite a decade of such DEI efforts, remain largely White and middle-upper class). Whether of the “reactionary centrist” or full-blown “alt-right” persuasion, these politically conservative Buddhists use Buddhist language and rhetoric to undercut the discussion of racial and economic injustice in these converted Buddhist communities.
Prompt
In this, final discussion post of the year, I want you to think proactively. How do you think Buddhist communities in the US should respond to these attempts to use Buddhist rhetoric to oppose DEI initiatives? What engagement strategies would you recommend? What should be said? To whom? Or should these figures be ignored? Or do you think that some of these activists are correct and that DEI initiatives have no place in contemporary US Buddhism?
Guidelines
Remember that for each discussion post, you need to write:
- your own initial post, 2-3 paragraphs in length, that develops 1 or more arguments
Topic 11_Discission: Buddhism in the US
In this final week’s discussion, I find it interesting because this week I can involve the studies while generating ideas on how Americans shall take their ways of narrating the Buddhist culture. Although most Americans believed in Christianity, now from research has been gained on Buddhism after research done by the Pew Research Centre, while most Canadians view Buddhism to get an equal position to Christianity, as stated by Angus Reid Poll. Moreover, in case of the mindfulness which is taught in schools, Buddhism is presented as a sort of spiritual science. While American society is based on liberal demographics, which have been increasing through the means of online facilities undertaken by the rhetoric form which is the “snowflakes”, or the “politically correct”. Or the “postmodern identity politics”, or even “cultural Marxism”, which led to demonstrated the presence of right-wing sentiments related to the population on the geographical population of American society, which was converted into Buddhism (Gleig & Artinger, 2021). Through this context, this has been noticed that American society is different from the onset of the political conservative ideas related to that of Buddhism in the United States.
American society converted becaus Buddhist lineages became a site through the “cultural wars” with the longstanding classes that took place with all the religious conservatives as well as the progressive ideals to develop multiple contexts across the United States. Thus, we can eventually locate the reactionary form to learn about the right-wing forms made for American Buddhism so that they can develop a relationship with the modern and the post-modern forms as compared to that of Buddhism (Gleig & Artinger, 2021). Perhaps it is true that the conservative system undertaken by Buddhism in the US is especially pushing back to an attempt related make a diversification system to convert Buddhist communities in the US.
Research on this note has helped to describe that Buddhists from the American society have eventually thrived up with details that dwell on the note which involves the Buddhist involvement within the projects as well as the charities to implant the activities to help those who have been experiencing the suffering which is faced by the individuals through the means of poverty. Mention by Gleig & Artinger, (2021), stated that in the most tradition, al cases Buddhist communities mainly consist of monks and nuns. Thus, in terms of the orientation underneath the values of the articles I have to get to gather on the note of the reactionary centrist that helps to get hold of the descriptive and normatively critics. Thus, in the case of the descriptive sense, this helps to map terms of the idea to thrive out the anti-social justice Buddhist landscape, which can identify the main culture and influence the scenario so that it can shape the situation, in constructing the relationship with Buddhism.
Reactionary centrists are based on naturalizing the social and political positionality. Moreover, critics think helps to narrate the note that mentioned that reactionary is aimed to articulate Buddhism based on the grounds that can actually reinforce or can normally reproduce the gendered form to recognize the racialized dynamics to deal with the marginalized population, related to the Buddhist color, along with the transgender Buddhism. Perhaps on the other point, the subject of backlash DEI is the American Buddhists who have been occurring on the point across the wide notion thrive out to narrate about a wide spectrum to move forward with the far-right verse of the demography. It can be articulated based on the ideals that the geographical demography of all the participants has been analyzed in detail about the white males with a recognition for the differences which is often catered. The vows of the Buddhist ideas which is organized under three categories which are the reactionary centrist, the right-wing Buddhist, and the alt-right Buddhist.
Reference
Gleig, A., & Artinger, B. G. (2021). The# Buddhist-Culture-Wars: Buddha Bros, Alt-Right Dharma, and Snowflake Sanghas. Journal of Global Buddhism 22, 19-49.
