I often hear modern Buddhists complain that "western" buddhism views actual buddhism through a predominantly judeo-christian and rational lens, because these are the predominant western worldviews.But hasn't the same happened to Buddhism everywhere it went? In Bactria it got Greek elements, in China it got heavily influenced by Confucianism, in Japan it got incorporated with Shintoism, and there are countless of native religions in SEA that modified Buddhism.Why is the "Westernization" of Buddhism uniquely bad?
It's the same with all religion. Christian holidays like Christmas and Halloween incorporate elements from European paganism, and Christian gospel music incorporates elements from African paganism
>>18343963Yeah i understand, but i wonder why western buddhism is seen as uniquely bad
>>18343958Maybe it's because they act too rational and you said. buddhism is an anti rational, anti-logical religion. it's so retarded how pseuds try to say it's the same as the gnosticisms.
>>18343963No one knows anything about what african paganism was like
>>18343958>Why is the "Westernization" of Buddhism uniquely bad?Because Buddhism is predicated on rebirth, which (((Western Buddhism))) often denies. Also, (((Western Buddhists))) often try to shoehorn their leftist politics into Buddhism, but I would say that's pretty standard for any new adoption of a religion.
>>18343958"Western buddhism"/modern Theravada isn't actually western. The thinkers/formulators of said tradition were sri lankans/thais who wanted an authentic/uncorrupted version of Buddhism. And you only get westerners involved in it after the 50s. It's "Western" in the sense that it deems the pali canon to be the only holy scripture and take a literal reading of said text. In the same way that Protestants do with their bible. Traditional buddhism generally takes a more allegorical view of the pali canon and has other texts/works from other monks that abrogate the pali texts.
>>18344018>Also, (((Western Buddhists))) often try to shoehorn their leftist politics into Buddhism, but I would say that's pretty standard for any new adoption of a religion.I see the opposite, in that the people in the west who want to return to (((True))) Buddhism are usually also leftists who just want to rant and whine about white people while they fashion themselves to be Edward Said, saving the poor oppressed brown people of the world.
>>18343958>western" buddhismmight as well just call it judeo-buddhism if you're going to spout nonsense like judeo-christianity
>>18343958Buddhism in the west gets secularized which means turned into an atheistic and materialistic religion, something Buddhism is not.
>>18344018Western Buddhists are literally Jews using Buddhism as a vehicle to espouse leftism because they falsely believe it agrees with their beliefs.
Initially, Buddhism was seen in the west as a dreary and nearly atheist religion. It blossomed in the 1900s. This led to some genuinely weird stuff, including the usual cheery picking by esotericists. It is uniquely vulnerable to people looking for a return to tradition as it is much more of a wisdom tradition than others, and modernisation is shunned though it probably shouldn't be. Add in the line of nationalism among people who complain, and people going 'reee filthy whites touching muh culture' and cherry picking stuff ranging from the dreary period to woodstock hippy california buddhism to Blatvaski's theosophical bullshit and hey presto, perfect recipe for anyone to complain. I don't think it is actually seen as uniquely bad, though. I imagine it's easier for these people to point out the 'west' as a conglomerate even as they shit on other nations equally.
>>18346381Oh, and it doesn't hurt that buddhism is incredibly syncretic so it tends to line up with specific regional beliefs and people changing it at all causes additional reee.
Buddhism in the west suffers from two different kinds of problematic people1. Western "Buddhists" who think it's all hip and compatible with science and not really a religion anyway, basically hollowing out the entire religion. They often have good intentions but theyre just completely out of their depth. Also includes gay reddit atheists who think ontological materialism and buddhism are the same.2. Self-described Buddhists who do take the religion, its history and doctrine seriously, but only really do so in away that allows them to brag about it to others and correct them. They get a little dopamine hit whenever they can chastise the people of group 1 on how to actually behave or what the buddha actually thought about this or that thing. They claim to be exhausted that Westerners get it wrong, but deep down they love it because it allows them to be self-righteous about it. Remind me a bit of the sedevacantist Dimond brothers, but Buddhist.If you want to see both groups interact, go to /r/buddhism, then kill yourself.
>>18347202To be fair, Buddhists, like a lot of people from indic religions, take advantage of the former making channels on meditiation and well-being, they've cultivated that audience. Islam is the best example of modern evangelising because content for converts is usually very deep historically and scripturally informed.
>>18343958I don’t really know enough about the discussion but it just sounds like the typical seething at white people by browns for shit that browns have already done but they hate it when whites do it.
>>18347609I dislike Islamic evangelization because it basically already assumes you're in the cult, because much of their work makes no sense otherwise, and Hadith transmission is a fucking joke
>>18343958While not a devote I finally got buddhism after decades of study, travel and practice. The largest obstacle was a western mind and raised a protestant evangelical. Though I had already determined Christianity (and monotheism) in all its forms only one hypothesis I couldn't shake western linear thinking and cultural bias. Like a western mind expects a certain result and begins to fill in the blanks and dismisses other possibilities. Once I allowed for anything, the nonsensical, unfamiliar, frightening, euphoric and and detached I felt at ease. Truly your mind is both limited and limitless and it must be trained to handle everything, everywhere and all at once or you go mad.
