Amazing63,
Very interesting article. Thank you for posting it.
Regards,
Francisco.
--- In [email protected], "amazing63" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> A Tale of Two Hemispheres
> Event Explores Western Ideas of Buddhism
> http://www.dailycal.org/article.php?id=17604
>
> By ARLET ABRAHAMIAN
>
>
> Juhn Ahn is worried about Buddhism in the United States. Ahn, a
Buddhist
> Studies doctoral candidate, studied the religion both in the East-
where
> Buddhism claims its roots-and in the West, where it is exploding
into the
> mainstream.
> After leaving a life of studying scripture as a Buddhist monk in
Korea, Ahn
> came to the United States for a college education, where he picked
up on a
> fundamental difference between how Buddhism is perceived in the two
> hemispheres.
>
> "In the East it's a humdrum religion of an old lady lighting
incense at a
> temple," Ahn says. "Whereas in the West it's about a journey of
> self-discovery and meditating."
>
> Ahn says the disconnect between Buddhism in the East and the West
stems from
> a cultural difference: the East places focus on the community,
while the
> West centers on the individual.
>
> The misrepresentation of Buddhism in the West was a reoccurring
theme during
> the newly established Center for Buddhist Studies' first major
event, "
> Speaking for the Buddha? Buddhism and the Media," which was held
this
> Tuesday and Wednesday.
>
> "There is a huge gap between the way popular culture conceives of
Buddhism
> and how scholars see it," says Robert Sharf, director of the group
in
> Buddhist studies at UC Berkeley. "With this event, we're trying to
bridge
> the gap."
>
> The conference, which coincides with a 10-day film festival,
included four
> panel discussions on media representations of Buddhism and its
influence on
> the perception of the religion in the West.
>
> Panelists, who ranged from Zen teachers to filmmakers, say America's
> interest in Buddhism is too narrow.
>
> Buddhism is not just about soul searching and meditating, Sharf
says.
>
> "Although the panels are a more scholarly event, we hope to attract
more
> people from the public with the film series," Sharf says.
>
> Still, panelists said films-when they are the only source of
knowledge about
> different cultures-can be misleading.
>
> During one of the panel discussions, George Dreyfus, a religion
professor at
> Williams College, brought up the 1993 movie "Little Buddha,"
starring Keanu
> Reeves as a modern-day Siddhartha in search of true enlightenment.
>
> "Buddhism is supposed to be about overcoming suffering and becoming
more
> compassionate, but the movie is about discovering oneself," Dreyfus
says.
>
> Dreyfus' point is evident on campus: some students, for example,
think of
> Buddhism primarily as a process of self-exploration.
>
> "From what I've been told, it's about stripping down everything
around you
> and getting to know yourself in a spiritual way," says sophomore
John
> Watson.
>
> Panelists say, however, broadening the perspective on the religion
is not an
> easy task.
>
> Scholars sometimes do not want to speak to the public about the
religion
> because their views are diametrically opposed to the views of the
public,
> Sharf says.
>
> Zoketsu Norman Fischer, a Zen teacher at the San Francisco Zen
Center, also
> says not much can be done about the representation of Buddhism in
the media.
>
> "The media, by its nature, will always be depicting something," he
says. "As
> long as Buddhism is around, the media will be depicting it."
>
> In the United States, inaccurate depictions of the religion are
difficult to
> spot, Sharf says.
>
> "There's no process in America of vetting certain representations,"
Sharf
> says. "If someone has the power and the support they can get their
> representations out there."
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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