The Appeal of Buddhism in the Modern World
Singapore August 10, 1988
Revised excerpt from Berzin, Alexander and Chodron, Thubten. Glimpse of Reality.
Singapore: Amitabha Buddhist Centre, 1999.
Question: This year you have been on a teaching tour to twenty-six countries.
Please share with us your observations of how Buddhism is spreading to new places.
Answer: Buddhism is spreading rapidly around the world now. There are Buddhist
centers in many European countries, North America, South America, South Africa,
Australasia, and so on. We find Buddhists in Europe not only in the Western
capitalist countries, but also in the socialist countries of the East. For example,
Poland has about five thousand active Buddhists.
Buddhism appeals very much to the modern world because it is reasonable and
scientifically based. Buddha said, "Do not believe in anything that I say
just out of respect for me, but test it for yourself, analyze it, as if you
were buying gold." Modern-day people like such a nondogmatic approach.
There are many dialogues between scientists and Buddhist leaders, such as His
Holiness the Dalai Lama. Together they are discussing and investigating what
is reality. Buddha said that all problems come from not understanding reality,
from being confused in this regard. If we were aware of who we are and how the
world and we exist, we would not create problems out of our confusion. Buddhism
has an extremely open attitude in examining what is true. For example, His Holiness
the Dalai Lama has said that if scientists can prove that something Buddha or
his followers taught is incorrect or just superstition, he would be happy and
willing to drop it from Buddhism. Such an approach is very attractive to Western
people.
Since learned masters of the past have adapted Buddhism to the culture of each
society to which it has spread, it is only natural that teachers today need
to present Buddhism in different modern countries in slightly different ways.
In general, Buddhism emphasizes a rational explanation. Within this context,
however, different points and approaches need more emphasis depending on predominant
cultural traits.
Because taught such a variety of methods, simply because people very so much.
Not everyone thinks in the same way. Consider the example of food. If there
were only one type of food available in a city, it would not appeal to everyone.
If, on the other hand, different foods could be had with varied flavors, everyone
could find something appealing. Likewise, Buddha taught a large variety of methods
for people with a wide spectrum of tastes to use to develop themselves and grow.
After all, the objective of Buddhism is to overcome all our limitations and
problems and to realize all our potentials so that we can develop ourselves
to the point at which we can help everyone as much as is possible.
In some Western countries that emphasize psychology, such as Switzerland and
the United States, teachers usually present Buddhism from the point of view
of psychology. In other countries where people prefer a devotional approach,
such as many Southern European lands and in Latin America, teachers tend to
present Buddhism in a devotional manner. People there like to chant very much,
and one can do that in Buddhist practice. People in Northern European countries,
however, do not enjoy chanting as much. Teachers tend to emphasize an intellectual
approach to Buddhism there.
Many people in Eastern Europe are in a very sad situation. The Buddhist teachings
appeal to them greatly because many find their lives empty. Whether they work
hard at their jobs or not seems to make no difference. They see no results.
Buddhism, in contrast, teaches them methods for working on themselves, which
do bring results that make a difference in the qualities of their lives. This
makes people unbelievably appreciative and enthusiastic to throw themselves
fully into practices such as making thousands of prostrations.
In this way, Buddhism adapts itself to the culture and the mentality of the
people in each society, while preserving the major teachings of Buddha. The
principal teachings are not changed ? the aim is to overcome our problems and
limitations and to realize our potentials. Whether practitioners do this with
more emphasis on the psychological, intellectual, scientific, or devotional
approach depends on the culture.
Question: How is Buddhism adapting to the twentieth century in general?
Answer: Buddhism is adapting by emphasizing a rational scientific approach to
its teachings. Buddhism gives a clear explanation of how life's experiences
come about and how to deal with them in the best manner possible. Then it says
do not accept anything on blind faith; think for yourself, test it out. and
see if it actually dies make sense. This resembles science asking us to verify
the results of an experiment by repeating it ourselves, and only then to accept
the results as fact. Modern people do not like buying something without examining
it; they would not buy a car without testing it. Likewise, they will not turn
to another religion or philosophy of life without checking it first to see if
it really makes sense. That is what makes Buddhism so appealing to many people
of the twentieth century. Buddhism is open to scientific investigation and invites
people to examine it in that way.