Pop Buddhism

It is hard to lump up the goings on of modern Buddhism with one concise word.  I decided to use “pop Buddhism” as a catchall term.  Alongside of this, there is an implied contrast which is not “unpopular Buddhism” but more like esoteric Buddhism.  Such Buddhism is for a certain type of person (in the Buddha’s discourses these persons are called arya).  It is mystical in its orientation insofar as almost all of the Buddha’s discourses are of an anagogical nature referring to the transcendent or unconditioned world which is beyond the reach and range of the temporal.

Everyone who becomes interested in Buddhism for the first time begins as a pop Buddhist.  They have a few ideas about what they believe Buddhism teaches, for example, compassion, being a vegetarian, or doing meditation.  The other dimension to this is not everyone stays a pop Buddhist.  Some have a nose for the esoteric who are thus able to leave the pop Buddhist world in a year or so.  They are not uncomfortable with the Buddha’s anagogical discourses which point beyond our temporal world.  Regrettably, others never leave the fold of pop Buddhism.

Pop Buddhism, in a word, is not Buddhism.  Measured against the Buddha’s discourses pop Buddhism’s interpretation of what the Buddha taught is too materialistic and to a lesser extent, behavior oriented.  Pop Buddhism is like Ellis Island in the old days when immigration to the U.S. was at its highest point. It acted as a point of transition.  Not one new immigrant knew what life was actually like in the U.S.  All, pretty much, had pie-in-the-sky dreams of America.  Much of it was wrong.  When these immigrants actually entered the U.S., they saw an America not of their dreams but one, nevertheless, that offered immense possibility unlike in their native country. 

Pop Buddhists are, figuratively speaking, still on Ellis Island.  Most will not get off.

Comments

[JohnBF]

I began my serious exploration of "what Buddhism had to offer" in April of 2012, but I specifically came to see what it had to say about the nature of the Self, to complement and continue an 8 year intellectual and increasingly personal inquiry into the subject. And--as you say--a year later, I left the island. It was a nice place and much was learned there, but moving on has taught even more.

[AOC]

Zen masters on meditation:

"Learned Audience, what is sitting for meditation? In our School, 'to sit' means to gain absolute freedom and to be mentally unperturbed in all outward circumstances, be they good or otherwise. To meditate means to realize inwardly the imperturbability of the Essence of Mind." (Hui-Neng)

"I am not telling you to sit on a bench with your eyes closed, rigidly suppressing body and mind, like earth or wood. That will never have any usefulness, even in a million years." (Foyan)

"Both torpor and excitation were condemned by the former sages. When sitting quietly, as soon as you feel the presence of either of these two diseases, just bring up the saying, “A dog has no Buddha-nature.” Don’t exert effort to push away these two kinds of disease – just be peaceful and still right there. Over a long time, as you become aware of saving power, this is the place where you gain power. Nor do you have to engage in quiet meditation– this itself is meditation." (Dahui)

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A modern-day "Zennist" on meditation:

"... sitting in chairs is not zazen. Zazen is a physical practice. To sit in a chair and call it zazen is incorrect." (Brad Warner)