Consumer Buddhism

I think another name for "secular Buddhism" should be "consumer Buddhism," that is, Buddhism geared for consumer culture.  First we need to bear in mind that the most intense period of biological development and cultural programming begins during the third trimester in the mother's womb to about eight years of age.  This is mother nature's way of getting the pre-adult up to cultural running speed. During this time, whatever the child is exposed to, gets taped—the good, bad, and the ugly.  It could be consumer culture or Buddhist culture.  

Some Westerners don't like the idea of small children being introduced to religion, in the example of Buddhism, which usually happens in Buddhist countries.  These same people believe that the child's tabula rasa condition is a form of purity that can be maintained only if the child is not exposed to religion at an early age—but it's okay to expose them to Disney World, sports events, Walmart, and shopping malls and pizza.  In other words, it's okay to expose them to consumer culture.  And so this deluded thinking suggests that when my child becomes a consumerized adult, not influenced by the mumbo-jumbo of religion, he or she can then decide to take up a religion such as Buddhism.  The way I see it, they will be ripe to become secular Buddhists, still enjoying the fruits of consumer culture but with the addition of seated meditation, and maybe eating more vegetables!

Such people have no idea just how pervasive consumer culture programming is; so much so that they will never understand a religion like Buddhism in many rebirths.  They will never see that their consumer culture even sows the seeds for many kinds of mental and physical problems both directly and indirectly, even depression and obesity.  In other words, striving for things that you imagine you need, including more money with which to buy those things will not make for happiness—it only brings short term pleasure. Truth be told, once our basic survival needs are met, which could be living in a cabin or a small trailer, what we own in the way of wealth has hardly anything to do with overall happiness.   Consumer culture completely ignores man's inner being which is usually the question of, "Who am I?" or, "What is the purpose of this life?"  Instead, "I want more" is the sacred motto. 

Unfortunately, Buddhism in the West has to cater to consumers whose smugness doesn't permit them to be humble before the truth.  It is not uncommon to hear, "I really don't believe in rebirth, but I like some of the Buddha's teachings."  Given that hardcore materialism is the substructure of consumer culture no wonder that secular Buddhism—and Zen—has little or no respect for rebirth, karma and nirvana!   

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[minx]

 For youth is impressionable and plastic, and while such minds are still tender lessons are infused deeply into them; but anything which has become hard is with difficulty softened. 

For just as seals leave their impression in soft wax, so are lessons impressed upon the minds of children while they are young. And, as it seems to me, Plato, that remarkable man, quite properly advises6 nurses, even in telling stories to children, not to choose at random, lest haply their minds be filled at the outset with foolishness and corruption.

De liberis educandis (The Education of Children)
by Plutarch