Buddhism's exotic appeal in America

Associate Prof. of Religious Studies Pamela Winfield (The Conversation); Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

Jack Kerouac, a Beat Generation Dharma Bum, made a big impression on the US (Geoth)

Professional athletics have used Zen coaching strategies and furthered America’s misunderstanding of Buddhism not as a “religion” but as a secular philosophy with broad applications.

The exotic appeal

American secular Buddhism has also produced some unintended consequences. D.T. Suzuki’s writings greatly influenced Jack Kerouac, the popular Beat Generation author of On the Road and The Dharma Bums.

But Suzuki regarded Kerouac as a “monstrous imposter” because he sought only the freedom of Buddhist awakening [the outcome] without the discipline of practice [the means].

Other Beat poets, hippies, and New Age DIY-self-helpers have also paradoxically mistaken Buddhism for a kind of self-indulgent narcissism, despite its profound and confounding teachings of selflessness and compassion.

Still others have commercially exploited its exotic appeal to sell everything from “Zen Tea” to “Lucky Buddha Beer,” which is particularly ironic given Buddhism’s traditional proscription against intoxicants that occasion heedlessness, particularly alcohol.

As a result, the popular construction of nonreligious Buddhism has contributed much to the contemporary “spiritual but not religious” phenomenon, as well as to the secularized and commodified mindfulness movement in America.

We may have only transplanted a fraction of the larger bodhi tree of religious Buddhism in America, but our cutting has adapted and taken root in our secular, scientific, and highly commercialized age.

For better and for worse, it’s Buddhism American-style. More