Is Buddhism just a philosophy?

Associate Professor of Religious Studies Pamela Winfield, Elon University (The Conversation); edited and expanded by Amber Larson, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Exotic appeal (Jack Kerouac/Geoth)

In East Asia, Buddhists celebrate the Buddha’s enlightenment and passing (his entrance into final nirvana) in February [with Southeast Asia celebrating the events as Vesak in May].

But at my local Zen temple in North Carolina, the Buddha’s enlightenment is commemorated during the holiday season of December, with a short talk for children, a candlelight service, and a potluck supper following the celebration.

Welcome to Buddhism, American-style.

Early influences.

AUTHOR: Pamela Winfield (Elon)

Buddhism entered into the American cultural consciousness in the late 19th century.

It was a time when romantic notions of exotic Oriental mysticism fueled the imaginations of American philosopher-poets, art connoisseurs, and early scholars of world religions.

Painting of monk in vast learning library (Lorianne DiSabato/Museum of Fine Art, Boston)

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Transcendental poets like Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson read Buddhist and Hindu philosophy deeply.

Col. Olcott Yankee Beacon

So did American Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, who traveled to Sri Lanka in 1880, converted to Buddhism, and co-founded the popular strain of mystical philosophy called Theosophy.

Meanwhile, connoisseurs of Buddhist art introduced America to the beauty of the tradition.

The art historian and Professor of Philosophy Ernest Fenellosa, as well as his fellow Bostonian William Sturgis Bigelow, were among the first Americans to travel to Japan, convert to Buddhism, and avidly collect Buddhist art.

When they returned home to the USA, their collections formed the core of the premiere Arts of Asia collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. More