Word: buddhism
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Howard is sometimes disturbed by the picking and choosing that many American Buddhists practice, especially when people use Buddhist doctrine to justify prior beliefs. “If you bring all your baggage with you, rather than using Buddhism to investigate your political beliefs,” you’re not actually subscribing to Buddhism, she says. She does recognize, however, the importance of testing beliefs before internalizing them. “My faith in Buddhism has grown because of testing [what I’m told],” she says. “Otherwise it?...
Many people circumvent the issue of belief by taking Buddhism out of that realm altogether. Sullivan, who was also attracted by the “mystic aspects” of Buddhism, says, “it’s probably taken [me] 13 years just to see that it’s a religion.” Counter-intuitive as that may sound, it is actually a pretty common sentiment among many who come to Buddhism in adulthood. The most popular way of expressing it is to say, as Henry W. Mak ’06 says...
Such views of Buddhist philosophy as separable from religion are prevalent among Western Buddhist circles and are very much present at Harvard. The Buddhist figure on campus who is most likely to affect students, McHardy, adheres to this view of Buddhism. McHardy’s simple linen garb, joined-palm greeting and the smell of incense that clings to her and anyone who enters her attic apartment set her apart from the t-shirt-and-jeans students who practice Buddhist meditation. Her basic conception of Buddhism is, however, surprisingly close to that of many who have not practiced with this...
While it is all very nice to promote world peace, some argue that with its emphasis on rationality, Buddhism as commonly practiced in America has lost its essence. However, there are also arguments that Buddhism as it was practiced in Asia drowned in the cultural trappings of the region. In these arguments, there is no clear resolution. The place of American Buddhism within the larger tradition is still in flux, and Asian Buddhism is changing with American Buddhism as well. The current situation of Buddhism in the world at large is perhaps best expressed by Gyatso, who says...
Kuenga Wangmo ’04 would, however, disagree strongly with those who think Buddhism can be boiled down to a philosophy. Wangmo is from a place where Buddhism is the official religion—Bhutan, a small country nestled between India and Tibet. For her, the power of Buddhism is more than philosophy. “Philosophy—it’s just reasoning,” Wangmo says while sitting on her bed, over which an image of the Buddha, framed by the traditional white scarf of good luck, is hung. “I don?...