Michael Cameron's Portfolio

We all reach a point in our spiritual practice where we are forced to make a commitment. I’m not talking about a commitment to meditate three times a week or to read all of the books written by the Dalai Lama. I’m talking about a commitment to alleviate the suffering of others though Buddhadharma. It’s easy to study enlightenment or maintain a meditative practice without actually considering yourself a Buddhist. This type of practice can seem like a subscription to a novel set of ideas or pursuit of an interesting circle of friends. Once a practitioner gets beyond these topical aspects and spends some time with experiential practice they will begin to examine their devotion toward Buddhism. This point may come early or later in our practice, but eventually one is inclined to explore their commitment. Perhaps this inclination correlates with a sense of enlightenment or increasing knowledge of Buddhist principals. Either way, we believe in the teachings and feel a need to proceed to the next step.

All practitioners would agree that adopting a Buddhist stance will result in the relaxation of ideas we once thought were permanent. As our practice matures we also observe ourselves becoming more compassionate and caring in our attitudes. These are reasonable suggestions as to why we would consider defining ourselves as Buddhists. By taking a firm position we also solidify our commitment for others and become stronger agents of Dharma. Defining our practice and lifestyle allows us to better impart the value of Buddhism to others. We must be careful in this territory: defining ourselves or putting a label around our actions must be done skillfully. We must not attach ourselves to these ideas.

So why are some Western practitioners hesitant to label themselves as Buddhists? Our personal evolution toward a deeper spiritual center can sometimes be an uphill battle. Here in the West, our modernized society values technological advancement: quantifiable data and scientific method are held in high regard. Qualitative validation is rarely so esteemed, and more often dismissed. In an environment that so rigorously favors hard science many people identify strongly with intellectualism. This position conflicts with the intangible nature of the spiritual. In some situations we even see religion being painted as the polar opposite of science. We needn’t look far to see examples of this: evolution, the origins of our universe and creationism all serve to magnify this divide. The most concerning aspect of this is not the disagreement between the two positions, but people’s tendency to embrace one position and rejecting the other.

When we examine this cultural bias we can see why Westerners may lean toward a more thorough evaluation of the merits of a spiritual practice before embracing it. I’m confident that Buddhism would appeal to many minds in the West but the barrier of misinformation is a difficult hurdle to overcome. In North America few people understand the fundamental principals of Buddhism. For many, it conjures images of a bald fellow sitting on a mountain-top in a trance. Ponlop Rinpoche, in his talk “A Science of Mind” provides us with some direction that may help us define Buddhism with a more Western approach:

“By closely looking at buddhadharma, or Buddhism, we thus find that it is a pure path, pure teachings, a pure science, a science of the mind. In this sense, Buddhist spirituality is not what is ordinarily meant by the term ‘religion’. It is rather closer to a humanistic science which works with the two sides of our samsaric mind, the negative aspect and the positive aspect of our mind. Fundamentally it is the science of working with the very basic nature of our mind.”

- Ponlop Rinpoche

Many westerners have little or no Buddhist influence in their life. Let us consider the numbers. According to the CIA (CIA World Fact Book, 2007 estimate) the breakdown of religion in America is as follows:

• Protestant : 53.1%
• Roman Catholic: 23.9%
• Unaffiliated: 12.1%
• Morman: 1.7%
• Other Christian: 1.6%
• Jewish: 1.7%
• None: 4%
• Other or unspecified: 2.5%
• Buddhist: 0.7%
• Muslim: 0.6%

We see that Buddhism composes less that 1% of the population in America. This directly impacts the evolution and growth of Buddhism in the West. Due to a lack of broad acceptance and availability of resources, many of us are developing our own practice by amalgamating principals that seem to work for us. We do our best based on literature, research and the few others we find that are following the same path. Perhaps some of us are lucky enough to have a monastery near where we live, or a spiritual guide we can call upon. Whether this will have a lasting impression on Buddhism or not, many of us are defining our journey alone with a plethora of viewpoints and cultural baggage.

Combine a cultural bias favoring hard science and an unpopular ‘religion’ and you have the ingredients for self imposed isolation. Walking the unbeaten trail is of no consequence for some, but many require a more encouraging route. Is this the crux of our collective inability to spread Buddhism to the masses? Do we need to take a more visible stance in the pursuit of societal enlightenment? These are difficult questions. We may desire to free all sentient beings from suffering but we realize that the work toward enlightenment must come from within an individual.

A sixteenth century proverb says, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink”. We need to take this to heart as we continue to lead others to the waters of the Dharma. But beware: anything that resonates religion may not find traction. People can see the benefits of the experience, but feel confined by doctrine. We should temper our approach with this in mind. It’s easy to get wound up in the profound aspects of practice; we can spend our lifetime contemplating a particular facet of our consciousness. For the beginner we must focus less on the profound and more on the practical. We need to communicate the benefits of Buddhism that people seek today: cultivating happiness, alleviating anxiety and dealing with stress. We may not be able to promise results, but we can share our own personal experiences. The next time someone asks why you seem so content, consider giving them a answer that speaks to their needs, something that arouses their interest and can have a direct impact on their problems.

We can see that spreading Buddhism in the West will require the momentum of capable individuals willing to break deeply entrenched ideas and societal trends. These individuals are the agents of Dharma, they are warriors of enlightenment, they are people like you. Embrace your practice in a way that is accessible to others. Don’t be afraid to externalize your beliefs and extend a hand. Call yourself a ‘Buddhist’. You may be surprised at the results.