A Shifting Image of Buddhism in America Essay - 1206 Words

When I visited the Phat Da Buddhist Congregation in San Diego, a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in San Diego, I was taken by surprise that the service was given in Vietnamese. The decorations on the wall, the sacred images displayed at the altar, and the vibrant color of the monk’s robe were still familiar, but what was being said was (very) foreign to me. I quickly became impatient and preoccupied with the question on why I was there in the first place. What would I write about for my final Buddhism assignment if I could not understand what was being said? One thing was clear, the day I visited, they were celebrating Buddha’s birthday with huge display of rituals and ceremony, and a big birthday cake at the end. Although some aspects of the†¦show more content†¦After I came across David Knitter, a former ordained Christian priest and the author of â€Å"Without Buddha I could not be a Christian†, I began to realize that I had taken a western approach to Buddhism and had misconstrued some of Buddhism’s core teachings in my mind according to what I thought it should be. Knitter argued that the meaning behind religious teachings can become distorted upon translation and interpretation (92). This is why he had personal issues with his own religion before he turned to Buddhism to look for answers. He stated that, â€Å"the bond between language and the truth is so tight, when we change the language, the truth can and feel very, very different† (94). He also argued that how we use language to interpret the teachings of religious texts changes over time because we become culturally conditioned (93). David Loy’s book â€Å"The Great Awakening† made a similar argument while trying to present the challenges that Buddhism and other religions face in our world today, however he argued that religions themselves has been purposefully domesticated to fit in the ever-changing worldviews of different generations and geographies (3). He explained that as a result, the ‘sacred canopies’ known as religion are threatened â€Å"by the fundamental insight† that every religion and its accompanying texts are the creation of human beings living in a modern time, rather than the time the Buddha lived (2). Loy ultimately questioned theShow MoreRelatedHealth Care Provider And Faith Diversity1563 Words   |  7 Pagesour patients. As religious and spiritual beliefs are never permanent and are constantly changing and/or influenced by government, thinkers, historical events, technology and the shifting values of cultures the study of religions/spirituality should be co ntinuous for all health care providers. 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