American Buddhists

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life recently conducted a “religious landscape survey”. Here are some interested facts about American Buddhists:

Percentage of Americans who identified themselves as Buddhists: 0.7%

The U.S. has a population of slightly more than 300 million. That translates into about 2.1 million Buddhists.

Racial composition of American Buddhists: 53% White (non-Hispanic), 32% Asian, 6% Hispanic, 4% Black, 5% other/mixed.

It is tempting to think that most American Buddhists are Asian immigrants or their children. This survey result suggests otherwise.

Percentage of American Buddhists with tertiary education: 22% with college degrees, 26% with post-graduate degrees.

Only Hindus and Jews have higher percentage of postgraduates. National average is 11%

Marital status of American Buddhists: 45% married, 12% divorced or separated, 31% never married, 8% living with partners, 4% widowed.

Unlike many other religions, marriage is neither sacred nor a duty in Buddhism. No wonder only 45% of Buddhists are married. (National average is 54%.)

Commercialization of Shaolin Temple

On Aug 23, 2007, I wrote a post, Shaolin Monks, in which I asked a question: Should Shaolin monks practice deadly martial arts.

On Jan 29, 2008, I came across an article on www.buddhistchannel.tv which scrutinizes commercialization of Shaolin Temple. Excerpt:

Many believe the Shaolin have abandoned their monastic traditions of leaving the world and severing worldly desires and pursuits, and have become a tourist recreation center obsessed with money and reputation.

Full article is here.

Cross – religious symbol or fashion statement?

We all know that Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist country. More than 90% of Thais are Buddhists. About 3-4% of the population are Muslims. Less than 1% of them are Christians.

Yet in my recent trip to Thailand, I saw many young Bangkokians wear crosses, including one who prayed at the famous Erawan Shrine.

Is cross a religious symbol or a fashion statement? Do Thais understand the religious significance of it? Do missionaries purposely mislead Thais into believing that Christianity is trendy???

You never own your children

I came across the tagline of Swiss watch Patek Philippe, which reads, “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.”

But I am thinking of something else:

You never really own your children. You merely look after them until they can be independent.

There have been many tragedies whereby depressed women killed their children before committing suicide. They probably thought that they owned their children, and therefore have the right to ‘destroy’ them. What surprise me is that, these tragedies, also known as filicide-suicide, happen not just in Asia but in Western countries as well. (Read, for example, here and here.)

The fool worries, thinking, “I have sons, I have wealth.” Indeed, when he himself is not his own, whence are sons, whence is wealth?

- Dhammapada verse 62

Fear

I was overwhelmed with anxiety and depression when I heard the dreaded "C" word – my mom was diagnosed with colon cancer.

I realized that, even after years of meditation, I still couldn’t cope with fear, the fear of losing my loved ones.

It also shows that the practice of meditation alone is insufficient. We still need to have Right Understanding, the understanding of anicca (impermanence) and dukkha (unsatisfactory).

Fortunately, my mom was diagnosed at the early stage of cancer, and she is recovering after undergoing a surgery to remove the tumor.

Some Questions on Metta Meditation

Metta Meditation, as many of us already know, is a practice commonly used to develop loving-kindness and compassion.

In practicing Metta, we first direct loving-kindness to ourselves; as we are at peace with ourselves, we proceed to extend the goodwill to others – not just people, but all living beings.

Rev Sujiva of Malaysia suggested that we develop metta in the following stages, by directing loving-kindness to these people:

1. oneself
2. lovable person (e.g. parents, teachers)
3. intimate person (e.g. family members)
4. neutral person
5. repulsive person
6. inimical person

(Reference: Sujiva, Divine Abodes – Meditation on Loving Kindness and Other Sublime States)

Traditionally, we are told that lovable person cannot someone of opposite sex. This is to avoid turning goodwill into lust. While we can, and are supposed to, direct our goodwill to all people in the subsequent stages, we should never do so to a person of opposite sex in Stage 2.

But I always have one doubt: can’t a man select his mother to be that lovable person? Or, can’t a woman direct her loving-kindness to her father at Stage 2?

How about gay men and lesbians who practice Metta Meditation? Should they actually direct loving-kindness to a person of opposite sex???

Wat Chetawan

Wat Chetawan is a Thai temple located at Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Here are some photos taken there...