PHILOSOPHICAL AND CULTURAL TRENDS OF BUDDHISM IN THE WEST: THERAVĀDA, MAHĀYĀNA, VAJRAYĀNA
Abstract
The article examines the cultural and philosophical trends of the main branches of Buddhism that spread in the 20th century in the West: Theravāda (Vipassana Movement), Mahāyāna (Zen) and Vajrayāna (Tibetan Schools). The influence of external (colonial policy of Western countries) and internal (request for modernization) factors in the environment of traditional schools, caused a need for the formation of a new paradigm in the teachings of the Buddha. Buddhist modernism is at the same time an attempt to protect and preserve the heritage, and also to reach a wider world audience with the most powerful ideas. I analyzed in the article some examples how modern trends develop throughout the 20th and at the beginning of the 21st centuries in the context of the dialogue between the West and Buddhism. The formation of a new agency and subjectivity of Buddhists depends to a large extent on the ability to transform, interpret and propose one's own vision of the future of man, society, and the world in general. There are good signs that Buddhist trends are actually very powerful and influential. The trends contain certain ideas and tendencies to which I pay considerable attention in the research: psychologization of teaching, emphasis on meditative practices, multi-disciplinary dialogue with science, urbanization, emancipation, social, environmental, legal activism, ecumenism, digitalization, etc.
References
2. Braun, E. (2016). The Birth of Insight: Meditation, Modern Buddhism, and the Burmese Monk Ledi Sayadaw. University of Chicago Press.
3. Dorjee D. (2016). Defining Contemplative Science: The Metacognitive Self-Regulatory Capacity of the Mind, Context of Meditation Practice and Modes of Existential Awareness. Frontiers in psychology, 7, 1788. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01788
4. Fowler, J. (2021). Buddhism and the Coronavirus: The Buddha’s Teaching on Suffering. Liverpool University Press.
5. Gethin, R. (1998). The Foundations of Buddhism (1st edition). Oxford University Press.
6. Gleig, A. (2019). American Dharma: Buddhism Beyond Modernity. Yale University Press.
7. Gonzalez, W. J. (Ed.). (2022). Current Trends in Philosophy of Science: A Prospective for the Near Future (Vol. 462). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-01315-7
8. Kabat-Zinn, J. (2011). Some Reflections on the Origins of MBSR, Skillful Means, and the Trouble with Maps. Contemporary Buddhism, 12, 281–306. https://doi.org/10.1080/14639947.2011.564844
9. Kashdan, T. B., & Ciarrochi, J. (Eds.). (2013). Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Positive Psychology: The Seven Foundations of Well-Being (1st edition). Context Press.
10. Komjathy, L. (2017). Introducing Contemplative Studies (1st edition). Wiley-Blackwell.
11. Laliberte, A. (2018). Geopolitics of Buddhism. Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 25, 395–427.
12. McMahan, D. L. (2008). The Making of Buddhist Modernism (1st edition). Oxford University Press.
13. Oizerman, T. I. (2018). The Main Trends in Philosophy: A Theoretical Analysis of the History of Philosophy (H. C. Creighton, Trans.; 2nd edition). Progress Publishers.
14. Pashkevych, M. (2023). The trends of the cultural studies development in the modern conditions: The case of Ukraine. Multidisciplinary Science Journal, 5, 2023ss0516-2023ss0516. https://doi.org/10.31893/multiscience.2023ss0516
15. Roose, H. (2015). Trends in Cultural Participation. In International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (pp. 447–452). https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.10452-0
16. Safran, J. D. (Ed.). (2003). Psychoanalysis and Buddhism: An Unfolding Dialogue. Wisdom Publications.
17. Tirch, D., et al (2016). Buddhist Psychology and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: A Clinician’s Guide (Reprint edition). The Guilford Press.
Abstract views: 60 PDF Downloads: 45