Buddhist Geeks #166: What Young People Want (Sumi Loundon Kim)

Interesting discussion. The future of any tradition depends on how the next generation receives (or doesn't) the message, in this case the dharma. With the elder generation that brought Buddhism to America starting to age, it will be interesting to see if people like Sumi Loundon Kim, Ethan Nichtern, Danny Fisher, Brad Warner, Noah Levine, and other Gen X/Gen Y Buddhists will be able to fill that role, and how they will present the dharma.

Buddhist Geeks 166: What Young People Want

05. Apr, 2010 by Sumi Loundon Kim

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Episode Description:

“We always talk about the Sangha as part of the triple gem, but I think it is the least developed part of Buddhism in the West.” – Sumi Loundon Kim

We’re joined this week by Sumi Loundon Kim, author of Blue Jean Buddha and The Buddha’s Apprentices, to explore what young people want from spiritual communities. We explore young people’s need for belongingness, their natural spiritual inclination, and the big questions that they are asking.

Sumi, who is in her mid-30’s now, gives several suggestions for how Buddhist communities can engage more effectively with a younger population. She points out that though Buddhist communities tend to be somewhat asocial when compared to other communities, there are many things we can be doing to better reach a new generation of seekers. Many of these suggestions are surprisingly obvious, but few are implemented on a large scale in Buddhist communities.

Episode Links:

• Blue Jean Buddha: Voices of Young Buddhists
• The Buddha’s Apprentices: More Voices of Young Buddhists
• I Married a Monk

Transcript

Tags: Buddhist Geeks, podcast, #166, What Young People Want, Sumi Loundon Kim, Blue Jean Buddha, The Buddha’s Apprentices, Buddhism, culture, youth, next generation, sangha, Gen X, Gen Y, teachers