Buddhist Geeks #180: The Invisible Forces that Shape Western Buddhism (Hokai Sobol)

Hokai Sobol returns to Buddhist Geeks for another interesting discussion, this time a deep look at how Buddhism adapts to or is shaped by Western Culture as it becomes a more practiced tradition.

BG 180: The Invisible Forces that Shape Western Buddhism

19. Jul, 2010 by Hokai Sobol

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Episode Description:

In the first part of a multi-part discussion with Buddhist teacher and scholar Hokai Sobol, we explore the invisible, and rarely discussed, forces that shape Western Buddhism. In particular what we call “culture” shapes our institutions and communities in ways that we rarely see with clarity.

Hokai spends a good bit of this initial discussion exploring the traditional story that has been handed down to us. This story includes the various cultural assumptions surrounding the Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana Buddhist traditions, in the different countries and time periods in which they existed. These norms include the what it means to have a “healthy attitude” (or “right attitude” as it’s often formulated), what the proper teacher-student relationship is, and what hierarchy looks like in these cultures.

This is part 1 of a multi-part series.

Episode Links:

• Hokai Sobol : Practitioner, Scholar, Pathfinder, Buddhist Geek

Transcript

Tags: Buddhist Geeks, 180, The Invisible Forces that Shape Western Buddhism, Hokai Sobol, Buddhism, culture, community, Western Buddhism, adaptation, Theravada, Mahayana, Zen, Vajrayana