Buddhism in Australia Traditions in Change

5

Challenges

of

teaching

Buddhism in

contemporarysociety

LamaChoedak

Rinpoche

The

intention

ofthis

chapter

isto

identify

what

challenges

Buddhist

teachings

and HS

practices

facein

Australiaandinthewestern

worldmore

broadly.

As

a

Tibetan

Buddhist

living

in the

west, I havebeen interested in

making

the

teachings

accessible

tothewider

community.

Unlikesomeof

mycolleagues

inthe

Vietnameseand

Thai

imdilions,

my

audienceis

largely

made

up

of

people

from

Judaeo-Chi‘istian

backgrounds.

My

experience

in

teaching

westernersand

my

relationship

with

otherAsian

Buddhist

teachershas

given

mea

specialinsight

intu

the

challenges

ol’hn'nging

Buddhism

tothewest.

People

who

cometo

Buddhism

in

Australiatendto

beeducatedintellectuals

and

either

thosewho

haveled

theirown

religions

orfoundnonethatsuitedtheir

predisposition:l'hcy

examinethe

Buddhist

teachings.

philosophy

and

practices

and

accept

it

With

reasonedfaith.

They

are

attractedtoBuddhismforthe

unique

and

refreshing

outlookit

offerson

lifeand

the

way

it

promotes

non—violence

peace

and

compassion,

People

havealso

become

Buddhistafter

learning

howit)

meditate,

Meditation

otters

practicaltoolsio

relieve

sutfering

and

helppeuple

‘0

leada

loving,

tolerantand

compassionate

lifestyle.

WhileBuddhism

enjoys

high

approval

filings

inthe

west.

many

westerners

findit

hardtounderstandsome

wi‘iiiedhhltiieyfililfefs

and

traditional

practices,dueto

thecultureand

environment

in

A

l3y

:inérlaljt

there

isthe

rigidity

and

cultural

conservatismof

mosttraditional

sum it

ists.who

fear

losing

anctent

practices

if

they

are

adapted.changed

or

avzzéranslated

to

suita

different

cultural

context.

Although

they

have

faith

:udghimaizya.

they

do

not

necessarily

havea

sound

understanding

ofactual

uddhism [t“1935.

Some are

also

apprehensive

about

westerners

piacticiug

I}.
t

.

important

to

understand

thesetwo

opposing

cultural

persptiCllVcs

a~

avatar

to

he

creating

challenges.Some

Buddhist

centresin

Australiabecome

split

due

to

cultural

constraints

and

attachments

“(Biildldhgniigvgts

primarily

a

spiritual

tradition

suitedtothosewho

liveamonastic

e. e u

a

himself

leda

monasticlife

and

influencedh‘ 1 RahIn

tobecomea
monk.
Most

Buddhist

countriesha

'‘

lson

yso'n'

u i

on:son
‘0
becomea
monk.
Monast’

_

..

vea

tradition

ofdedlcating-at

least

thereare
many
good

was

f

toism

is

highly

respected

among

Buddhists

and

andtheidea
that
onecan
cults

or

this.

However,

the

importance

ofrenunciatlo"

on

y

attain

liberation

by

becoming

amonk

ornun

isless

Challenges

(If/caching

Buddhism 163

appealing

tomost

Judaeo-ChristianAustralians

Many

who

cometoBuddhismin

Australiahaveturnedtheir

backsonJudaeo-Christian

religions

duetothe

grelit

damage

caused

by

monasticsto

manyyoung

people‘s

lives.

Therefore.

someare

alsocuriousand

suspicious

ofmonastics.

They

wanttoknowwhatthemonksor

nunsdoif

they

arenot

activelycontributing

tothe

society

andtheirown

upkeep.

[ntheAsian

community,

there

are

hardlyanyproblemssupporting

monks

and

nuns.But

among

Australiansthereisaresistanceto

titling

this.

Recently.

ordained

monksandnunsinAustralia

may

also

expect

tobe

fed,

taught

andlookedafter

by

theteacher.orthe

organization,

inthesame

way

thatthisisolfcredinsome

Buddhist

monasteries

inAsia.MostBuddhist

organizations

inAustraliaare

very

smallandhave

very

little

money

evento

pay

rent,

let

alone

support

monksand

nuns.Evenif

they

can,

theyprefer

to

support

AsianmonksandnotAustralians.

There

appears

tohea

preoccupation

among

traditionalBuddhists

with

past

and

futurelives.

Theymay

renouncethislifetoattain

abetterrebirth.

However,

the

average

AustralianBuddhistwillnotrenounce

family

andchildren

fromthislife

to

gain

a

higher

rebirth.Thiswould

beseenasa

rejection

oflifeand

responsi-

hility.

Furthermore.

someBuddhist

familiesin

Tibetan Buddhismare

willing

to

do

anything

to

get

theirson

recognized

asanincarnatelama.

Whether

they

are

doing

thiswith

acceptable

religious

zealoranintent

to

gainworldlyadvantages

isa

challenging

question,

Due

tothebelief

inthe

theory

ofrebirth.

if

someone

isa

gified

child,

theymight

say

‘hemust

beanincarnation

ofa

great

being'.

This

suggests

that thechild

hastobe

bornwith

thesame

selfj

perhaps

Wllhan

attachmenttohis

past

life'sstatus

andabilities

oratleastsufficient

attachment

to

reclaim

his

prayer

beads.Australians

find

itdifiicultto

accept

the

theory

ofrebirth.

asitcontradictsthe

teaching

on

impermanencc

and

noself.when

one

carefully

thinksabout the

concept

ofrebirth

inrelationto

the

concept

of‘no

selfiveven

the

Use

ofthe

word,

‘rebirth‘

seems

inappropriate.

TheTibetan

phrase

for

rebirth.

Skye

[’11

sngaphyi,

means

earlierand

laterlives.

Itdoesnot

say_that

same

person

is

born

tWiceor

again.

Even

people

who

accept

the

theory

ofrebirth

usually

workforthis

lifein

practice.

Many

Australians

whoareattracted

to

Buddhism

are

inspiredby

thewisdom

and

practical

relevance

oftheteachings,

which

help

one

tolive

thislife

Wlll‘l

xkiit‘ulnessandwisdom,

The teachings highlight

the

difference

ofintelligence

Etintingpractitioners

basedon

whether

oneis

seeking

happiness

in

this

life-a

high

Yebirthinthenextlife,

orliberation

fromsamsara.

Most

Australian

But-limitsa?

happy

to

belong

tothelesserintelligence

group.

who

Ipl'lma‘nly

Sign;

32;;

inthislife.Itisanhoneststartingpoint,

because

tgeiyzéssinto

Epr‘hc

"notional

'

4

‘ '

'

‘

m

assitin

an

or""5 hfe

by

increasing

the"

c0

13

actice

dharrna

and

seekbenefit

BuClt‘lliist

teachings

look

down

on

those

who

pr

. H

,

..

in

thislifetime Itissaid

that

‘ifone

isattached

tothislite,

one

isnot

a

spiritual

I

or

freedom

fromsamsarzt

isthe

r

• 
  

'

[1’

herrebirth

.

.

(“an“)person.

Seeking

either

a

‘liiginal

Buddhistteachings.

But

Without

PUIUHE

rtiain u useot‘thc

ractices

oftradit

.

_ _

_

ll'tis

Hie]:

good

use?what

h' her

rebirth

is

desuable']

Human

rebirth

Ifhsilietlfizfe‘

the

most

precious

form

of Why

would

one

go

about

getting7

arr:

once

(of

”the

same,

ifthisvery

lifeis

not

allowed

to

bemade

worthwhile.

e

co

p