Buddhists of America.

Why do westerners take to Buddhism so much? This is something that I have wondered within the last year or so quite a bit. Before taking any religion course, I would have heard the term Buddhism and automatically associated it with monks in the far East Asia. I would have immediately pictured some brief visual image of a few monks gathering quietly in lengthy saffron robes, standing with their hands placed in a "Namaste" greeting sort of way. I initially saw the religion as something very far from me: something foreign, taking place in a land a tremendous distance from little me in The United States. I saw it as something that was cultural, and as a religion having nothing at all to do with The United States. However, I was very wrong about that.

I didn't know at the time about the spread of Buddhism to the West and how there are in fact many Buddhism temples and places of Buddhist study in these countries, and in particular: the U.S, nor was I aware of how there continues to be a massive growth of people practicing Buddhism where I live.

According to one world-renowned religious texts author, historically speaking "Wherever Asian Buddhists traveled, they carried Buddhism into their new surroundings. In the middle of the nineteenth century, Chinese workers migrated to California as the gold rush and railways opened up new opportunities." However, I am less interested in the geographical way in which Buddhism has spread to the West and much more interested in the reasons as to why westerners have come to attach themselves to these ideas so frequently.

I would speculate that the main reason would be the simple fact that they find meditation calming. Westerners find that meditation gives them solace and a little bit of relief from any, or from all of the massive amounts of stress which they sometimes accumulate throughout their work week. I see that factor as the most frequent reason for why a person's interest in Buddhism first transpires.

I have since found out that in addition to a westerner wholly becoming a Buddhist follower, many Americans and westerners belonging to other countries, have come to find that Buddhism attaches very well to any religious faith which they might already have. Even if that includes practicing Buddhist philosophy and the basic principles of Buddhism whilst adhering to a different religious faith concurrently, in accordance with Buddhist philosophy. To them it does not matter whether or not they are completely 100% Buddhist and only that, or not. Most people find the ideas are easy to "add-on" to other religious faiths, and in a nutshell: they feel that it does not contradict with those beliefs nor does it result in any personal confliction with their normal everyday life which they had before becoming involved with these ideas, but rather the Buddhist ideals compliment it very well.

Watch American Buddhism on the Rise on PBS. See more from Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly.

"Buddhism is often embraced by people in the West because they long for peace of mind in the midst of a chaotic materialistic life." - Mary Pat Fisher.

This includes people of many shapes and sizes, and countries. It also includes more recognizable faces, like the actor Richard Gere and Adam Yauch or "MCA" of Beastie Boys fame.

It doesn't matter their color or creed, or whether they are Tibetan or Indian, or a Virginian. In Buddhism, you can be completely Buddhist or only read and follow a few basic teachings and you will still be some form of a practicing Buddhist. Its accessibility means, you can be at any location in the world, belong to any school or no school and it does not really matter as the fundamentals do not change. Buddhism's flexibility allows you to think about it for yourself and gives you the room to maintain your own interpretation of it as you wish. It allows you the freedom to adapt it to your life's plan as you see fit, and that is a very interesting thing.

Sarah

Works Cited.

Fisher, Mary Pat. Living Religions. Upper Saddle River: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2011. Print.