UU Buddhism Profiled in UU World
Filed Under Buddhadharma | Posted on May 23, 2007
UU World, the magazine of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, devotes its cover to Buddhism within Unitarian Universalism and publishes several related articles in its Summer 2007 issue.
The publication of this issue is a strong recognition of the growing importance of Buddhism within modern Unitarian Universalism. James Ford notes in his article:
[M]any UUs have been drawn to Buddhism, studying its sacred writings, practicing its spiritual disciplines, and even taking the Precepts to become Buddhists. There is now a Unitarian Universalist Buddhist Fellowship, which counts more than one hundred groups meeting in UU congregations across the continent.
…
Studies by John Dart and James Casebolt suggest somewhere in the neighborhood of 9 percent of Unitarian Universalists consider themselves Buddhists. And if one counts those who consider Buddhism an influence, the number swells to 25 percent. Certainly Buddhism is one of the two deeply important spiritual currents informing Unitarian Universalism today. Together with feminism, Buddhism challenges and may well reshape Western religious thought in general and Unitarian Universalism in particular (James Ishmael Ford).
The articles are available online for those who do not receive the print version of the magazine.
In Unitarian Universalists on the Eightfold Path: Buddhism puts down roots in American congregations (http://www.uuworld.org/life/articles/23523.shtml), Rick Heller describes visits to several New England UU Buddhist sanghas and conversations with UU Buddhists across the country. The focus is mainly on the ways that Unitarian Universalist and Buddhist principles and practices are being integrated to create what the Reverend James Ishmael Ford (a leading UU Zen Buddhist writer, teacher, and practitioner) calls liberal Buddhism: “Characterized by gender equality and meditation practice for lay people, the emerging liberal Buddhism fits nicely with humanism, but adds a new dimension.”
In What is Unitarian Universalist Buddhism? The history of UU engagement with Buddhism and its growing significance (http://www.uuworld.org/ideas/articles/23667.shtml), James Ford traces the history of UU interest in Buddhism all the way back to 1844, when Unitarian “Elizabeth Palmer Peabody published an anonymous rendition of a chapter from the Sadharmapundarika Sutra in the Transcendentalist journal, the Dial.” The bulk of the article is an historical overview of the impact of Buddhism within UUism. Ford also relates Buddhism to the humanism that has dominated Unitarian Universalism for the last 50 years or so:
Buddhism offers Western humanists much more than confirmation of an authentic non-theistic or atheistic spiritual perspective and call for radical self-reliance. Humanism and Buddhism are approaches to the great religious questions of life and death. They share a deeply held belief in the value of the human condition. Further, many humanists have been intrigued by the Buddhist analysis of consciousness, which speaks to the possibility of joy and peace within the human condition. This is a very important insight. As a tradition, rational humanism is inclined to an existentialist approach. However, it can be morose to dwell on the tragic aspects of the human condition while ultimately extolling a heroic stoicism in the face of absurdity. Buddhism suggests something more.
In Buddhist basics: Central concepts in Buddhism (http://www.uuworld.org/ideas/articles/24087.shtml), Ford lists a few of the primary concepts of Buddhism: The 4 Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, the 3 Marks of Existence, the 5 Lay Precepts, and the 3 main schools of Buddhism.
The publication provides a relatively superficial treatment of Buddhism; and some statements and definitions are perhaps open to debate or in need of clarification for a more complete understanding. You’ll almost certainly learn more about contemporary Unitarian Universalism than about traditional Buddhism, which is understandable given the intended audience. Nevertheless, it’s an interesting description of the growing popularity of Buddhism within UUism; and it’s gratifying to see UU Buddhist practice get some exposure within the mainstream congregation.
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