Most Venerable Bhante Walpola Piyananda's 80th Birthday Celebrating - Collected Essays

many temples. In the early days, those Americans curious and brave
enough to show up in the various Asian temples did not understand the
difference between the Asian culture of the temple – and the teachings
of the Buddha. The two were intertwined and mixed together so that
some American devotees thought they had to somehow “become Asian”
in order to absorb Buddhism and become Buddhists. Many of the early
monks who arrived in the West (some newcomers today, too) were
unable to separate the Buddha’s teachings from their native culture.
These temples were a refuge for the immigrants; a place where their
American born children could learn their parent’s cultural traditions (to
wear shoes or remove shoes, how to address the monks and chanting
in their native tongue for example) alongside the Buddha’s teachings.
Americans became confused when they visited different ethnic temples
and discovered they all had different “rules.”
I first came to America in 1976, and was one of the first to found
a temple on the West Coast in 1978. From the very beginning I made
it a point to reach out to American friends, but many of the temples, for
one reason or another, disregarded our host population, usually using
the language barrier as the reason. Over the years I discovered several
ways to attract Americans to my temple. I am going to share some of
these ways here, which represent proven methods of integrating the
Buddha’s teachings into Western culture:
• The Buddha’s teachings are universal; for all places and all times.
The first thing we have to do to integrate Buddhism into Western
Culture is to make this fact known – loud and clear. We should
explain the Asian cultural symbols and artifacts in a way to make
their meaning available to Western visitors as well as learn about
their culture in order to promote greater understanding.
• Most Westerners first approached Buddhism though their attraction
to meditation. The monks in all temples should be fully-versed and
able to teach this subject; meditation is the cornerstone of Buddhist
development and attainment.
• The monks staying in the West should also teach about the practical
benefits of Buddhism. The Buddha offered countless ways to
practically improve one’s life, and these ways need to be taught to
Western students.
• It is very difficult for a Westerner to become a Buddhist monk or
nun. In my 47 years in America I have only ordained four American
men as monks (it is interesting to note that I have ordained almost 40
women as nuns). Being a Buddhist monastic in America is a drastic
and unfamiliar path for a Westerner to take. Forty-three years ago,
I instituted a three-step pathway for ordaining lay people as fullycertified
Buddhist ministers (Bodhicari), which are comparable to
Protestant or Jodo Shinshu ministers. This system has been very
successful, and we now have many excellent, highly-qualified
male and female lay ministers who can teach Dhamma classes,
conduct weddings and funerals, give meditation instruction, and
serve the Buddhist community in a host of useful ways. The threestep
program is based on progressive levels of Buddhist education,
commitment, teaching experience, and Precepts.
• An important reason this system has been effective, and has
attracted dozens of initiates, is because we early-on recognized that
Westerners are independent by nature, and do not like to depend on
others. Asian Buddhist monks, however, because of our cultures,
are dependent on our ethnic communities for support (e.g. food,
donations, etc.). The lay ministers we have ordained have, for the
most part, maintained full-time careers while they perform their
ministerial duties.
• Another thing for Asian Buddhist monastics to keep in mind is
that it is very difficult for Westerners to practice celibacy. We
do not demand celibacy of our Buddhist ministers, which allows
them to continue their lay lives as householders, the same as other
hard-working ministers in America. I am very happy to say that
our Bodhicari ministers are extremely devoted to the Sasana, and
strive to maintain their personal practice while they share their
knowledge and insights with others.
• Temporary monastic ordination, as it is practiced in Thailand, is
another way to integrate Buddhism into Western culture. It is my
observation that there are many American Buddhists who would
like to experience the monastic life for a period of time (weeks,
months, or years), and then return to their lives as laymen. The Sri
Lankan culture frowns on such a practice, but I personally feel that
it would be very useful.
• Our Western ordained lay ministers are equipped to become
chaplains in universities, hospitals, and prisons. We encourage
36 37