tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post726527100881271528..comments2023-09-21T09:49:28.326-07:00Comments on Fierce Dandelions: Maha Council - Meet Some Asian Buddhist StatisticsNathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13920234350446745482noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-67722187923223909992011-06-14T14:40:04.442-07:002011-06-14T14:40:04.442-07:00"A buddhist would recognise the USEFULNESS of..."A buddhist would recognise the USEFULNESS of someone loosing their home, especially due to the forces of nature, and NOT DO ANYTHING to change that." <br /><br />Hmm, perhaps, or perhaps not. Our practice, as I understand it, is to learn to see things clearly, and respond accordingly. You're view is just as one-sided as the view that you accuse Americans of holding. <br /><br />I Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920234350446745482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-84550960961023013912011-06-14T14:06:17.172-07:002011-06-14T14:06:17.172-07:00I find it very interesting to see in this article,...I find it very interesting to see in this article, that someone speaks of buddhism, but purely from a typical american standpoint, or point of view.<br />Buddhism is NOT supposed to do those things, like rebuild people's houses lost to floods or quakes or whatever. It was supposed to teach you LIVE ALONE and still be ONE with everything, and organizing, meeting with other buddhist with the Bloggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05972454604621374363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-81047998781905611652011-06-11T17:13:25.113-07:002011-06-11T17:13:25.113-07:00Nathan, I always appreciate your posts.
My experie...Nathan, I always appreciate your posts.<br />My experience and the checking in I've done with other sanghas suggests that the skew of incoming members varies greatly sangha to sangha, depending on the local demographic and what energy is available for outreach.<br /><br />Just came back from the Maha Council myself, where Bhikkhu Bodhi was discussing Buddhist Global Relief<br />(http://Ji Hyanghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09836334688328111181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-79008901966381064942011-06-11T09:37:09.367-07:002011-06-11T09:37:09.367-07:00David, the stats meaningess provided concerning Tr...David, the stats meaningess provided concerning Triratna represent what I have seen in Zen. More people seem to appear on the scene in their 40s and 50s, which isn't to say that younger folks aren't coming, but the numbers are smaller for the most part. Plenty of Zen teachers around the country have commented on this phenomena; Norman Fischer immediately comes to mind as one who has Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920234350446745482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-8291175316945770852011-06-10T19:16:17.837-07:002011-06-10T19:16:17.837-07:00The Buddhist Churches of America collect and donat...The Buddhist Churches of America collect and donate significant amounts of money to help with all manner of disasters and issues as they arise in the U.S. That's been true for generations, going back to before WWII, and continues (they do overseas work too: they just donated $1.1 million to the Japan tsunami relief work). Tzu Chi USA also does significant work in the U.S. But you're Jeffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-57354877562434577652011-06-10T18:07:51.588-07:002011-06-10T18:07:51.588-07:00@ Nathan, Thank you very much for the mention! I a...@ Nathan, Thank you very much for the mention! I agree with what you say here.<br /><br />@ David, Here are some statistics:<br /><br />http://fwbo-news.blogspot.com/2009/12/some-statistics-on-western-buddhist.html<br /><br />These are from the Triratna Order (formerly FWBO) is one of the three large Buddhist groups in Britain (with SGI and NKT). They show that new members are getting about a Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-741227658356358863.post-25997124222028544092011-06-10T17:21:47.130-07:002011-06-10T17:21:47.130-07:00Nathan, I not sure that younger people in North Am...Nathan, I not sure that younger people in North America and Europe are not coming into Buddhism at the same level as their older counterparts. It would be interesting to see some statistics. I doubt any exist, though. I’ve been around awhile now and it seems to me that folks are coming to Buddhism at about the same levels they always have, and that would be fairly small numbers. The exception Davidhttp://theendlessfurther.comnoreply@blogger.com