Neoliberal Buddhism
I have identified two forms of “problematic” Buddhist organizations and cultures in North America (and not all are problematic). One is the Buddhist cult, which is surprisingly common. It’s not a ‘top-down’ cult that is imposed from above on naive practitioners (although in a few cases, it has been). Rather Buddhist cults are ‘self-imposed’ by practitioners themselves who seek a feeling of comfort and security in a guru and sangha, who want the dharma and the practice to answer all their questions for them and allay all their fears; who prefer only to relate to those within their sangha, only take teachings from their own gurus and no one else, and refuse dialogue with the “outside world.” And so on; the Buddhist cult is actually fairly easy to recognize by the practitioner who is not looking for that kind of experience.
But the second major form of “problematic” Buddhist organization…
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