why are eastern buddhists normal people that have lives and even if they don't they're meditating hermits. while western buddhists are vegan liberal proto-weeaboos that have no jobs or normal friends?
it's like they're two completely different religions
>>1119563
Because westerners don't really believe in anything.
They just do all that buddhist shit to feel special.
>>1119563
Maybe ascribing to Eastern practices while living in the West is an act of defiance. It's merely a counter-culture, a lobby against the Western Capitalist Military Industrial Patriarchal Complex.
If that was the reason for the mass adoption of it, the disparity you posit becomes understandable.
Now fuck off with your shitposting and personal blog.
>>1119563
>why are eastern buddhists normal people that have lives and even if they don't they're meditating hermits.
Because they give alms, listen to the monks, participate in temple rituals and activities that are open to lay followers, and await the opportunity to reincarnate as a Buddhist monk or nun in the next life, while being good people and gaining merit in this one.
>while western buddhists are vegan liberal proto-weeaboos that have no jobs or normal friends?
Because they want it all and they want it now. They claim to reject Western philosophy, religions and/or the Western way of life (consumerism, capitalism etc.), while being its most sublime synthesis.
In the east, Buddhism is a cultural force. Everything is buddhism. You are born buddhist, you live and breathe buddhism, and then you die a buddhist. All without even visiting a temple. This is not to say there are no actual Buddhists in the east, there are plenty. The monks are the biggest group. There are good amount of lay practitioners as well. However majority of the people will simply be culturally/superficially Buddhist.
In the west, Buddhism is a enthusiast's pursuit. They actively seek the core of Buddhism, thus they will learn, practice and become Buddhist.
Think Christian who don't go to church, or Christian by birth type of person. Just as there are plenty of people like that in the west, there are plenty of Buddhists like that in the east.
why are catholics/orthodox normal people that have lives and even if they don't they're meditating monks. while protestants are bigoted literalist proto-rednecks that have no education or normal friends?
it's like they're two completely different religions
>>1120827
>it's like they're two completely different religions
According to most protestants, they are.
Protestants be like:
>What's the difference between Christianity and Catholicism?
Also Western Buddhists are obsessed with the scriptures, too.
>>1119563
I can tell you the vast, vast majority of western "buddhists" only identify as such because it's something they see as part of a greater lifestyle, which is being "conscious".
In wanting a healthier (mental and physical) lifestyle, they turn to the east because they believe that's where all that knowledge is hidden. Hence why almost all of them practice yoga, meditation, veganism, and so on.
The thing is, you can probably count the ones who actually sat down to read a Buddhist sutta or Hindu sutra on one hand. Their interest in eastern philosophy only goes as far as it helps their healthy eating and exercising. Once you get into the metaphysical realm, concepts like rebirth, the fetters, the tathagata, etc, they shake it off because it's seen as impractical and unreal. The furthest into abstraction they'll delve is the chakra system, which they have an extremely superficial understanding of and interest in.
>>1120868
I do most of those things and I don't even claim to be a Buddhist.
I think a lot of western "buddhists" just want something to label themselves as.
>>1120964
Exactly what I mean.
But you're honest, you have an interest in eastern philosophy and apply it to your life as far as it helps you. The difference is that you don't pretend to be something you aren't like a great deal of these people.
>>1119563
Perspective
Westerners see buddhism through the lens of their own perceptions of peace and happiness. It's centred on romantic views of emotionally driven love and pacifism. They see the buddha as a jesus figure without the dogma and 'patriarchy' that they hate to much. Tantric buddhism is kind of like this.
Whereas easteners have their own perceptions of peace and happiness. It's a face value, non emotionally driven and sort of 'cold hard truth' view of reality. This is why they emphasize 'emptiness' a lot.
>>1120827
God, the Catholics on this board are rabid. Just because a group claims to be Christian, is Western in origin, and isn't in Union with the Roman church does not mean they are Protestants. Protestant is a term for Lutheran and derived theology, Reformed while similar are really Reformed, Anabaptist and Baptist sects fall together but aren't Reformed.
Welcome to a modern society where freedom of religion allows for people to form any church they want. It's not simply because Luther did it first, it was the inevitable result of social trends
>>1120827
Correct. Christianity and Catholicism/Orthodox are two completely different religions.
Incorrect as to your baseless aspersions against Christians, as you have no means of identifying Christians whatsoever.
>>1119573
>western capitalist military industrial patriarchal complex
W E W
>>1120827
Why are you trying to stir shit in a thread about Buddhism?
>>1121025
I think it's sort of a less, I suppose, serious view of spirituality. The popular belief in reincarnation allows Easterners to see spiritual fulfillment as being something that can be put off an pursued later. Westerners' idea of heaven vs. hell after one lifetime idea, I think, makes most Westerners feel compelled to work very hard to achieve some sort of spiritual accomplishment within this lifetime. I think this is why Westerners seem to put so much more focus on living a spiritual life alongside/in conjunction with a material one, whereas Easterners either focus their lives on one or the other. Do you think that's true?
>>1119563
Most actual practicing western buddhists don't advertise themselves as such and your observations are largely invalid. Like in the East, they're ordinary people who happen to practice in accordance with buddhist doctrine, which demands discretion. Some schools like Soto Zen actively discourage presenting yourself as a buddhist. I interact with a lot of these people and there's nothing fancy or hippie about them.
>>1121100
oh wow the baitposting protestcuck graces us with his presence, in a buddhist thread of all places
>>1121264
Buddhists need Jesus too.
Is it possible for you to make one single solitary post without resorting to ad hominem attacks?
>>1121298
Is it possible for you to make one single solitary post without resorting to baiting?
>>1121358
What is baiting?
>>1120868
Not a buddhist, but I'd rather study something other than spirituality. Whatever benefits meditation confers on people are probably what matter
