Why do only WHITE people popularize Eastern Spirituality/Religion/Philosophy but Asians don't?

[MarcosZeitola]

My wife is Filipina and hugely interested in philosophy and (Eastern) spirituality. She no longer attends church as a former Catholic and beliefs instead in reincarnation. Her beliefs are very fluid, and she is very free-spirited and open-minded. But she's not a White person. So it IS possible, Winston.

[Cornfed]

My wife is Filipina and hugely interested in philosophy and (Eastern) spirituality. She no longer attends church as a former Catholic and beliefs instead in reincarnation. Her beliefs are very fluid, and she is very free-spirited and open-minded. But she's not a White person. So it IS possible, Winston.

That's not healthy in a female. It just means she is breaking down.

[MarcosZeitola]

That's not healthy in a female. It just means she is breaking down.

Maybe, some day. Until then, she gives me interesting conversations and intelligent offspring.

[onethousandknives]

Master Sheng Yen is a decent Taiwanese Buddhist, uh, preacher, he has a lot of sermons on Youtube. I actually was first exposed to him from Buddhist tracts at my Asian market. He's unfortunately dead now, though.

I think one difference is actual Buddhist teaching is in some ways very different than Westernized teachings on it.



In this, he's very strictly anti-abortion under any circumstance whatsoever, he's actually more harsh in his views than most Christians, and even says if a woman is raped she should still give birth to the baby and it's just laws of karma and destiny/fate. No Westerner would make money from New Age hippy guru bullshit by saying anything like that. Nor from saying like Master Sheng Yen does, to not dwell on past lives at all and never seek out past life analysis/etc, and concentrate on your current life. Westerners want to use Buddhism mainly as a crutch to support their own morality as they see fit, or in a Tony Robbins self-help/self-improvement way. Once you start talking about literal hell or a very real possibility of reincarnating to a more negative landscape/personhood, abortion creating massive negative karma, how you should not eat meat, etc, no Westerner wants to hear that. So Westerners usually use Buddhism as a shield where they can mend the religion into a "You do you" affair and the gurus seem to want excessive amounts of money.

The Westerners promoting New Age retreats and all that have much more financial incentive. https://web.archive.org/web/20190304041 ... rg/events/ This is a monastery affiliated with Master Sheng Yen, and their old 2019 prices. Generally they average out at $100 a day with accommodation and meals included. That's pretty comparable to what even a normal Catholic church would charge for a similar religious retreat, or maybe less. Meanwhile guys like Eckhart Tolle charge $1000 for 5 days and make you get your own hotel room and meals.

Participants booked through Eckhart Teachings to pay to stay in nearby hotels, ranging from $500 to $1000 for the five nights – a walking distance to the huge conference hall to listen to Eckhart. If participants make their own housing arrangements, then they pay Eckhart Teachings, a “commuter fee of $295 including meals and yoga mat.”

I'm not Buddhist, but I've genuinely learned from Master Sheng Yen's sermons, and I'd just like to compare and contrast him vs Western New Agers.

[Winston]

My wife is Filipina and hugely interested in philosophy and (Eastern) spirituality. She no longer attends church as a former Catholic and beliefs instead in reincarnation. Her beliefs are very fluid, and she is very free-spirited and open-minded. But she's not a White person. So it IS possible, Winston.

Yeah but your wife isn't an author who popularizes eastern spirituality to westerners. Thats what im talking about. Im referring to authors like alan watts, eckhart tolle, jason gregory, and buddhist authors like jack cornfield, stephen levine, ajahn brahm (australian buddhist monk and author), etc. Even richard gere is a popularizer of buddhism and hes white of course. Hes been featured in videos and documentaries about buddhism.

Also when i say asian im talking about chinese and taiwanese primarily. Not filipinos. Btw there are some thai and vietnamese authors of buddhism like thich nhat hanh.

If you go to YouTube and search for videos about buddhism or zen or taoism or hinduism you will see that they are made by white westerners for the most part. Its obvious. Why?

How come asian americans like momopi dont popularize eastern spirituality? Lol. How come asians and asian americans only care about money? Lol

[Winston]

My wife is Filipina and hugely interested in philosophy and (Eastern) spirituality. She no longer attends church as a former Catholic and beliefs instead in reincarnation. Her beliefs are very fluid, and she is very free-spirited and open-minded. But she's not a White person. So it IS possible, Winston.

That's not healthy in a female. It just means she is breaking down.

Why u say that? We all know that Catholicism and Christianity have many problems, contradictions, logic errors, etc and is a fear mongering control system. Smart and wise people usually see through it eventually. It takes courage to defy the religion you grew up with. Its common for those growing up catholic to turn away to something else.

As long as a woman still has moral values and virtues thats what counts, even if she turned toward eastern spirituality or new age. Eastern spirituality has moral codes and values too. Karma is a good teacher of morality too. Not just the church or bible.

Whats worst is when a woman turns into a man hating feminist and atheist and wants to turn everything upside down, including men and women and human nature. They usually hate God and religion too and turn to materialism and atheism and believe that all that matters is that u do whats best for yourself. One of my exes was like that. She had no inner virtue or soul and was just an automaton.

[Winston]

Onethousandknives,

Great find. I've seen that Chinese monk on YouTube too. Hes interesting. But keep in mind he is speaking in Chinese to a Chinese audience (or Taiwanese) with English subtitles. Hes not popularizing Buddhism in the west.

Also monks are a different category. I am talking about layman authors and popularizers.

Yes Chinese Buddhism is different from the Buddhism u hear about in the west. Chinese tend to be pure land Buddhism, which is sort of like Christianity with a savior figure named Amitabha and a mother mary figure named Guan Yin. In pure land Buddhism there is a savior figure like Christ that you depend on to forgive your bad karma and get you into heaven. His name is Amitabha and you have to chant his name by saying "namo amitofu" to get his blessings and get into heaven. Its similar to Christianity but with different names and labels. Like Christianity it has a strict moral code with rules for righteous living. And if u do wrong you go to hell too. So it has some fearmongering in it. My mom is a follower of pure land Buddhism so i know something about it.

The Buddhism you hear about in the west tends to be Zen Buddhism and is very nihilistic. It does not judge you or condemn you. It teaches you to be passive and let go and see everything as an illusion. Of course the elites and government love pacifist religions like that because it keeps people from turning to violent revolution or taking action to change things. So they encourage them.

Btw there are two monks that have a big following on YouTube. And both of them are white. One is Ajahn Brahm the Australian monk who is funny. And another is a young guy with glasses but i forget his name. They both have many videos about Buddhism and show themselves in their monk robes. They are in Thailand though. For some reason Thai buddhists tend to promote themselves whereas Chinese and Taiwanese Buddhists keep to themselves and act very repressed and quiet and withdrawn.

Also white actors like Richard Gere promote Buddhism too. But you never see asian actors like Jackie Chan or Jet Li doing that. Lol.

Have any of you seen that 2 hour PBS documentary on Buddhism narrated by Richard Gere? Its really good and guess what? Most if not all the commentators and professors of Buddhist studies featured in it are white. Big surprise. You can see it on YouTube. There are multiple copies of it there.

Surely you guys see what i mean right?

Even @momopi our human encyclopedia here cannot deny this or play devil's advocate and find evidence to the contrary here. Lol

[onethousandknives]

Onethousandknives,

Great find. I've seen that Chinese monk on YouTube too. Hes interesting. But keep in mind he is speaking in Chinese to a Chinese audience (or Taiwanese) with English subtitles. Hes not popularizing Buddhism in the west.

Also monks are a different category. I am talking about layman authors and popularizers.

Yes Chinese Buddhism is different from the Buddhism u hear about in the west. Chinese tend to be pure land Buddhism, which is sort of like Christianity with a savior figure named Amitabha and a mother mary figure named Guan Yin. In pure land Buddhism there is a savior figure like Christ that you depend on to forgive your bad karma and get you into heaven. His name is Amitabha and you have to chant his name by saying "namo amitofu" to get his blessings and get into heaven. Its similar to Christianity but with different names and labels. Like Christianity it has a strict moral code with rules for righteous living. And if u do wrong you go to hell too. So it has some fearmongering in it. My mom is a follower of pure land Buddhism so i know something about it.

The Buddhism you hear about in the west tends to be Zen Buddhism and is very nihilistic. It does not judge you or condemn you. It teaches you to be passive and let go and see everything as an illusion. Of course the elites and government love pacifist religions like that because it keeps people from turning to violent revolution or taking action to change things. So they encourage them.

Btw there are two monks that have a big following on YouTube. And both of them are white. One is Ajahn Brahm the Australian monk who is funny. And another is a young guy with glasses but i forget his name. They both have many videos about Buddhism and show themselves in their monk robes. They are in Thailand though. For some reason Thai buddhists tend to promote themselves whereas Chinese and Taiwanese Buddhists keep to themselves and act very repressed and quiet and withdrawn.

Also white actors like Richard Gere promote Buddhism too. But you never see asian actors like Jackie Chan or Jet Li doing that. Lol.

Have any of you seen that 2 hour PBS documentary on Buddhism narrated by Richard Gere? Its really good and guess what? Most if not all the commentators and professors of Buddhist studies featured in it are white. Big surprise. You can see it on YouTube. There are multiple copies of it there.

Surely you guys see what i mean right?

Even @momopi our human encyclopedia here cannot deny this or play devil's advocate and find evidence to the contrary here. Lol

I actually found him in the West as at my Asian market people were leaving pamphlets of his sayings and I liked one enough to keep it for years. He has his own Buddhist organization in America, too, that I linked to.

I think in all religions, the people popularizing them heavily by telling people what they want to hear are charlatans. Think Joel Osteen vs some random Orthodox monk. One promises "YOUR BEST LIFE NOW" and one promises life will be hard and you need to do all these ascetic practices.

[Winston]

Another white guy popularizing Buddhism. lol. How come you never see Asian Americans doing this? lol. You may see Asians doing it in their own country but not in America in English. Asian Americans only care about career and money. Why?

[Winston]

Onethousandknives,

Great find. I've seen that Chinese monk on YouTube too. Hes interesting. But keep in mind he is speaking in Chinese to a Chinese audience (or Taiwanese) with English subtitles. Hes not popularizing Buddhism in the west.

Also monks are a different category. I am talking about layman authors and popularizers.

Yes Chinese Buddhism is different from the Buddhism u hear about in the west. Chinese tend to be pure land Buddhism, which is sort of like Christianity with a savior figure named Amitabha and a mother mary figure named Guan Yin. In pure land Buddhism there is a savior figure like Christ that you depend on to forgive your bad karma and get you into heaven. His name is Amitabha and you have to chant his name by saying "namo amitofu" to get his blessings and get into heaven. Its similar to Christianity but with different names and labels. Like Christianity it has a strict moral code with rules for righteous living. And if u do wrong you go to hell too. So it has some fearmongering in it. My mom is a follower of pure land Buddhism so i know something about it.

The Buddhism you hear about in the west tends to be Zen Buddhism and is very nihilistic. It does not judge you or condemn you. It teaches you to be passive and let go and see everything as an illusion. Of course the elites and government love pacifist religions like that because it keeps people from turning to violent revolution or taking action to change things. So they encourage them.

Btw there are two monks that have a big following on YouTube. And both of them are white. One is Ajahn Brahm the Australian monk who is funny. And another is a young guy with glasses but i forget his name. They both have many videos about Buddhism and show themselves in their monk robes. They are in Thailand though. For some reason Thai buddhists tend to promote themselves whereas Chinese and Taiwanese Buddhists keep to themselves and act very repressed and quiet and withdrawn.

Also white actors like Richard Gere promote Buddhism too. But you never see asian actors like Jackie Chan or Jet Li doing that. Lol.

Have any of you seen that 2 hour PBS documentary on Buddhism narrated by Richard Gere? Its really good and guess what? Most if not all the commentators and professors of Buddhist studies featured in it are white. Big surprise. You can see it on YouTube. There are multiple copies of it there.

Surely you guys see what i mean right?

Even @momopi our human encyclopedia here cannot deny this or play devil's advocate and find evidence to the contrary here. Lol

I actually found him in the West as at my Asian market people were leaving pamphlets of his sayings and I liked one enough to keep it for years. He has his own Buddhist organization in America, too, that I linked to.

I think in all religions, the people popularizing them heavily by telling people what they want to hear are charlatans. Think Joel Osteen vs some random Orthodox monk. One promises "YOUR BEST LIFE NOW" and one promises life will be hard and you need to do all these ascetic practices.

I been listening to that Chinese monk too. He has some good advice for Buddhists. But he is a Chinese living in Taiwan. Not an Asian American. He doesn't speak much English it seems. I am talking about Asians living in America, they never popularize spirituality unless they are Indian. Why is that?

[josephty2]

Asian immigrants in America?

Um, think of it this way. Many of them just want to play cards all day. If they're talking about philosophy they will only do it underneath the most impregnable fortress, and that people like you, Winston, and me, josephty2, would not be able to break through because Winston and me, josephty2, just isn't sensitive enough. Let me explain, so if they're (Asian immigrants in America) in the mood to play cards, thats a good thing for you, Winston, they are letting you in their life a little bit.

Asian Americans in America?

Winston, um, Asian Americans judge you on things that Asian immigrants wouldn't (as much). Seeing you have this forum they will think you're stuck in the 1990s internet or something. They judge me too though the processes they use are difficult to figure out.

Thats my answer to this question you asked Winston.

As of white people, Winston, well just say if a white person is letting you in their life to talk about Eastern Spirituality/Philosophy/Religion, even a tiny bit, you are lucky because this is the least racist (basically um, they really like you) interaction any white person would ever allow out of the hundreds of millions of white people in America. In my life, I was lucky and actually think enough to take advantage of my situation. I had two opportunistic. one of them, I went to the least racist high school in this entire country (or at least in my state) and it was diverse too. I only encountered the first racism after I graduated high school. Winston, I read your biography you posted in your website happierabroad dot com, you had similar opportunity in your young 20s, you're not thinking. Your white gf didn't break up with you because she didn't like you, even after her sharing eastern spirituality/religion/philosophy with you (or was it another person I forgot?) its because you are the type of person only the president of the USA would help you and she didn't have enough money on her saving account to tolerate that. The thinking you utilize is quite dog mascot university, which is only good if you're enrolled in a dog mascot university. Um, I can't remember what college you attended , its defnitely not a dog mascot.

So, how's your food today? Did you start thinking yet?

[MrMan]

Onethousandknives,

Great find. I've seen that Chinese monk on YouTube too. Hes interesting. But keep in mind he is speaking in Chinese to a Chinese audience (or Taiwanese) with English subtitles. Hes not popularizing Buddhism in the west.

Also monks are a different category. I am talking about layman authors and popularizers.

Yes Chinese Buddhism is different from the Buddhism u hear about in the west. Chinese tend to be pure land Buddhism, which is sort of like Christianity with a savior figure named Amitabha and a mother mary figure named Guan Yin. In pure land Buddhism there is a savior figure like Christ that you depend on to forgive your bad karma and get you into heaven. His name is Amitabha and you have to chant his name by saying "namo amitofu" to get his blessings and get into heaven. Its similar to Christianity but with different names and labels. Like Christianity it has a strict moral code with rules for righteous living. And if u do wrong you go to hell too. So it has some fearmongering in it. My mom is a follower of pure land Buddhism so i know something about it.

The Buddhism you hear about in the west tends to be Zen Buddhism and is very nihilistic. It does not judge you or condemn you. It teaches you to be passive and let go and see everything as an illusion. Of course the elites and government love pacifist religions like that because it keeps people from turning to violent revolution or taking action to change things. So they encourage them.

Btw there are two monks that have a big following on YouTube. And both of them are white. One is Ajahn Brahm the Australian monk who is funny. And another is a young guy with glasses but i forget his name. They both have many videos about Buddhism and show themselves in their monk robes. They are in Thailand though. For some reason Thai buddhists tend to promote themselves whereas Chinese and Taiwanese Buddhists keep to themselves and act very repressed and quiet and withdrawn.

Also white actors like Richard Gere promote Buddhism too. But you never see asian actors like Jackie Chan or Jet Li doing that. Lol.

Have any of you seen that 2 hour PBS documentary on Buddhism narrated by Richard Gere? Its really good and guess what? Most if not all the commentators and professors of Buddhist studies featured in it are white. Big surprise. You can see it on YouTube. There are multiple copies of it there.

Surely you guys see what i mean right?

Even @momopi our human encyclopedia here cannot deny this or play devil's advocate and find evidence to the contrary here. Lol

I actually found him in the West as at my Asian market people were leaving pamphlets of his sayings and I liked one enough to keep it for years. He has his own Buddhist organization in America, too, that I linked to.

I think in all religions, the people popularizing them heavily by telling people what they want to hear are charlatans. Think Joel Osteen vs some random Orthodox monk. One promises "YOUR BEST LIFE NOW" and one promises life will be hard and you need to do all these ascetic practices.

I been listening to that Chinese monk too. He has some good advice for Buddhists. But he is a Chinese living in Taiwan. Not an Asian American. He doesn't speak much English it seems. I am talking about Asians living in America, they never popularize spirituality unless they are Indian. Why is that?

Maybe it's because Buddhism is kind of boring, and there might be a been-there-done-that sort of attitude. Also, Buddhism doesn't emphasize telling everyone about Buddhism, does it? Someone wouldn't have to be a Buddhist to follow the 8-fold path, and if people really are reincarnated all the time, would being a Buddhist stop that or make it better?

For some of the Hindu gurus, they could potentially use their guru-ing to get a bunch of women to sleep with. Parts of Hinduism spiritualize sexual pleasure. But East Asian Buddhists are also influenced by Confucianism and a moral code and their monks tend to be celibate. The Hindu guru's sex drive could motivate him to recruit lots of white women so he can sleep with the prettier ones out of the group. But I haven't heard of anyone using Buddhism to recruit sex partners.