[Buddha-l] U.S. Buddhism

[Patricia Q. Campbell]

>> There are plenty of people applying Buddhist wisdom to their lives or 
>> practicing
>> Buddhist meditation techniques, whether they think of them that way or
>> not. Should these people be counted? Conversely, there are plenty of
>> people (Tom Tweed calls them "nightstand Buddhists") who do think of
>> themselves as Buddhist but who never join a sangha or do much if any
>> practice. Should they be counted? And, to be more strict, should
>> anyone be counted who's not taken the refuges? And really, the only
>> people in the original definition of the sangha were the noble ones,
>> the arhats. Makes me wonder if there are any Buddhists left at all.
>>

I find it interesting that there are many people who have taken the refuges, 
who live their lives according to Buddhist ethics, practices, doctrine, what 
have you--even people who have ordained--who do not identify themselves as 
Buddhists. A lot of the 'western' Buddhists (if we can call them either) 
that I have spoken to just "don't like labels." So, there goes the 
phenomenological approach, too.  Check out, if you can, Angie Danyluk's 
article:  "To Be or Not To Be:  Buddhist Selves in Toronto," 127-141 in 
Contemporary Buddhism, Vol. 4, no 2, 2003.

Patricia.