The Marketplace of Ideas

The Statue of Liberty stands as a proclamation of Western, secular freedom and dignity, welcoming all with the words of Emma Lazarus:

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.”

This principal is what underlies the ideals of the American experiment. American culture is an amalgamation of other cultures—the melting pot—fueled by the freedom of experimentation and the primitive mandate or right to express your true self in an open and creative way. America is an open exchange of ideas, information, and experience—a marketplace of ideas.

I am not referring to the “economic” market place. Rather, by free market I am referring to the cultural space that accommodates experimentation and evolution. The free market of ideas is not guided by fame or profit, but by a practical realization of personal truth. Intellectual speculation is transformed into direct experience, whether confused or sane, through an experimental process guided by the intelligence of trial and error.

Progressive Buddhism

Buddhism as a whole is entering this chaotic, powerful American free market. The Theravadin, Zen, Korean, Tibetan, Vietnamese, and Pure Land traditions are all planting roots here in the West. In addition to the traditional lineages, academia is making a contribution. Intellectuals are evaluating these Eastern traditions from the point of view of medicine, psychology, and sociology, and submitting their opinions. As a result, American Buddhism is emerging as a unique mixture of this wide array of disciplines. It is an American, or progressive Buddhism.

This progression seems to be at somewhat of a crossroads. For the first time in this process, we are beginning to see a significant number of American practitioners offer their experiences back into the marketplace of ideas, and something else is beginning to emerge. This “something else” is distinctly our own. However, this “something else” is producing a great deal of friction. There are those who understand that Buddhism is a timeless and culturally universal vehicle of human realization that isn’t, fundamentally, in need of modification—the mind and heart’s experiences and meditation practices developed around them are timeless. On the other hand, there are others who see that Buddhism is in the midst of a reformation—the evolution of a tradition in search of its Western expression, just as a unique Buddhism has emerged within every country or culture it has come to. This is the American-Buddhist experiment.

All experiments seek to produce an experience. This experience is an evolving product, which is dependent upon an open exchange of ideas, practices, and insights. Progressive Buddhism is not a “brand” of Buddhism. Some people call it “Integral Buddhism,” which seems to place the emphasis on the form. I appreciate the term Progressive Buddhism, as it places emphasis on the process. Through experimentation, Western practitioners develop some familiarity with the teachings and practices offered to them by their Asian brothers and sisters. Then, they turn around and share their experiences. Their contribution fundamentally changes the landscape, as the landscape is fluid. It is nothing more than the flow of information. Over time the atmosphere has changed so much that a distinct example of Buddhist spirituality is revealed. It is still Buddhism, but it is no longer “Asian Buddhism.”

All experiments seek to produce an experience. This experience is an evolving product, which is dependent upon an open exchange of ideas, practices, and insights. Progressive Buddhism is not a “brand” of Buddhism. Some people call it “Integral Buddhism,” which seems to place the emphasis on the form. I appreciate the term Progressive Buddhism, as it places emphasis on the process. Through experimentation, Western practitioners develop some familiarity with the teachings and practices offered to them by their Asian brothers and sisters. Then, they turn around and share their experiences. Their contribution fundamentally changes the landscape, as the landscape is fluid. It is nothing more than the flow of information. Over time the atmosphere has changed so much that a distinct example of Buddhist spirituality is revealed. It is still Buddhism, but it is no longer “Asian Buddhism.”

For a lot of Westerners, Asian Buddhism is an approachable practice, but there are reasons why Asian Buddhists developed the cultural leanings seen in the various traditions developed in the east. It is through culture that the practice is made directly relevant to the audience. The union of culture and practice begets ritual and symbolism, which introduces the practitioner to the primordial Truth that sustains a movement. This is a natural process of assimilation that every religion goes through when it is introduced to a new culture. Padmasambhava utilized the existing Bon tradition when introducing Buddhism to the Tibetan people; Taoism played a huge role in the development of Zen; Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche dug deep into the western psyche, utilizing concepts of chivalry, dignity, and courage—all principles associated with the legends of King Arthur and other medieval myths—in order to communicate his Shambhala lineage.

As we, the American people, study these practices and develop our own experiences, we feel compelled to share our insights, humble as they may be. So, we reintroduce the practices to the marketplace of ideas, but this time with a different cultural slant. This slant enables more people to relate to the practice, which invites even more people to experiment with the process. This is what fuels the evolution of the market.

This evolution is further exacerbated by the technology at our disposal. Westerners are experimenting with these ideas in their formal practice and their daily lives. Then, sharing their insights with the network of people at their disposal, which for the first time in Buddhism’s history, includes the internet. Your average Joe Blow could, theoretically, reach more people with the click of a mouse than Milarepa did in his entire lifetime! (However, Milarepa has continued to inspire despite his absence…good luck Joe Blow!)

The technology of our modern society, coupled with our laissez faire approach, leads to a drastic shift in the presentation of the collective experience in a relatively short period of time. As Western practitioners develop autonomous ideas that are verified through practice they cease to be dependent upon their Asian counterparts for validation. So, as the practitioners become autonomous, the tradition becomes autonomous—within the context and thread of lineage and devotion—as the tradition is nothing more than the expression of the collective experience.

Who can contribute to the marketplace of ideas?

In short, anyone and everyone.

Why doesn’t the market become flooded with bad ideas?

Buddhism is practical. Eastern Buddhism is immensely practical—particularly for the cultures it grew up out of. People are interested in a spirituality that relates to their daily life. In the long term, it is practical results, not fame or profit, that drives the free market of ideas:

“The defining characteristic of the emerging Western Buddhism is a basic pragmatism, rather than an adherence to some philosophical system or sectarian viewpoint. What most characterizes the One Dharma of the West is an allegiance to a very simple question:

What works?

What works to free the mind from suffering? What works to accomplish the heart of compassion? What works to awaken us from the dream states of our ignorance?”

~ Joseph Goldstein

What works?

This is what guides the progressive Buddhist. What are these ideas working towards? A fundamental experience of the human condition. Regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation, or nationality, there is a tendency to experience ourselves in a narrow-minded and unsatisfactory way. In the west, we tend to be trapped between our ears—we experience ourselves as if we were a series of ideas. From the depths of our being emerges a primitive force that seeks fulfillment—an uncensored and unmediated direct experience of our ever-expanding larger Self. The emerging Buddhism will be a path that provides this force with a relevant and practical way to actualize itself. If it does not strike a chord in the heart of the American people, it will soon be discarded. Charlatans may gain fame and profit in the short term, but only those messages that contain depth and weight will endure.

“This institution will be based upon the illimitable freedom of the human mind. For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it” ~ Thomas Jefferson

This allegiance to Truth suggests that Progressive Buddhism will not only be practical, but also non-sectarian. First, practitioners study the dharma in a variety of different contexts. Then they test their ideas in their practice and daily lives. Next, they begin to contribute their amalgamated experience to the market place of ideas. Often times, their points of view draw from non-Buddhist sources, such as Christianity, Judaism, and the sciences. These “non-Buddhist” points of view are successful in the market place of ideas, because they make the content all the more relevant and accessible to their audience. Finally, a new trend emerges in the world of Buddhism.

Within this emergent Buddhism, which seems to be guided by an abstract intelligence (the market), not a tangible institution, who is considered a teacher?

Within this emergent Buddhism, which seems to be guided by an abstract intelligence (the market), not a tangible institution, who is considered a teacher?

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Source: http://www.elephantjournal.com/2011/09/free-market-buddhism-and-the-question-of-authority/