To Be Continued: An Editorial Introduction to The Future of Buddhism

By Gary Gach

In cherished sacred texts, it is recorded that, when asked, "What time is it?" sage American baseball star Yogi Berra would reply, "You mean, like, now ?"

These days, the "power of now" is a popular frame of reference. As comic Mel Brooks urges, "Now thyself!" Buddhism certainly doesn't claim any exclusive lock on this -- but its teachings are present-tense, real-time, radically so. We might thus ask where does the future fit in, in Buddhism? (It's quite nice of course to even consider having a future, a brand-new 24 hours, every morning.)

Looking to other creeds, asking about the future of Judaism, for instance, wouldn't be a stretch as it's grounded in prophetic, messianic traditions. But Buddhism? Well, it's a misconception to treat Buddhism (and the East in general) as content to abide in a generalized flow . Water flows somewhere . One key lesson Eastern eyes can teach us is how to look at flow and its continuous cycle; waterfall becoming broader river merging with vast ocean . . . one big circle . . . a continuum. Passing phenomena and eternal truth are braided like a pretzel.

Consider the diverse entries on the Future of Buddhism at Patheos as waves offering themselves on our shore, at our feet, wherever we might stand (or sit) . . . not isolated, but to be taken as tokens and traces of a larger body, of which they, and we, are a part.

See for yourself. The path of the Buddha invites the first-person, personal experience. It doesn't rely on a divine edict, or angelic intercessors. "What it is, is, up to us," as internet guru Howard Rheingold says.

Here are some of my notes, as editor of this coming together of vision and voices.

Having studied Buddhism for fifty years and glancing back a moment, I can recall there being more buddhas sitting behind glass cases in museums than in living community. So I'm pleased how the Path is of growing, active value in the West. I'm also aware this has been occurring within larger contexts. You'll find Maia Duerr's research providing a relevant and very vital context for this movement of contemplative practice in the U.S. As another contributor, James William Coleman , underscores, "Western Buddhists stand a reasonable chance of leading a major ecumenical movement to return direct mystical experience beyond the confines of doctrine and ideology back to the center of religious life."

Speaking from within the mystic, Stephen Levine begins his meditation evoking the dynamic between religion (a bedrock that, by definition, hardly changes) and culture (fleet-footed). The two, of course, need to be in balance. Case in point: the oldest tradition of Buddhism in America -- also the largest, in the U.S. and in the world. As one of its adherents, George Tanabe , warns, unless its timeless traditions adapt to the times, its future might be a funeral. But, hopefully, his seeming heresy can help prevent a premature post-mortem.

At whatever shore the boat of the Dharma has docked, the teachings mingle with the local culture. Without such roots, how can seeds flourish? So naturally many of these articles refer to the Dharma as encountered in specific sectors: psychology, pop culture, prisons, aging, and so on. Of such applications, none may be more relevant to the future than . . . kids. Our children, after all, are our future. And their renewal can teach us, inspiring our own encounters with the wonders of the present moment. Susan Kaiser Greenland brings this home to us in a distillation of her lifelong practice with kids.

Ortega y Gasset has written that generations are the lever of change. Thinking of kids, I'm struck too by how much change the current younger generation will see in their lifetimes. My dad grew up in a world before electric light, and in retirement enjoyed exchanging emails with his far-flung family. I can remember when the medium in which you're probably reading these words was called "the Information Superhighway" (like my dad remembers the car as a horseless carriage); for kids today, this is all like wallpaper; a given. Indeed, where it took centuries for Europe to know of Dante, via the Net I was able to send out a call for entries and interact with respondents, from near and far, in just two months.

Since the internet is obviously a game-changer, in and of itself, it's worth noting how the Net is intrinsically Buddhist -- in its interconnectedness, and unique, many-to-many ability to facilitate community ( sangha ). I continue to ponder this synergy of Buddhism and the internet. For instance, as the Net seemingly erases geographic borders, different regional traditions of Buddhism are now able to learn of each other. Joseph Goldstein has termed this new path One Dharma. For some, this can mean an opportunity to explore and find a tradition to which to fully commit; for others, an abundance of practices to mix and match.

Ecumenism crops up frequently in these articles. In the light of the Net, I find it telling in the entry from Silicon Valley, "Hahayana ," by Chade-Meng Tan . That is, I wonder whether his integration of teachings from three major, differing groupings of Buddhist traditions might stem from not only the globalization of the Net, but also social media's relaxing of single-focus dominance in exchange for a harmonic diversity of voices. In any event, as Philip Ryan makes clear, while Buddhist teachings continue to be face-to-face (f2f), they're also taking place now with teacher and student in separate environments (" distributed education "). But we can no more know all the ramifications of this paradigm shift than a fish can know water.

Science is another big litmus of paradigm shift. (T.S. Kuhn inscribed the phrase there.) Here too Buddhism is part of the equation, be it quantum or biological. As Buddhists incorporate findings of psychology and neuroscience in their practice, Newtonian science is discovering a different empiricism of Buddhism, such as a moving away from trying to tabulate and label things and toward the study of interrelationships amongst things -- what Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh calls interbeing .

Whoever opens to contemplative practice often has a marvelous discovery in store. Mind can quiet down, on its own -- and how that opens onto a more genuine way of living. In our hyperactive culture we can easily forget how this capacity is innate, available to everyone, our birthright. Indeed, here's a key radical message of the Buddha. Under the sheltering tree at which Siddhartha merited the title of Buddha (awakened), as he truly awoke, he discovered the seeds of awakening are present in all beings. (Even a stumblebum like me.)

So, to return to the larger contemplative practice movement, millions today are learning Buddhist practice without reference to any religious tradition. We hear, instead, "relaxation response" . . . "emotional intelligence" . . . "mindfulness." A topic for future study is how far can the Dharma be adapted and still be called Buddhist. And, as psychology and Buddhism ally, to mutually ameliorate, reduce, and transform needless suffering -- a monastic contributor, Venerable Jaguang Sunim , here cautions however that Buddhism is not therapy (nor "self-help," as it eliminates selfhood entirely to realize non-self).

Three more items. One, it's important to think we have a future at all. For a future to be possible, as Shifu Sheng Yen and Professor Christopher Queen show us, is to engage and untangle the knot of inner and outer freedom -- personal and societal -- as one. The future is not an individual matter.

Two, as Stephen Levine reminds us, it's ultimately salutary to realize that such words here as culture and ideology, tradition and innovation, globalization and gender, and even Buddhism are provisional frames, concepts. Find their meaning in life experience, not abstract theory; the map is not the territory.

And, three, amplifying Natascha Bruckner's mystic account of her experience of oneness with others: to see Buddha in our century may be as community ( sangha ) in our coming together in his name; not only eye-to-eye but also as in this bevy of Buddhists, right at your fingertips.

Please enjoy. In these texts gleams the ore of a golden chain. Besides contributors I've referenced, there are many other fine reflections for your consideration, without any of which this would not cohere. These were but some initial thoughts, as I turn this quick, eclectic collection over to Patheos, and to you, for whom it's been, indeed, an honor to serve. Please see for yourself . Let us know what you think.

May all beings be well.