Neo-Buddhism: How Thailand's Largest Religion Reacts to Change [S6.E66]

Greg interviews our old friend Phra Phandit, resident podcast
expert on all things Buddhism and religion. This time the topic
is 'Neo-Buddhism' or the way Buddhism has changed and adapted
over time, in particular the way it has been appropriated in the
modern era by Western culture and pop culture in general. Greg
sets the stage with a quote about 'modern' Buddhism that has
eliminated supernatural beliefs, ritual, and the monkhood, and
instead focused on interior exploration and happiness in this
life. Phra Pandit argues that there are certainly a number of
people today who practice mindfulness meditation and call it
Buddhism, but that there really isn't a serious movement of
people staking a claim to modern Buddhism. 


What's really happening, according to Phra Pandit, is that many
people are choosing the parts of Buddhism they like (namely
meditation) and combining it with other aspects of psychology,
yoga, or environmentalism. Greg asks when these changes render
Buddhism not even a religion at all, and Phra Pandit has a very
direct answer. True religions attempt to provide ultimate answers
to the meaning and purpose of life. Once you strip away this
priority of dealing with the 'ultimate,' you are left with
something that can only be called a 'lifestyle,' not a true
religion.


Greg and Phra Pandit continue their discussion of other modern
variants of Buddhism and the extent to which they capture the
true nature of the religion. Phra Pandit, of course, is old
school. :)


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