A Mahāyāna Analysis of “American Buddhism,” its Presuppositions, and Complexities

The logic that arrives at the freedom from concepts is one of method that Buddhism offers to reduce suffering. When Buddhism went to China, such intense logic was too much for the culture, too one-sided, and so the Chinese used their existent world view, in conjunction with Buddhist doctrine, to find another way to break free from conceptual framework. The result was a unique form of Buddhism, that remained sufficiently “Buddhist.” In conclusion, in the universal quest for happiness, perhaps the west can similarly use its own world-view to gain insight into its own foundational presuppositions, and their effects. As Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rimpoche points out, “Nārājuna used reasoning [to break apart our conceptions]; modern day scientists are coming to the same conclusion using experiments. Maybe we find the experimental evidence more convincing than Nārājuna’s reasoning. It does not really matter which method one uses if the conclusion is the same.”