Summary: Jan Willis, "Buddhism and Race"

Judson M.R. Redpath

It has become apparent that whites have disproportionately consumed Western Buddhism, especially American Buddhism. Not to pigeon hole anyone, or stereotype them according to appearance, within this class, but I look around and find a majority of white students. For me, I am no exception. This, I believe, is what the author, Jan Willis, is getting at in the beginning of her article.

Furthermore, Willis encounters the racist institution that has encapsulated Buddhism, not in the essence of Buddhism, but within the community of American Buddhism. She states, "given the history of societally marginalized people in this country, whenever we find ourselves in spaces where we are clearly in the minority, we have a natural tendency to be fearful, guarded, and mistrusting" (82). Another instance of Willis's encounter with racism in Buddhism was when she encountered a white Buddhist at a Buddhist gathering, in which the white member exclaims, "I was so glad to look around and see you here!" (82). Being an Ethnic Studies major, I have found that there is a tendency among whites to align themselves with racialized minorities to help displace their guilt of oppression. Don't get me wrong, I have definitely been guilty of such actions.

So on, Willis examines this marginality within American Buddhism, in which the access to such institutions has been inaccessible to racialized minorities. She explains this concept through the Korean Zen Master Samu Sunim's understanding that most practitioners are college white liberal intellectuals. He further states that "we [Zen Buddhism] also have this attitude: if you cannot sit properly on the mat and cushion, then you cannot practice Zen meditation. That's not very inclusive" (85). Further on, she feels that this ideology of Buddhism being commodified will further the inaccessibility to its teachings.

However, Willis goes on to explain the benefits of Buddhism, especially Tibetan Buddhism, for racialized minorities. She feels that it could bring confidence to the racialized individuals and the community as a whole. Within Tibetan Buddhism, she feels could teach racialized minorities to open the doors to "methods for dealing with frustrations, disappointments, and anger, and of developing genuine compassion" (87).

In the end, Willis engages an understanding of what racialized minorities can bring to American Buddhism. She feels that it could further unite Buddhism in America and genuinely make it a whole. She states that she does not want to glorify the victimization that is apparent in American Buddhism, but to suggest places for changes.