USM Prof Explains Tibetan Buddhism
(Clarion-Ledger | December 12, 2002)
If you know a well-educated, successful, liberal pacifist who eschews rather than chews meat, chances are he or she is a Tibetan Buddhist. Actors Richard Gere and Steven Seagal are among about 2,70,000 American converts to the religion that, like other forms of Buddhism, seeks a state of nirvana or perfect blessedness leading to a spiritual afterlife.
"Scholars are unanimous in perceiving that more and more Americans appear to be turning to Tibetan Buddhism as a religious alternative," said Daniel Capper, an assistant professor of philosophy and religion at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Capper, who spent two years in a US Tibetan Buddhist monastery conducting field research, is the author of Guru Devotion and the American Buddhist Experience. Published in October by Edwin Mellen Press, the 262-page book explores why numerous Americans practice the religion.
"Most Tibetan Buddhists in the US live like everyone else, and there are no mandated lifestyle or ritual choices," Capper said. "Tibetan Buddhists, however, tend to be well-educated, economically well-off, politically liberal, and tend towards pacifist politics and vegetarianism."
The professor said field work suggests some Americans become Tibetan Buddhists because of relationships they develop with Tibetan religious leaders, or lamas. His focus is on guru devotion.
"Herein lies the attraction," Capper said. "Many Americans find Tibetan lamas who seem to 'practice what they preach,' the major value of the 'preaching' being compassion for all living beings. ... People therefore, over time, deepen their relationship with lamas."
Friends of Tibet (INDIA),
PO Box 16674, Bombay 400050
www.friendsoftibet.org