“Culturally Hindu, Spiritually Buddhist”—Middle-class Indians Turn to Buddhism
Buddhistdoor Global | 2016-03-08 |
Buddhism is enjoying a surge of interest among a once impervious demographic: middle-class Indians in urban areas.
While the narrative of its complete extinction in medieval India is
problematic, Buddhism is nevertheless a minority religion in its home country
today. It is currently supported by the impoverished but politically powerful
Dalit community, as well as ethnic minorities such as the Mog, Chakma, Barua,
and Uchai in states like Tripura. The new crop of urbanites subscribing to
Buddhist practice encompasses a diverse spectrum of people and professionals
ranging from students to wives, mothers, and businesspeople.
According to a January article on Catch News by Lamat R. Hasan, these
demographics are turning to Buddhism for its practical solutions to rising
stress levels, methods of cultivating peace with oneself, and openness to
non-Buddhist cultural practices (in this case, Hindu ones). This distinction
between Buddhist “non-Indian-ness” and Indian Hindu culture (which is ironic
given Buddhism’s origins) becomes apparent with the Bharat Soka Gakkai, which
emphasizes the Japanese chant “Namo myoho renge kyo.” According to Hasan, this
Nichiren-inspired school is the most popular one in India, although other
Mahayana schools are finding a growing following as well.
One of these Indian Buddhists is Shantum Seth, a lay teacher in the Plum
Village tradition. In a casual exchange last year, Shantum spoke to
me about his initial difficulties with reconciling his conventional Hindu
identity with his spiritual beliefs: “Those of us who feel spiritually Buddhist
still find it difficult to pull away completely from our Hindu identity, which
is everywhere in India. So we still feel culturally Hindu,” he said. He has
praised the non-sectarian and open teaching style of the Vietnamese Buddhist
master Thich Nhat Hanh, which he feels is attractive to people immersed in
religious culture from birth.
In her article, Hasan offered a few probable reasons why Hindus are not finding
it hard to convert to Buddhism: “Most of those adopting Buddhism are Hindus
though followers from other faiths are not unusual. Most find the transition
from Hinduism to Buddhism easy—largely because Buddhism doesn’t interfere with
their existing belief systems. That means many feel that it is possible to be
part-Hindu, part-Buddhist.” Words used by Indian Buddhists that she interviewed
include: liberating, positive, stronger, calmer, and more in control of
emotions.
“Even those conflicted at the prospect of changing their religion find it easy
to see Buddhism as a philosophy rather than religion, since its beliefs don’t
contradict anything in their own religion,” wrote Hasan. “Clearly, implicit in
Buddhist practice is that it doesn’t seem to require renouncing the religion
you come from. That makes a crossover of beliefs not just easy but seductive.”
Not everyone welcomes the resurgence of Buddhism in the urban, middle-class
conclaves of New Delhi or Mumbai. “Even today, some Indians of higher castes
associate Buddhism with the activist goals of the Dalits,” said Shantum. “This
is really problematic as the Dalits have a very political form of Buddhism that
feels exclusionary and political to many. We need urgently to change this
perception if more Indians are to appreciate the depth and diversity of
Buddhism.”
“For now, it seems like millions of urban Indians are happy to find a medium
between the religion they were born into, and the one that speaks to
them—especially because they’re not being pushed into a corner and asked to
choose,” said Hasan in her conclusion. “While other religions may battle it out
for supremacy, we may already have the winner under our very noses.” We may
well be seeing many more stories like Shantum’s and those in Hasan’s article in
the years to come.