This month, I would like to talk about missionary activities. Normally, we have a tendency not to think of Buddhism as a missionary religion. After all, we’ve all met missionaries for other religions and they are far pushier than Buddhists. Plus, Buddhism in Canada has often not been especially active with outreach. This is partly out of taking care of our own community, partly out of trying to be a good neighbour and not upset others, and partly because Buddhists encountered serious prejudice in the past. So it is understandable that we haven’t always been as outgoing toward the general public as we could have been.
That said, as a historian I have to note that Buddhism has very much been a missionary religion. After all, how do you think Buddhism spread so far from northern India: how did it get south to Sri Lanka, east to Persia, north to Siberia, and west to Japan? They didn’t even have the internet and bullet trains back then! It was through the dedicated efforts of countless generations of monks, nuns, and committed laypeople that Buddhism was able to spread across Asia (and now, around the world).
The problem arises when we conceptualize missionary activities as being about pushing our religion on others and trying to replace their beloved beliefs and practices. That is what some Christian and other missionaries have tried to do to us (thankfully, there are many lovely, non-pushy Christians as well). But Buddhist missionaries don’t use a self-aggrandizing replacement model. We need to conduct missionary activities, not in order to prove how great our religion is, but because it is the fulfillment of Buddhism itself.
What do I mean when I say that missionary activities are the fulfillment of Buddhism? The spirit of Buddhism is about helping others. That is the bodhisattva path, the way of spirituality through service to others and trying to help reduce the suffering of the world. Dharmakara Bodhisattva practiced on behalf of others for five eons, that is how he was able to become Amida Buddha. Now, none of us is able to work that hard (I certainly can’t!), but we can take the example of the numerous bodhisattvas of the past and apply it today. The reason that we should be sharing Buddhism with other people is that Buddhism may be helpful to them. After all, I hope you who are reading this newsletter have found Buddhism helpful to you. If you have, then it would be appropriate to repay that debt by offering Buddhism to others who may need it as well.
I can recall a time in my life before I became involved in Buddhism. I was a young university student with many questions and confusions about life. If no one had offered Buddhism to me, I’m not sure what my life would be like now. What I do know is that because Buddhism was made available to me, it helped me to settle my spiritual life and become a person oriented toward gratitude and insight. It would be hard to list all the ways I’ve benefitted from my encounter with the Dharma. I wasn’t missionized in the sense that someone pressured me or brainwashed me into joining Buddhism. Rather, kind people caringly made it available to me as a gift, which I chose to accept. I’m deeply thankful that they took the time and effort, and risked rejection or disappointment, in order to give me this gift.
Many people are working hard to offer the gift of Buddhism to those who may benefit from it and are interested in accepting it. I hope that even more of us will get involved in such activities, for the sake of suffering people in our society. And if others decide that Buddhism itself won’t be helpful to them at this time (perhaps they already have a perfectly good form of spirituality that nourishes them), then we can look for other ways that we can be helpful and express the bodhisattva spirit. Because it is always offered in the spirit of generosity—not divisiveness—we don’t need to fear the effects of missionary activities on Buddhism. There is no need to convert the world to Buddhism. But many people could benefit from exposure to Buddhism—either a little taste or full immersion—and they will never have the opportunity unless we are brave enough to assist them.
In Gassho
Jeff Wilson Sensei
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