“Are some Buddhist magazines behind the times?” That’s the question, posed by James of The Buddhist Blog. And it’s a good one.
James has plenty to say, but I’d like to address just a bit of it for now. He writes:
Lately there has been a lot of tension between Buddhist magazines and the online Buddhist community. These magazines sadly are missing the point behind the rise of the Buddhoblogosphere. It being a representation of how popular Buddhism is becoming in America but more importantly with how it’s becoming popular with others besides the traditional American Buddhist core – rich, white academics on the two coasts.
There’s no need to speak for the “other” Buddhist magazines here; they too are staffed with people who work very hard to publish for the dharma-world for the sake of the dharma-world. When that’s your mission, you’d better not be in it for the money, because it won’t ever be about that. And we know that our peers most certainly are in it for the love of it. I can only talk about what we do here at the Lion’s Roar Foundation. Whether we’re behind the times or not will remain up to you.
And that’s precisely the point.
Most magazines, newspapers, and their websites are, in fact, “behind the times.” The predicted “death of print” that media pundits write about is all but a forgone conclusion, and in this financial climate, everyone’s scrambling to figure out how not to be left behind permanently.
Now, I’m a magazine freak. I love magazines – the design, the touch and feel, the tangibility – and it almost hurts to see so many of them dropping out of the game. But you can’t deny the web, which is so vital, so downright thrilling, because of the back-and-forth it engenders. Only via the web can a writer like James of The Buddhist Blog publish a commentary like the one quoted above, start a discussion, and only via the web can we, with a click, point you to that commentary so that we might all further the original discussion. Yes, there’s mudslinging on the web. But there’s mudslinging to be found just about anywhere offline, too. Our job – yours, and ours – is to get beyond that, have real healthy discussion, and to mindfully and compassionately get together to make everything – our magazines, our community, the web, the world – better.
Once the mud’s been wiped away, one thing can be seen clearly: everything that the Shambhala Sun (or any Buddhist magazine or entity) does can only be made better by – if you’ll excuse the motivational poster-speak – embracing diversity. Without dialogue and different points of view, there is no progress. For example, James made another point on The Buddhist Blog:
[…] many (not all) in the American Buddhist establishment do NOT […] like to be questioned, debated or challenged.
He is, of course, right. Many people everywhere would rather not be questioned, preferring instead to just believe that their intuition about how to do what they do will automatically garner positive results. But the path of least resistance doesn’t always lead to where we know we should be heading.
As James goes on to say:
[…] many of these magazines aren’t getting the average man’s point of view on Buddhist practice. I’m not saying one way of learning is better than another but I just wish that the elitists didn’t look down their nose at those of us who respond well to online interactions.
It’s sad to me that James (and others) would be moved to make such statements, for three reasons.
First: because I don’t want to hear of anyone feeling that way. I grew up an “outsider” type of kid – all for the underdog, and suspicious of authority. In this way (among others), I haven’t grown up a bit. So when folks like James wonder aloud if their voices and priorities aren’t being heard, up go my shackles, bringing with them both sympathy and empathy. Especially if they’re part of this community that I so love, as James most certainly is.
Second: because I can’t think of one of our colleagues or peers who personally holds such an attitude. Though I’ve only been the Shambhala Sun Foundation’s editor of Web Publications for just shy of a year, I previously worked at a Buddhist publisher and dealt with all kinds of magazine staffers. There was a palpable camaraderie in most of my dealings with them, and certainly with those of the Buddhist magazines. Which is just to say that any of us might go wrong here and there, but, from all I’ve seen, Right Intention and Right Motivation are always largely at play.
Third: because the Buddhist blogosphere RULES. In a Buddhadharma forum on Next-Generation Buddhism, published before I was on the Shambhala Sun Foundation staff, I said the following: “[The web is] an incredible gift of skillful means. It allows people to contribute in the way that they can contribute. We see so many new blogs and websites that are not run by teachers. They’re run by practitioners; they’re run by young people who want to talk about dharma, to be part of it.” I meant it then, and I mean it just as much now. (Though there are certainly Buddhist bloggers of all ages, and that’s a great thing, too.) When I first launched TheWorstHorse.com, I did it because I saw an absence of online dialogue that spoke to the realities of non-“establishment” Buddhists. There is in fact so much diversity in the Buddhist blogosphere now that it’s hard to keep up with everyone! That’s a nice problem to have.
The Buddhist blogosphere reminds me of another aspect of my younger years, that of the “zine revolution.” Zines – self-published, often hand-assembled “magazines” made in very limited quantities — were the predecessors of the web, allowing people to find a niche of like-minded people, no matter how small, and to publish to and with them. The result was more than a feeling of community; it was community itself. Cruising through the Buddhist blogs, seeing all the empowered practitioners who pour their hearts and minds onto our monitors, I get that same feeling, and it’s beautiful.
And that makes a post like James’s a bit bittersweet: Such a commentary may not be what exactly what we at the Buddhist magazines would most like to hear, but to be ungrateful for it would be missing the point entirely. We’re here not just to teach you, but to learn from you, to reflect your concerns. The community we share with you depends on it.
Are some of us behind the times? Maybe. But we won’t know unless you speak up. So keep those blogs coming, folks.
I guess it is a bit bittersweet. I don't mean to "condemn" the magazines even though I realize it might appear that way. My post was more geared toward a specific article that I felt misrepresented my writing but I have since contacted the author and worked things out. That said, there is much that the Buddhist magazines do right — especially Shambhala Sun. I think you're publication got further ahead of the "user generated content" future than the other Buddhist mags. I think the traditionals mags and the blogs are a good balance to each other.
The blogs keep the mags honest and the mags keep the blogs honest. We all have something to say and there's room for both. I too love magazines — the romance and even the smell of them. I do not wish for the demise of mags though I agree with you that they are probably dying out. It's sad because I've always envisioned myself working for one but I think the future is that the mags will stay strong but just have to move completely online.
You're right that many in the mainstream Buddhist community aren't looking down on the "blue collar Buddhists" but unfortunately it exists. This isn't something new or only evident in Buddhism. It exists in all groups and organizations. I guess I just wanted to sound the alarm as a canary in the coal mine that there needs to be more dialogue between the teachers, magazines and long-time practitioners with newer Buddhists who often come from different generations. I wrote this somewhat sharp and pointed post in part because I'd hate to see Buddhism become an elitist belief system. I think you guys and Shambhala Sun are doing well as reaching out to the independent minded, younger and online Buddhists.
I hope that we all realize that we can have disagreements but still remain brothers and sisters in the Dharma. I'm not anywhere near perfect or anywhere always right or maybe even often but I do mean well and don't want to see Buddhism in America be only one practiced by the elite, white, aging practitioners and rigid, less approachable teachers. For Buddhism to thrive in modern America it needs to branch out more and welcome fresh and new ideas. So long as they are in keeping with the overall spirit of what the Buddha taught. Too often I have seen long time American practitioners dismiss things said on blogs as if we're somehow less than a "pure Buddhist." We're all in this together but sometimes we need to speak out when things appear to need some shaking up.
I know that no one likes to be challenged — I certainly still have ego problems in that regard but the "Baby Boomer Buddhists" here in America have become somewhat self-isolating. I have had cold receptions from more than a few white, older, upper class long time practitioner sanghas and it makes for a feeling of not being accepted. Of not being pure enough or sincere enough or old enough to understand the Dharma. It's frustrating and at times that frustration boils over into my blog posts. I normally veer away from "attacking" fellow Buddhists but sometimes things need to be said. Rod, I appreciate your willingness to see the good in my post and not just the criticism. Thank-you Rod for mentioning the blog and for contacting me to let me know that I was going to be apart of the article. I appreciate the courtesy. I hope now that the mud is clearing that we can all come together easier to build the Buddhism of the future together. Bowing to all for you all are my teachers…
James from The Buddhist Blog
James: I'm really honored that you've commented here. It seems we're on the same page — that the Buddhist mags and their sites, along with the indy bloggers, create a needed and even beautiful balance. We inform and sustain each other, and we're lucky to have it.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment, the nice words, and all the good work that you and others in the Buddhist blogosphere are doing!
Thanks so much for this post Rod. You say so many things that come from my same experiences as a punk rock outsider and perhaps it's with these leanings that we feel protective of those who are using the web as an outlet for expressing their experiences of practice, mediation and of our precious human birth.
I really believe that the Shambhala Sun gets it. Proof is in bring you on board for starters but I think that it's inherent in the mantra of Shambhala's desire to create an enlightened society. That enlightened society comes not out of blindly agreeing with one another or repeating what the elders are saying, but by investigating the dharma for ourselves.
I applaud you for stepping up with this post and for giving your thoughts on it. I think that Tricycle magazine can really learn from this action and see that engaging with the community is part of the path.
hi, T. thanks for this. i think we all will always have a lot to learn. that's part of the fun of it.
but your kind words are appreciated. we hope to live up to them.
off to retreat…!