I have posted about this topic before. Scott Mitchell from the buddha is my dj recently posted his wonderfully paper on “Buddhism, pop-culture, and the homogenization of the Dharma”. Read it here. I’m so glad that scholars are addressing this issue from an academic standpoint. It is something so important for the development of Buddhism in America and yet, something that is also overlooked and rarely questioned. I’ve noticed that the commodification of Buddhism and Buddhist images happens quite a lot in Western culture and every chance I get, I take a picture of it with my phone. Here are some examples of Buddhism being used out-of-context, used by non-Buddhists for non-Buddhist means. You can find more of the dharma in pop culture on The Worst Horse, a blog dedicated to posting about what they like to call “Dharma-burgers”.
On T-shirts
Sold right next to Jesus
On Concert Posters
On restaurant menus
On soaps and bath washes
On hand lotion
arunlikhati
John
Oz
kudos
Hi Kudos,
Thanks for the mention. I’m encouraged that folks outside of my cloister of academics get what I’m talking about. This paper may have more life in it; lord know I’ve got much more to say on the subject that didn’t make the final cut.
And thanks for the above examples! Definitely helps prove the point.
scott
thanks for the mention from me too!