Well, I was going to write about today's Gathering of Friends at the Ankers' home in Granada Hills, but the comments on my last entry were so lively that I couldn't resist trying to address the issue of race which was raised by one of my readers.
I had another experience a year or so ago in which I was accused of racism, and it was an interesting learning experience for me.
At the time, I was President of the Board of Directors of the housing cooperative where I live. The co-op is a corporation which owns a mega-multi-million dollar piece of property with 132 apartment units. The residents in the apartment units are all shareholders in the corporation -- they elect a Board of Directors, which manages the corporation's property as well as all legal and financial affairs.
Over the past 10 years or so, the co-op has seen a large influx of new shareholders from what used to be various Soviet Republics. These sub-groups don't always get along with each other, but they did have in common a different way of handling their financial and property transactions -- and by "different", I mean different to what is standard in the US. In a nutshell, these newcomers wanted the corporation to cooperate in financial dealings related to corporate shares -- dealings which were no doubt perfectly normal in the Soviet Republic of Armenia (or wherever), but which, if subjected to the scrutiny of California law might well have been considered fraudulent.
Despite various offers of financial enrichment from some newcomers, I myself stood firm and declined to assist in making the co-op a party to anything which might cause trouble for the corporation down the road. As you can imagine, the newcomers responded quite loudly with cries of "RACIST!!!"
I do not doubt that from their point of view, my position was in fact strongly prejudicial against their ethnic group. After all, the transactions in question were only being proposed by the recent Eastern European immigrants, and my policy was tending to impact them in a manner which it did not impact "homegrown" Americans. On the other hand, they were living in America now, and "I'm from Eastern Europe" is not a defense against a fraud claim in a California court (at least it wasn't back when I took the bar exam).
At long last, the contingent which desired these transactions put in a lot of work to remove me from office (which was actually a relief for me). However, the new administration continued on with the policy I had adopted, and in the end, all that happened was I got rid of the headache of my corporate office, and the newcomers had a momentary and insubstantial thrill of victory.
What I learned from this experience is that sometimes (not always) the race card is really just an intimidation tactic. Sort of a "do what I say, or I'll call you a bad name" gambit.
I know that some people who read here are very uncomfortable with my discussion of Japanese culture as I have studied it out in books, and uncomfortable with my belief that we need to start drawing lines between what is Japanese and what is Buddhist. It's a thorny, swampy problem. Truly, it is. However, I do believe it's a set of issues that need to be thrashed out and addressed, and not just simply avoided by playing the race card. I'm not claiming that the Japanese have smaller brains or smaller anything else than Europeans, or Africans, or South Americans, or Chinese, or that the Japanese should have diminished legal rights in any way -- that kind of claim would in fact be racist. I'm just trying to develop my own Buddhist practice as a Westerner and an American in a way which doesn' t force me to adopt a culture which is extremely foreign to me and not specifically "Budddhist" in any way. I am also unwilling to impose that foreign culture on others by telling them that they have to internalize that culture or they won't be ""practicing correctly" and their prayers won't be answered. This makes it hard for me to propagate the Daimoku, as (from my point of view) within the SGI-USA, the Daimoku is wrapped up in a Japanese governance structure like a hot dog in a bun. Or like a slice of raw tuna in a sheet of seaweed. Whatever. You get the picture.
I honestly don't think my position toward the Eastern European shareholders was racist - I knew what would work in California and what would put the corporation at risk. I had a duty to protect the investments of all the shareholders, not just those of the newcomers. The fact that they did not understand American liability laws or corporate structures didn't obligate me to play by a foreign and a risky set of rules, simply because they would call me a name if I didn't. Similarly, I believe there are significant conditions within the SGI-USA which have caused us to suffer in the court of public opinion. Calling me a name won't make the problems go away, not if we truly want to propagate Nichiren Buddhism in the 21st century - propagate with more than rhetoric.
That's sort of how I got to be where I am in terms of my overall "you're in America now" philosophy. If somebody here can offer me a better way of dealing with the features of the SGI-USA organization which are in conflict with Western culture, I would love to try them on for size. Truly, give me an idea.
I don't seem to be the only person who thinks things are different in the US and Japan - there wouldn't be a whole shelf-full of books about the issues if the issues didn't exist. If we can't examine the cultural differences, then what can we do? I'm genuinely curious as to your thoughts, Best, Byrd in LA
I have to say that one of the heartening things for me about my involvement with Nichiren Shu is that the ministers from Japan and even higher-ups among the ministers from and in Japan have always given me this message: "We don't presume to know what American Buddhism will be like. You Americans are the one's who are going to have to determine that in the long run. We'll teach you how we do it, but then we are going to step back and let you all figure out what to do with it." They know that there are Japanese ways of doing things that are not intrinsic to Buddhism and that need to be teased out. They appreciate the principle of zuiho bini - suiting precepts (ways of doing things) to locality. It is a shame that other organizations do not seem to recognize this as readily, and that certain individuals feel the need to cry "racist" whenver anyone tries to maturely and responsbily account for and deal with cultural differences. In fact, many of the criticism that we might make about Japanese Buddhism are shared by the Japanese Buddhists themselves - and in this it isn't a matter of just "Japanese culture" being critiques but of the specifically Edo-period constructions and hold-overs that protected Japan for awhile against European incursions, but now are remnants of a feudal system that are impeding Japanese progress. If you really want to hear this being critiqued - go ask the Japanese themselves.
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,
Ryuei
Hi --
I am bilingual and bicultural, having lived in Mexico for many years. I certainly sympathize with workers here who can pay only $50 per month rent because they send the rest of the money to families at home -- and I understand the Californa State law that allows up to 12 persons in a 1 bedroom apartment, or 17 in a 2-bedroom place. When the City of Santa Ana tried to reduce those tenant limits, the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund took the city to court and won, on grounds of racist descrimination.
I don't think I'm racist in disliking importation of such Latino cultural customs as bribery of politicians, drunk driving, wife-beating or refusal to neuter pets....yet for good reason observers have called Mexicans "the noblest people in the world." There is a wonderful, pervasive loving-kindness in their culture that is bodhisattva-like.
Maybe the difference between "racial" and "cultural" is what can be chosen, what can or cannot be changed.
Barbara
Posted by: Barbara Pike at January 28, 2008 07:44 AMI don't think the 15 people to an apartment thing is racial or cultural, it's a question of rich and poor.
ch
Posted by: clown hidden at January 29, 2008 09:03 AMByrd says, "I don't seem to be the only person who thinks things are different in the US and Japan - there wouldn't be a whole shelf-full of books about the issues if the issues didn't exist. If we can't examine the cultural differences, then what can we do?"
Byrd,
In studying Nichiren Daishonin, I have no problem differentiating between what Nichiren teaches and what is inherent Japanese culture.
I study the Gosho to understand Nichiren.
I am not too concerned with Japanese Culture as I am American and I teach my children American Culture.
I can tell the difference bewteen what is Japanese and what is American culturally.
I am most concerend with what Nichiren teaches in the Gosho and not concerned with what Japanese culture teaches Japanese people.
The two isues; culture and buddhism; are separate and should not be confused as buddhist in nature, I think.
Patrick
Posted by: Patrick at January 29, 2008 12:16 PM