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Buddhism in America

USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
11K subscribers
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69K views 8 years ago
Against the Stream (ATS) is a Buddhist Meditation Center that seeks to introduce Buddhist teachings and practices rooted in traditional Buddhist lineages of South and Southeast Asia with a distinctly American anti-establishment flair. Founded by Noah Levine, American Buddhist meditation teacher and author, ATS initially drew people from the punk and hardcore music scene Levine was a part of. Since then, the sangha (community) has welcomed individuals who struggle to find an inclusive multicultural space to practice and explore the dharma. In this video, ATS’s Guiding Teacher Joanna Harper describes the integral role community plays in meditation practice and the efforts of ATS to anchor the Buddhist teachings in the ordinary lives of American mindfulness practitioners. In Buddhist cultures across South and Southeast Asia, “sangha” refers exclusively to those who have been ordained. In contemporary America, “sangha” simply refers to all tho …...more
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Buddhism in America
1.4KLikes
69,058Views
2016Dec 13
Against the Stream (ATS) is a Buddhist Meditation Center that seeks to introduce Buddhist teachings and practices rooted in traditional Buddhist lineages of South and Southeast Asia with a distinctly American anti-establishment flair. Founded by Noah Levine, American Buddhist meditation teacher and author, ATS initially drew people from the punk and hardcore music scene Levine was a part of. Since then, the sangha (community) has welcomed individuals who struggle to find an inclusive multicultural space to practice and explore the dharma. In this video, ATS’s Guiding Teacher Joanna Harper describes the integral role community plays in meditation practice and the efforts of ATS to anchor the Buddhist teachings in the ordinary lives of American mindfulness practitioners. In Buddhist cultures across South and Southeast Asia, “sangha” refers exclusively to those who have been ordained. In contemporary America, “sangha” simply refers to all those who meet regularly to sit and meditate, including teachers and fellow meditators. They are seen as the spiritual friends who one can turn to find encouragement and honesty in the mindful path. Despite hyperbolic claims regarding the secularizing effect of the therapeutic culture of psychology on mindfulness, groups like ATS show how mindfulness practitioners reinvent and creatively deploy the sacred concept of sangha to reclaim one of the most profound and meaningful aspects of religion—a moral community—to underpin their spiritual efforts. Learn more about the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture: https://crcc.usc.edu/ The USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences is the academic core of the University of Southern California in the heart of Los Angeles. Learn more at www.dornsife.usc.edu

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USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

11K subscribers