?At this moment, Fei'er waved her fists and said to Wen Yang and Jin Meng: "As long as I can help with this kind of thing, I will never refuse to say that, are you going to join the army and fight?"

Wen Yang collapsed at that time. Okay, these days, you are still playing the joke of Mulan joining the army and fighting... Why hold Fei'er down? Who knows that this sister can stimulate the extraordinary and unconventional potential for her impulse? That moment just now completely scared Wen Yang. If she really did this again, Wen Yang wouldn't stand it.

I quickly took the medicine that Jin Meng had worked so hard to make in my hand and drank it in one sip. Don’t come back and your hands tremble. Jin Meng’s work for most of the day will be in vain.

Jin Meng hurriedly sat next to Fei'er, half hugged Fei'er, and hurriedly coaxed: "We should make a long-term plan to kill all the Tartars. If the dragon vein is broken, we cannot restore our luck in China." It can be seen that Jin Meng, the honest child, was also vague...

Fei'er showed a puzzled expression. Liu Xin's appearance, coupled with Fei'er's cute expression, made a burst of hidden pain in Wen Yang's heart. He made a gesture to stop Fei'er from speaking again. Wen Yang was afraid that Liu Xin's voice would hurt his wounded heart again.

"You just need to follow me." After that, Wen Yang turned the topic to Shao Fen: "Mr. Shao, let's go now."

Shao Mian's influence was indeed beyond Wen Yang and Jin Meng's thoughts. More than ten hours later, Jin Meng, Wen Yang and Jin Meng, two people who had never been to the United States, as well as Fei'er, a super black man, had already stepped on the land of Maryland, USA. Even when he arrived at the local area, someone came to pick him up and drop him off. Soon, Wen Yang and his group of three were already on a small hill in the local area. This place that looked like Tianmen Mountain.

"I really didn't expect that there was such a paradise in this place where the whole country believed in God." Jin Meng sighed. Indeed, no matter how you understand the world or religion, you can't imagine that there is such an oasis on this land that is almost a Buddhist desert.

"In fact, although Buddhism is incomparable to international players in the United States, Buddhism has developed considerable development in the entire country over the years."

Since Chinese and Japanese immigrants who believe in Buddhism landed on the west coast of the United States, Buddhism has made great progress in the United States over the past hundred years. It gradually evolved from a marginal religion to a religion with an influential influence spread throughout the United States with millions of practitioners. Moreover, at least millions of Americans have also known Buddhism through newspapers, magazines, television and movies.

The American interest in Buddhism is simply incredible. Bookstores are filled with books and magazines such as "Zen and Art". Time magazine uses Americans' fanatical belief in Buddhism as a cover. Buddhist thoughts appear in the fields of religion, psychology, medicine, and even sports and business in the new century. In the fields of social activities, such as the feminist movement, the peace movement, the protection of ecology and animal protection, Buddhist values ​​have been widely promoted. From Hassandar Gang, California to the fields of Iowa, Buddhist temples were established like mushrooms after a rain; from Smith College to Stanford University, Buddhist studies have become active between colleges and universities. There is even a cosmetic called "Hydra-Zen", which is a skin care product used to soothe the skin. There is also a fast food ingredient called "Zen Banquet Mix".

Obviously, the word "Zen" in the name of skin care products and fast food has no connection with what we call Zen in the religious sense. We refer to another situation, that is, the social atmosphere affects the use of words such as "Buddhism" and "Zen", which is closely linked to American values. Americans advocate the concept of simplicity, nature, peace and harmony. What Americans pursue in health and food processing is that food should be healthy, preferably originate from nature. The aesthetic concept of emerging urban vegetarian culture is manifested as: silent taste, tolerance, and advocating the integration of multiculturalism.

What we are discussing does not seem to be a religion, but a "long-term spiritual sustenance" that can be called Americans. It is the desire of many people (especially the middle and upper-middle white class in the United States). They do not satisfy what they already have, but they still desire to get more; in terms of eating, they have everything, but they are eager to get some special spiritual needs, some "psychological condiments" that can obtain self-satisfaction, and a precious "spiritual medicine" that can help people get relief. Although this spiritual desire is more related to religion in most societies, it seems to be a denial of religion in occasional society. They hope to obtain things other than institutional religion, more personal and private content, and emphasize "self" and self-feeling, which can be called "self-idol worship".

Among all religions in the United States, Buddhism seems to be the best religion that can meet people's spiritual needs. The reason is probably that it transcends the essence of religion and represents a free resource of wisdom, not bound to specific systems, organizations, dogmas or rituals. As long as there is a spiritual need, we will use Buddhism to adjust it. We can buy some cosmetics named after Buddhist terms, go to the "Buddha" bar to consume, enjoy the performance of the "Nirvana" rock band, or watch cartoons introducing Zen masters. We do not have to consider the religious feelings that will be punished by heaven or hurt people. We can even not convert to Buddhism, but accept Buddhist values ​​and practice in Buddhist ways.

"So... are too many people no longer trusting the cult of that master?" The voice came, belonging to Fei'er, Liu Xin, who was once.

Wen Yang's heart was filled with these hidden pains, but he continued to speak.

Does this mean that Buddhism is not a true religion like Christianity and Judaism? Does it mean that Buddhism is not an institutional religion composed of believers, but is just a trend of thought, a view or an experience, like the "feminist movement" or "postmodernism"? If that's the case, then what do we think when we learn through the media that there are millions of Buddhists in the United States? No one seems to know exactly how many millions of Buddhists in the United States are, partly because no one can figure out who counts

He is a true Buddhist. Thomas Tweed, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina, suggested that we should pay attention to a large number of believers, who call these believers "Bedside Buddhists". The so-called "Bedside Buddhists" refer to those who read Buddhist books by the bed before going to bed. They are deeply attracted by the content of the Buddhist books. Some of them will express themselves as Buddhists, but they do not want to belong to anything. We can also call them Buddhist supporters, and call their bedside readings "public Buddhism" or "media Buddhism".

Buddhist news seems to have a wide coverage, not only related to other religions, but also has a positive impact. In international news reports, Buddhism is almost never condemned for some of the shortcomings of Asian society. Buddhists are often considered victims of peace-loving struggles in Asian politics.

Of course, we occasionally get some clues that make people doubt. But in most cases, we have changed the impression of strange Buddhism as Eastern pagan beliefs and regarded it as a familiar culture. Even if it still has an alien nature, it is the world-wide feature of our new multicultural and smoothly integrated into American society. We often say that we have absorbed Asian Americans as our "minority model", and the media seems to have defaulted on Buddhism as the religious model of American ethnic minorities.

In the United States, Buddhism transformed from a strange Asian pagan belief into a modern, cosmopolitan religion, and its ability to integrate into American society was largely due to efforts made by Western academic circles. In the 19th century, when Chinese people who arrived in the United States worshiped Buddha in a newly built temple in California, white Americans began to read books compiled by scholars studying ancient Indian languages ​​to learn about Buddha. These books often describe the teachings of Buddha as a theoretical system that organically combines philosophy and moral thought. Buddhism is non-theistic, free from myths and rituals, free from superstition and witchcraft, and emphasizes the importance of moral behavior and psychological communication. This forms a Christian belief.

In sharp contrast, it emphasizes the belief in the Creator God. God is a very perfect image. He was magically resurrected. Christianity attaches great importance to church rituals, emphasizing piety, faith and suffering. Of course, some Buddhist doctrines are difficult to follow, such as the cycle of life and death and how to escape the suffering of life and death and achieve Nirvana. In addition to the above words, most of the content of Buddhism is very friendly and close to the times. It is very consistent with the scientific worldview and is very suitable for the lifestyle of Westerners. In short, when Christians and Jews with rebellious thoughts look for another spiritual sustenance, Buddhism is an ideal choice for them.

The Buddhist study since the 19th century has lasted for more than two centuries. The facts now are enough to prove that early Westerners' impression of Buddhism rarely conforms to the true history, doctrines and practice of Asian Buddhism. In the process of interpreting Buddhism with modern Western ideas, how many difficult-to-explain details or understatement have been ignored, and it is no longer possible to verify. Using modern Western ideas to study Buddhism is more attractive and influential than studying other philosophies, because in the process, some strange and unfamiliar views are often expressed. These views are actually advocated by Buddhists to record the history of Buddhism breaking away from the shackles of myths and rituals, superstitions and witchcraft.

Recently, the Stanford University Buddhist Research Center organized a one-day meditation activity, which is a long-term research project set up by the center. As of noon on the first day of registration, 100 people had signed up and had to stop registering. Some of the applicants were just curious about Buddhism, while some were undoubtedly Buddhist practitioners, but more seemed to be "Buddhist supporters": they were attracted by some content of Buddhism, felt that they had some similarities with it, and had a sense of spiritual identity.

During the conference discussion, many of them spoke actively, but the focus was not on the content of Buddhist history and culture that scholars were interested in, but on topics that free Americans were concerned about, such as ecology and social justice. More people wanted to share with you his personal understanding of issues such as "what is true Buddhism", "what is the value of Buddhism" and "how Buddhism should do it". Most of these people are well-educated and wealthy white Americans. During the entire meditation period, I did not see a black or Latino, but only one or two Asians. Such beliefs such as "Bedside Buddhists" and "Buddhist supporters" did not really popularize these groups. We also need a subclass name: "Free Buddhists" - identifying themselves as Buddhists but not belonging to any Buddhist organization. We also need to define a kind of Buddhist: "Customer Buddhists" - using Buddhist organizations but not belonging to Buddhist organizations.

"Customer Buddhists" may be the most noteworthy category of all types. In this meditation activity organized by Stanford University, about half of the participants arrived one hour in advance, with the purpose of participating in the pre-meditation lectures taught by Buddhist monks, which were voluntary. Those who participated in the lecture, at least in this event, played the role of "Customer Buddhists". Due to the temporary function of "non-religious" spiritual sustenance in Buddhism, Americans believe that it will feel more free to participate in activities or practice related to Buddhism.

If they weren't Jewish, they wouldn't participate in Judaism prayers. Also, they wouldn't be Catholics, nor would they participate in sacramental activities, but it's not a bad idea to participate in Buddhist meditation, and it seems natural. Americans often want to participate in such activities, such as hiking activities organized by the Sera Club, massage therapy at hot spring resorts, or golf clinics or investment seminars. In fact, some Buddhist organizations rely on these customers who come to the street to increase their income and prepare some programs to meet their requirements. For example, one of the most famous monasteries in the United States, Tasagara Meditation in the Carmel Valley, California, once it develops into a tourist destination for purifying the mind, it relies on summer meditation activities to survive.

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Although Wen Yang knew that Fei'er couldn't understand these things at all, and even had no idea about them, for him, it seemed that all this was said to Liu Xin. Please come to "" when you see the first release without any advertisements.

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