> In a place like the United States, there is a racial dimension to what is considered “universal.”
The Buddha of the Pali Canon explicitly and unambiguously rejected racial classifications; the Dharma is for all sentient beings, full stop. Vasettha Sutta (Sn. 3.9); Kannakatthala Sutta (MN 90); Assalayana Sutta (MN 93). From these and from suttas like the Tama Sutta (AN 4:85) and "An Outcaste" (Sn 1.7), the message is clear: one's birth (or social status) can neither exonerate immoral acts nor negate virtuous conduct. I find it notable that Chen pauses to point out how Western individualism contradicts the "Buddhist principle of no-self" but apparently never pauses to think whether she is herself reifying the concept of race beyond what the Buddha-word can support (race is closely related to concepts of self and identity, if you believe Intersectionality.)
Possibly the reason "white Buddhism" is an "unregulated market" is that in America we have the freedom to worship as we choose without the intervention of busybodies checking our skin color.
edit: I follow Theravada and recognize that most of the converts to Buddhism she is criticizing, follow an Americanized form of Mahayana.
The Buddha of the Pali Canon explicitly and unambiguously rejected racial classifications; the Dharma is for all sentient beings, full stop. Vasettha Sutta (Sn. 3.9); Kannakatthala Sutta (MN 90); Assalayana Sutta (MN 93). From these and from suttas like the Tama Sutta (AN 4:85) and "An Outcaste" (Sn 1.7), the message is clear: one's birth (or social status) can neither exonerate immoral acts nor negate virtuous conduct. I find it notable that Chen pauses to point out how Western individualism contradicts the "Buddhist principle of no-self" but apparently never pauses to think whether she is herself reifying the concept of race beyond what the Buddha-word can support (race is closely related to concepts of self and identity, if you believe Intersectionality.)
Possibly the reason "white Buddhism" is an "unregulated market" is that in America we have the freedom to worship as we choose without the intervention of busybodies checking our skin color.
edit: I follow Theravada and recognize that most of the converts to Buddhism she is criticizing, follow an Americanized form of Mahayana.