Paper short abstract:

This paper proposes a system for integrating Buddhisms within the rubric of practice. It emphasizes the creative, doctrine-flexible, and stubbornly-pragmatic ways in which local priests and practitioners try to use their temple resources for is considered to be the greater good.

Paper long abstract:

Experimental Buddhisms

From Myanmar to Hamburg and from Japan to New York, the physical distances and cultural differences between types of Buddhisms are profound in historical and contemporary settings. This paper proposes a conceptual structure to integrate diverse Buddhist-types into a single category, one that is flexible in how it works yet also accurate in pinning activities to a combination of sangha and community. "Experimental Buddhisms" emphasizes the creative, doctrine-flexible, and stubbornly-pragmatic ways in which local priests and practitioners try to use their temple resources for the greater good. In particular, "experimental Buddhisms" explores the means and methods by which people research, test, and then revise religious ideas and practices that advance social welfare, social activism, temple-sangha innovations, and similar constructs. In this regard, we see how Buddhisms and other religions around the globe have had to grapple with the rapidly changing landscapes in which they exist, reworking themselves in an effort to remain relevant in a global milieu of social disruption, increasing inequalities, and environmental damage. "Experimental Buddhisms" shows how Buddhist leaders and practitioners are experimenting with such challenges by imagining and initiating alternative and innovative paths to human welfare. Examples will be shown from the author's own research in Japan and elsewhere in SE and South Asia, and the research of the panellists.