{"id":793,"date":"2009-09-09T11:52:17","date_gmt":"2009-09-09T11:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/onecity\/2009\/09\/the-branding-of-buddhism.html"},"modified":"2009-09-09T11:52:17","modified_gmt":"2009-09-09T11:52:17","slug":"the-branding-of-buddhism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/onecity\/2009\/09\/the-branding-of-buddhism.html","title":{"rendered":"The Branding of Buddhism"},"content":{"rendered":"

One thing that the Buddhist community doesn’t seem to think about very much is branding.  Gasp! Branding and Buddhism? I’m sure some Buddhists would find this hideously inappropriate, and they may be right.  But, following up on my post two weeks ago<\/a> about how to bring the incredible benefits of regular meditation practice to a larger contemporary audience (i.e. beyond the velvet roped circle of artists and smart people that seem to mostly practice in the West)  it’s time to talk about Brand Buddhism.  Here’s a few ideas I have about how the philosophies of Buddhism can really grow and take root over the next few years beyond the limited community that currently practices.<\/p>\n

\"Stivers-2-11-05-Meditator.gif\"<\/p>\n

Cartoon (c)Mark Stivers www.markstivers.com <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n


\n
\n1. Present Buddhism as a way to think about life, rather than a religion.
\nEven some of the most “non secular” Buddhist organizations still feel
\n“religiulous” to an outsider, with images of deities, mandalas,
\nBuddhas, and chimes. While these may be important elements of ritual
\nfor some, and just plain awesome and inspiring for those with a deeper practice, the core practice of Buddhism – sitting down and noticing
\nyour thoughts – can be practiced even sitting alone under a tree. Or so I’ve heard.  It
\nrequires nothing, no equipment, and no ritual. <\/p>\n

The running craze took
\noff in the early 70’s because of two simultaneous things – Dr. Kenneth
\nCooper’s widely and well-received research on the benefits of a regular
\npractice of cardiovascular excercise, and the easy and cheap
\navailibility of running gear thanks to Bill Bowerman (Nike).   It was considered great excercise that
\nanyone can do anywhere, and tens of millions of people have become
\nregular runners. It would not be hard for Buddhism to achieve the same
\nkind of cultural trajectory.  Running had to shed its trappings of
\ngrueling track miles and spiked shoes and coaches to penetrate the
\nmainstream. Buddhism may have to do the same.<\/p>\n

2. Lose the Buddha
\nSure the whole thing is named after the dude and inspired by his
\nteachings. But just as Jesus Christ didn’t mean to have his crucified
\nimage used as a weapon of mass distraction, neither did Buddha intend
\nfor his smiling image to become a symbol of whatever it’s meant to
\nsymbolize.  When most folks see Buddha, they see a foreign and
\nunfamiliar face that speaks of mysterious eastern religions – oooooo, Buddhists.   Buddhism
\nin America is at the long end of the initial boom sparked in the 60’s
\namong intellectuals and artists who craved that elite connection with the east. 
\nNow it’s time for Buddhism to be cool just because regular
\ncontemplative practice is cool – it means you know better who you are
\nand how to be in the world.  Image is everything, and unless we figure
\nout a way to make the image of the Buddha hip and cool, we’d be better
\noff figuring out some other way to present the techniques without the
\nawesome smiling face of our Eastern inspiration.<\/p>\n

3.  Push the benefits, price, and ease of use
\nPeople love getting amazing returns on their time and money.  Buddhism
\nis free, takes only 10 to 30 minutes a day depending on the depth of
\nyour practice, and delivers benefits far beyond anything you can
\nimagine.  Peace, compassion, insight, stress reduction, healthier minds
\nand bodies – all can be had from a regular practice of sitting
\nmeditiation. Yes, the benefits are interdpendent and affect others
\naround you, but people get hooked based on the benefits to themselves.
\nMake it clear that it’s accessible and useful for everyone, no matter
\nincome level, education level, or where you live.  <\/p>\n

4.Accessorize
\nBuddhism can be presented as the ultimate lifestyle accessory. It
\ndoesn’t matter if you’re Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or practice no
\norganized religion – Buddhism is mind-science that complements and
\naccessorizes any other spiritual or philosophical technique.  With the
\nright branding and advertising Buddhism can be the iPod of
\nphilosophies, cool first then avilable at WalMart three years later. <\/p>\n

Prosletyzing Buddhism and telling people they “should” do it is counter to the very nature of the practice. But embracing smart techniques for making it relevant to contemporary life as a philosophy that anyone can get into, because the philosophy IS the space between your own thoughts, seems right on the money.  <\/p>\n

Maybe the brand is (Mi)ndfulness? or BeHere?  <\/p>\n

What other ideas are there for making Buddhism broaden its appeal?  Does the thought of Buddhism being as available as an iPod at WalMart make you cringe or make you excited? Why?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One thing that the Buddhist community doesn’t seem to think about very much is branding.  Gasp! Branding and Buddhism? I’m sure some Buddhists would find this hideously inappropriate, and they may be right.  But, following up on my post two weeks ago about how to bring the incredible benefits of regular meditation practice to a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":191,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buddhism","category-talking-dharma"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Branding of Buddhism - One City<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/onecity\/2009\/09\/the-branding-of-buddhism.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Branding of Buddhism - One City\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One thing that the Buddhist community doesn’t seem to think about very much is branding.  Gasp! 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