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Buddhism Advances with Society and World
Buddhism is significantly perceived as one of the earliest missionary religion in the world
that spread peacefully. The monks were charged with teaching dharma, and mostly engaged with
the native conventions, to accomplish this task. For instance, Buddhism employed Bon norms in
Tibet and Confucian values in china (Esler 99). In modern times, Buddhism and its teachings are
perhaps the most challenged norms. It has struggled to remain germane to Asians amid the tough
social and political changes. Further, in the West, dharma steps into a significant global
civilization role, but still faces numerous challenges related to Buddhism value and direction.
Modern Buddhism is undoubtedly a backdrop where the East and Western cultures meet, giving
rise to modern Buddhism traditions.
Buddhism that majority of the people in the world observed in the past centuries has
emerged and changed because of a complicated web of influence in this century. Scholars
(Richard Gombrich and Gananath Obeyesekere); since the 1970s, have been addressing these
changes and consequently coined the phrase Protestant Buddhism to refer to Buddhism (Prothero
188). Today these changes are perfectly renowned as Buddhist modernism. The key elements of
Buddhism, which have been largely considered as, key, including meditation, personal
experience, and authority, have been reconstructed to suit modernism. Indeed, Buddhism that has
been practiced since the 19th century does not solely recap dharma but includes the western

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influence and point of view. In other words, current Buddhism does not only embody dharma but
also include the hybrid of traditions that are modernist as much as Buddhist is.
As a result of modernism, Buddhism has relented some of its obvious taboos, which
could not be allowed in the temple. The gesture of compassion from the contemporary monks
has left more to be desired by the traditional ones. For example, following a devastating
earthquake that hit Sichuan province on May 13, 2008, Chen Sichao went into labor when
Shifang Maternal & Children Health hospital could not handle complicated conditions due to a
large number of victims from the earthquake (Yidong 1). She needed surgery. Sichao, along with
1,500 others were transferred to Luohan Temple, which had been changed into a medical facility.
The monk allowed the meditation room to be used as a surgery room despite many people
proclaiming this to be a taboo. Previously a woman could not be allowed to give birth in a
temple. Blood was not allowed in the temple either. The monks were of the opinion that the
greatest taboo would have been their failure to show Sichao, alongside other survivors, mercy
when they needed it most. Their action signified how Buddhism has changed to suit the needs in
the modern world.
Elsewhere in Thailand, women have been assumed to have less power in Buddhism. For
instance, women have been denied the opportunity to be monks and are as well not allowed to
touch or walk in front of the monks. However, there is an evident change in this notion.
Thailand’s female monk, Dhammananda, is believed to have changed the system. Often, she has
been viewed as the course of feminist insurgent in her homeland. Before her, there was no other
female monk, since the ordination in Thailand did not allow it. She flew to Sri Lanka in 2001,
which was ordaining women since the 1990s (Winn 1). She returned to Thailand as a monk and

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Surname 1 Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Date Buddhism Advances with Society and World Buddhism is significantly perceived as one of the earliest missionary religion in the world that spread peacefully. The monks were charged with teaching dharma, and mostly engaged with the native conventions, to accomplish this task. For instance, Buddhism employed Bon norms in Tibet and Confucian values in china (Esler 99). In modern times, Buddhism and its teachings are perhaps the most challenged norms. It has struggled to remain germane to Asians amid the tough social and political changes. Further, in the West, dharma steps into a significant global civilization role, but still faces numerous challenges related to Buddhism value and direction. Modern Buddhism is undoubtedly a backdrop where the East and Western cultures meet, giving rise to modern Buddhism traditions. Buddhism that majority of the people in the world observed in the past centuries has emerged and changed because of a complicated web of influence in this century. Scholars (Richard Gombrich and Gananath Obeyesekere); since the 1970s, have been addressing these changes and consequently coined the phrase Protestant ...
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