Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Postmodern Buddhism


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was   delete. -- Cirt (talk) 19:46, 16 January 2011 (UTC)

Postmodern Buddhism

 * – ( View AfD View log )

Delete. Article is entirely composed of original research. Lead has evolved from "Postmodern Buddhism can be defined as ..." to "Postmodern Buddhism is associated with a syncretic and eclectic approach ...". Requests for a source which provides a formal definition have been ignored. Requests to verify that sources are about "Postmodern Buddhism" rather than Postmodern interpretations of Buddhism have been ignored. None of the string of sources on the final sentence even contain the word "Postmodern". This is complete synthesis. Yworo (talk) 06:08, 31 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Delete Notability of topic not at all established. One of the main claims is that "postmodern" Buddhists get along with other religions. This has been an aspect of Buddhism all along. Wolfview (talk) 06:40, 31 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Note I've also nominated Postmodern religion.Wolfview (talk) 06:49, 31 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Keep - postmodern religion, postmodern Christianity and now postmodern Buddhism have all been simultaneously nominated for deletion.
 * You can't just exclude religion from the subject of postmodernism.
 * The convention with postmodernism is postmodern art, postmodern architecture, postmodern psychology postmodern music and so on. This article follows that connection and links to the larger article, postmodern religion.  This can be a tough subject to write about and I am trying to do it in a way that is clear and easy to understand for the reader.
 * Postmodern Wicca was nominated for deletion, so I changed the title to Postmodern Neopaganism(because the Wicca community did not like the Wicca title) which was then merged to postmodern religion. Now postmodern religion, postmodern Christianity, Postmodern Buddhism are all being simultaneously nominated as articles for deletion.  The references for postmodern Buddhism seem good enough for the article to stay and there is nothing wrong with a short article.
 * Park, Jin Y (2008) Buddhism and Postmodernity: Zen, Huayan and the possibility of postmodern ethics - Lexington Books
 * ^ Swatos and Kivisto (1998) Encylopedia of religion and society - Sage Publications - page 68
 * ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/atheism/types/postmodernism.shtml
 * ^ "Chinese Cultural Studies: The Spirits of Chinese Religion". Academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
 * ^ Windows on Asia - Chinese Religions
 * ^ "Religions and Beliefs in China". Travelchinaguide.com. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
 * ^ "SACU Religion in China". Sacu.org. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
 * ^ "Index-China Chinese Philosophies and religions". Index-china.com. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
 * ^ "Buddhism in China". AskAsia. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
 * ^ "Buddhism And Its Spread Along The Silk Road". Globaled.org. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
 * Kary247 (talk) 17:15, 31 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Maybe use more 'long tail keywords' and be a bit lateral like - 'postmodern buddhism defining'


 * example 1 example 2 example 3 example 4 example 5
 * (maybe be a bit more lateral when searching for sources and use more long tail keywords etc.)
 * — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kary247 (talk • contribs) 14:45, 1 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Comment: The problem with these long tail keyword searches is that they bring up nothing to support "Postmodern Buddhism" as a separately existing entity. For example the first occurrences of the word in the links given come up with postmodern modifying the nouns thought, pundits, culture, scenarios, writers, foibles, theory and themes. None come up with Postmodern Buddhism as far as I can see. While I'm probably convinced that there is a such as thing as postmodern views of Buddhism, I'm not convinced there is such a thing as Postmodern Buddhism. Kim Dent-Brown   (Talk)  14:52, 1 January 2011 (UTC)
 * The titles of the books I have included use the term "postmodern thought in Buddhism" and "Buddhism and postmodern imag." and "Teaching Buddhism in the postmodern university" and "study of buddhism in the postmodern world" etc. If you google 'postmodern buddhism for Google books.  I am just following the naming conventions at Postmodernism, so there is Postmodern Christianity, Postmodern religion etc.


 * Please see SEE THIS VERSION


 * Delete. Although many references have been adduced, they do not in my view support the existence of a notable entity called Postmodern Buddhism. As a small example, a recent reference from the BBC website does not relate to postmodern Buddhism, but rather describes how ancient religions such as Buddhism have elements which echo - but obviously predate - postmodern thinking. Kim Dent-Brown   (Talk)  01:12, 3 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Buddhism-related deletion discussions.  -- • Gene93k (talk) 20:20, 1 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Delete. Not notable and there's no real references that convince me this should stay. Basileias (talk) 03:38, 3 January 2011 (UTC)


 * Comment: Notability:  Postmodern interpretations of all religions are included in most University courses - I am sure lots of University students and younger people who are more postmodern in their thinking would appreciate an article like this.  Given the connection to the main article postmodern religion, the topic is worthy.  Postmodern theory - critical literacy- is included in primary school curriculums.   If we can have Postmodern Christianity, and Postmodern law, then we can have Postmodern Buddhism.  You can really say that there is no such thing as postmodern Buddhism because we live in a postmodern era.
 * Further sources: Considerable serious work is being done concerning postmodernism and Buddhism. See Newman Robert Glass, Working Emptiness: Toward a Third Reading in Buddhism and Postmodern Thought (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1995) and David Loy, ed., Healing Deconstruction: Postmodern Thought in Buddhism and Christianity (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1996).


 * Park, Jin Y (2008) Buddhism and Postmodernity: Zen, Huayan and the possibility of postmodern ethics - Lexington Books
 * American University - Washington DC "Jin Park specialises in Buddhist philosophy/postmodernism...In her comparative study, Park reads Zen and Huayan Buddhism together with postmodern thought"
 * Postmodern Buddhism also refers to Buddhism within the context of postmodern society

See source Source: A magic still dwells: Comparative religion in a postmodern age - University of California--Kary247 (talk) 12:20, 3 January 2011 (UTC)
 * I don't think we should have some have religions included, Postmodern Christianity, Postmodern Neopaganism, and exclude other religions, like Postmodern Buddhism. The main article, postmodern religion, won't be very good if we can't branch out to all of the different postmodern religious interpretations.
 * Following the naming conventions already established at Postmodernism, the correct title for an article about postmodern interpretations of religion, and Buddhism in the postmodern era, is Postmodern Buddhism
 * Logically can we say that there is no such thing as Postmodern Buddhism when we live in a postmodern age? Can we say that people can't interpret religion, whatever the religion, from a postmodern perspective?
 * Delete. The above comment Can we say that people can't interpret religion, whatever the religion, from a postmodern perspective? illustrates the problem with this article.  No we (Wikipedia) CANNOT say this. All we can do is find reliable sources which carry out this interpretation, and the article does not have sources that specifically discuss a concept termed "Postmodern Buddhism". Given that 'postmodern' is a term applied to specific cultural aspects in the West, particularly in Europe, it seems unlikely that the bulk of practitioners of Buddhism (who, guess what, don't live in Europe) would even put the two terms in the same sentence. Elen of the Roads (talk) 15:11, 5 January 2011 (UTC)


 * Comment: I haven't run a search on Asian search engines to find out about postmodern Buddhism, that is a good idea though - the Dalai Lama is an example of a Buddhist who uses postmodern interpretations of Buddhism. The article does need more sources and information, but is only a few weeks old.  Some of the ideas are established in the main article so I thought it would be circular referencing to reuse the same sources in the connected article.  The naming conventions at Postmodernism mean that the title of the article is Postmodern Buddhism, but the topic of the article is postmodern interpretations of Buddhism and Buddhism in the postmodern era etc.  Reliable sources about postmodern interpretations of buddhism and Buddhism in the postmodern era can be found by running a search on Google books using keywords like postmodern religion buddhism and buddhism postmodern religion.--Kary247 (talk) 19:34, 5 January 2011 (UTC).
 * I reiterate - we are only fully in a postmodern era in western Europe. You speak as if the whole world is exhibiting the same cultural artefact. Unless either (a) the Dalai Lama has specifically spoken of "Postmodern Buddhism", or a commentator has described his utterings as "Postmodern Buddhism", it is not acceptable as a source for this article. Elen of the Roads (talk) 19:44, 5 January 2011 (UTC)

 Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Spartaz Humbug! 03:44, 8 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Some of these Google books may be good sources for an article in the category of Philosophy about postmodern interpretations of Buddhism postmodern religion buddhism and buddhism postmodern religion, but of course I have not had time to work through these sources yet, because the article was only created recently.--Kary247 (talk) 19:57, 5 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion so a clearer consensus may be reached.

relisting comment: The majority of comments are for delete but sources have been asserted but are unevaluated. It would be very helpful if these sources could be evaluated and commented upon as they are the basis on which the consensus hangs. Spartaz Humbug! 03:46, 8 January 2011 (UTC)


 * Thanks Spartaz, if not for you so much of my time would have been wasted and a good topic ditched. I just don't have time to go through the thousands of Google books but here is a quote that might be useful from one of the Google books.

"Postmodern Buddhism is seen in much of the Shamb-hala community of Tibetan Buddhism led by the Dalai Lama, and in the widespread fascination with the mystique of zen. Postmodern Hinduism is found in the teachings of many popular Indian gurus, in the West's discovery of the wisdom of Vedanta, and in the growing popularity of yoga and other Vedic traditions. Postmodern Taoism is seen in the popularity of tai chi, chi gong, and feng shui, and in the renewed interest in traditional Chinese medicine. Postmodern Judaism can be recognized in the newly revived tradition of the Kabbalah." - Steve McIntosh, Integral Consciousness and the Future of Evolution (Get the book.) Amazon.


 * Just to save time - Ghandi is a postmodern thinker. Dalai Lama etc.  I would think that given that we have postmodern religion now (did not get deleted) and given that Postmodern Christianity did not get deleted, Buddhism should be included too?--Kary247 (talk) 13:42, 8 January 2011 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.