Religious and Ethnic Groups: Buddhism and Asians
Cultural Diversity in the United States

Religious and Ethnic Groups: Buddhism and Asians
The world is a melting pot of people from different religious and ethnic backgrounds. The religious and ethnic groups I have chosen to focus on, are Buddhism and Asians. I selected these groups, because of my curiosity and intrigue for the ancient traditions and mystique surrounding these two groups. The Asian culture is very colorful, fascinating, and dynamic. Buddhism is a religion based on spiritualism and the development of one's spiritual growth toward enlightenment. Even though my culture is not Asian, and Buddhism is not my chosen religion, I do find the discipline, art, and the adherence to traditional values kindred to my own. I also find the Buddhist practice of meditation relaxing and very effective at calming one's mind and in refocusing your energy. Over the course of this paper, I will offer a brief insight into the religious and cultural similarities and differences between the Buddhist religion, the Asian culture, and the rest of the world, as well as the discrimination endured by both.
Buddhism: Similarities, Differences, and Discrimination
The Buddhist religion is unique because they do not worship a deity, as other faiths do. Buddhist followers believe that each being shall reach enlightenment without the guidance of a God or Gods (BBC Online Services, 2014). Contrary to what most people think or believe, Buddha was not a "god", but a teacher. The teachings of Buddha were merely the path toward Nirvana. The decision to make the journey toward enlightenment, being left up to each Buddhist follower. The Buddhist belief focuses on the life after death, and tolerance through love and non-violence. The Buddhist belief is that if you live a good life while on Earth, your afterlife will be even better. However, if you live a bad life, your afterlife will be one of misery and suffering.
Another intriguing aspect of Buddhism is there are no particular days or times that one goes to the temple for worship. Some religions have a scheduled day and time when religious services are held. Catholic parishioners for instances, go to worship on Saturday evenings or Sunday mornings, whereas; Buddhists attend temple whenever they can. Most Buddhist commonly visit temple on days where there is a full moon. Buddhist temples are not just for praying and meditating, but a place for learning. Most Buddhist temples contain libraries and lecture rooms for expanding the academic mind, as well as the spiritual (WordPress.com, 2011).
The Buddhist religion believes that by following five principles, they will live a good productive life (BBC Online Services, 2014). The first principle being, not to hurt living things. Large or small. The second, do not take advantage of what is not there. Third, use your senses correctly. The forth, speak kindly when addressing others. The fifth and final principle, abstain from the use drugs or alcohol. Buddhists believe that by following the five principles you will achieve, what they refer to as nirvana. Nirvana being the final step or goal in the Buddhist religion. Around the world, the Buddhist religion is regarded as one of tolerance, love, and compassion. Because of the tranquil teaching of Buddhism, some Buddhist rituals and beliefs are practiced by non-Buddhists in various countries and walks of life.
In American, for instance, Buddhism has been a part of our culture for several years. The growth of Buddhism in American culture founded its roots in 1989 when the Dalia Lama won a Nobel Peace Prize. But, the most interesting influence Buddhism has had on America, has been in the field of psychology. The Buddhist influenced psychological treatment, called Mindful-Based Cognitive therapy, is based on the ability to awaken the vastness, mystery, and deep-seated goodness of our inner self (DeAngelis, 2014). Through the practice of breath-based meditation, yoga, and devotional chanting, patients suffering from anxiety, depression, and trauma symptoms focus internal energy to the areas of emotional pain. This focusing helps the patient quiet the mental obsessions of self-reflection, opening their mind to coping with the unprocessed pain causing their trauma (Holzel, 2010).
As Buddhism is a peace loving and non-violent religion, with mystical healing powers; it is hard to fathom the thought of discrimination and prejudice affecting their solemn path to nirvana? Unfortunately, Buddhist societies have long suffered the wrath of prejudice. The Sri Lankan civil war, between the dominant Sinhalese Buddhists and the Hindu-Buddhist Tamil minority on the island of Ceylon being one of the most significant. The Sinhalese and Tamil Buddhists are two different religious factions of the Buddhist religion in Sri Lankan society. The conflict between these two factions started in 1948 when Sri Lankan gained its independence from Great Britain. The ensuing civil war lasted from 1983 to 2009. What started this conflict, was relentless governmental and societal discrimination against the Tamil minority by the Sinhalese faction and the Sri Lankan Government. The discrimination ranged from ethnolinguistic, ethnopolitical discrimination to ethnic prejudices in the job placement and educational achievement (Perera, 2001). In 2002, a ceasefire ended the military conflict, but the discrimination lingers, even today.
Asian Ethnicity
The majority of Buddhist followers descend from Asian culture, who themselves, have experienced the effects of discrimination and prejudice. Anti-Asian prejudice in American society has declined, but just as with other prejudice in the U.S., it has a long and ugly history.
Similar to the African Americans in 17th and 18th century America, Asians were treated as property, being bought and sold as slaves. They were not allowed to intermingle or associate with white people either. According to Le (2015), "For more than 200 years, Asian Americans have been denied equal rights, subjected to harassment and hostility, had their rights revoked and imprisoned for no justifiable reason, physically attacked, and murdered."
A good example of this was after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. Asian Americans, primarily Japanese Americans, were rounded up and placed in Internment Camps. Approximately 120,000 Japanese were confined in these camps all over the U.S. for fear of potential spying on the U.S. During World War II, only ten spies were caught spying for the Japanese. None of which were Japanese or even of Asian descent (History.com Staff, 2009). There also has been accusations, that some Ivy League colleges have "anti-Asian" admission quotas, and require higher math and verbal SAT College Admission Exam scores for Asian-Americans seeking admission (Geier, 2012).
Despite the discrimination and prejudices afflicted upon the Asian culture, Asians have openly invited Americans to join in and experience the many traditions of their colorful and unique culture. Their culture has influenced clothing styles, tattoo art, Sanrio products such as Hello Kitty, Pokémon, and Anima, the entertainment and movie industries, and the restaurant industry (Barker, 2001). In which, Asian cuisine is undoubtedly the most recognizable influence in American culture.
The Asian culture is a melting pot of many different societies, beliefs, and unique languages. When a person from an East Asian country is speaking in their native tongue, it can appear they are speaking rapidly, so fast that it is hard to believe that a person can comprehend what is being spoken. The Asian language also differs in how many characters make up their language, or alphabet. In the English alphabet, there are 26 letters, which as a child in Grammar School, trying to learn just 26 seemed like a daunting task. However, imagine yourself as a Japanese student having to learn 1,945 characters, or a Chinese student having to master an unbelievable 3,000 pictographs (Garfinkle, 2002).
Conclusion
Over the course of history, the Buddhists and Asian communities have felt the pain of discrimination and prejudice, because of their beliefs, origins, and cultural differences. The Buddhist culture is one of peace and serenity, and Asian communities are centered around tradition, strong cultural values, and a strong attachment to their homelands. Asians and Buddhist found it difficult adapting to American culture in the beginning and are still experiencing difficulty today. Both groups experienced horrific acts of discrimination and prejudice because they were different from that of other cultures. These differences made them a target for people who did not want to learn and understand their cultures and beliefs.
Everyone has the right to practice their beliefs and traditions, and the right not be discriminated against because of those beliefs and traditions. The human race is very diverse, and we should embrace and accept all people, regardless of the color of their skin, religion, or national origin.

References
Barker, O. (2001). Eastern Influences Become Icons of Popular Culture. Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/2001-03-22-eastern-influences.htm BBC Online Services. (2014). Religions-Buddhism. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/ religion/religions/buddhism/ DeAngelis, T. (2014). A Blend of Buddhism and Psychology. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/02/buddhism-psychology.aspx Garfinkle, M. (2002). Bicameral Pictographic Keyboard. Retrieved from http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~garfinkm/Picto.html Geier, K. (2012, December). Discrimination against Asian American students in Ivy League admissions. The Washington Monthly, (),. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/ political-animal-a/2012_12/discrimination_against_asian_a041954.php History.com Staff. (2009). Japanese-American Relocation. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/japanese-american-relocation Holzel, B.K. (2010). Mindfulness Practice Leads to Increases in Regional Brain Gray Matter
Density. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3004979/
Le, C.N. (2015). Anti-Asian Racism & Violence. Retrieved from http://www.asian- nation.org/racism.shtml Perera, S. (2001). The Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka: A Historical and Sociopolitical Outline. Retrieved from http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2001/02/15982690/ethnic-conflict-sri-lanka-historical-sociopolitical-outline
WordPress.com. (2011). Buddhism: 9 Facts about Buddhism. Retrieved from
http://ashwath0608.wordpress.com/2011/02/12/8-facts-about-buddhism/