Blue Jean Buddha: Voices of Young Buddhists

The book Blue Jean Buddha: Voices of Young Buddhists is a collection of testimonials from practicing young adults in North America edited by Sumi Loundon. It takes an interesting approach to Western Buddhism, divided in four parts being lessons, life stories, livelihood and personal reflections by the editor. It explains first-hand the overcoming of struggles and barriers faced by modern Buddhists on their everyday path to enlightenment. The stories of the young North American Buddhists vary from Lillian Guild’s search for a relationship with a strong religious foundation to Elijah Ary’s duty of bridging the Eastern and Western Buddhist worlds. As seen in lectures, Elijah Ary is a tulku, a reincarnation of a popular Tibetan Buddhist monk, and the only one ever born in the Western world (ever to be confirmed by the Dalai Lama). Another testimonial is entitled “I’m a Mutt” by Hanuman Goleman, a self-proclaimed “Bu-Hin-Chris-Jew”. Goleman explains his choice to focus on his Buddhist way of life, while remaining conscious and respectful of other faiths.
Like Ary, Goleman was born to a Jewish father and Christian mother who later converted to a major Eastern religion (Hinduism at first, in contrast to Ary’s Buddhism). I found it interesting to see two men from such similar roots overcome great diversity and pursue the same faith with much different paths. Unlike Ary, Goleman was under no pressure to pursue his faith studies in traditional fashion, making his spiritual journey much more accessible. Goleman’s “everyone is right about God” philosophy and diverse religious backround makes his will to live a humble Buddhist life seem somewhat popular, the Buddhist population in North America just recently started growing.
Buddhism, among other religions popular around Japan, has had a slow growth in Canada and the rest of the Western world much due to World Wars I and II. Many Japanese-Canadians had their rights and land confiscated by the Canadian government, and the greatest supporters of freeing the immigrants after the war were Christian churches. The support of the church along with the willingness to fit in to the Western world converted most Asian immigrants, giving later Canadian Buddhists little connection with the Eastern world. The separation allowed modern Buddhists to adapt their spiritual life to the urban setting, as opposed to the traditional studies in monasteries found in Tibet.
Personally, I found this book very captivating and even relatable, especially to Hanuman Goleman with his interest in many faiths, self-awareness and music. As a Catholic I possess little knowledge of Eastern religions, yet am intrigued. This book gave me deep insight into a religion that I knew little of, with relatable stories and testimonials from the world I know, shedding a different light on a faith mainly attributed to India and Tibet.
Blue Jean Buddha was unbiased in its presentation, and gave me a variety of perspectives from different Buddhists from across North America. This gave me a sense of the different dynamics of the religion, and how flexible yet enriching a spiritual life can be. Although I enjoyed the messages relayed throughout the book at times the stories were somewhat poorly written, being testimonials of young adults instead of writing professionals. This made some of the stories dry and difficult to follow. Nevertheless, I got the idea of what the stories were trying to convey despite their “talking style” tendencies.
As a religious type I was able to connect with the journeys and faith that others had experienced. This made me realize that the road to faith is rooted in the pursuit of understanding. For this reason I found most of the stories at least vaguely relatable to my own personal spiritual experiences. It was made clear that the principles of Buddhism make up a solid guideline to living a righteous and healthy life. Despite being Catholic I can regard Buddhism as a respectable religion (Siddhartha Gautama being in the Bible as St. Josaphat) due to beneficial lessons and focus on self-control. Its foundation is made up of the pursuit of knowledge and the conscious awareness of personal actions. It is also majorly based around the quest to live a life of morality. These virtues should be sought by all, since they are healthy and positive outlooks fitting to stand as a basis for life.
The stories were written by people who lived troubled lives and overcame thick spiritual barriers such as drug addiction. Throughout the book, meditation is proven as a great way to find inner peace and serenity. They describe how mediation helps them develop an escape to their pain and is also a great channel for pain. These stories have convinced me that mediation is a healthy practice for people of all faiths.

Bibliography: * Loundon, Sumi. Blue Jean Buddha: Voices of Young Buddhists. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2001. Print.