In an article published in the New York Times entitled “Buddhist’s Delight”, James Atlas describes his experience at a Buddhist retreat in northern Vermont this past summer. The focus of the retreat was Buddhist meditation and Atlas says he went into it with a little skepticism, unsure of its benefits or his ability to learn. He says he did it because of the many rumored benefits, like mental health and also because of the growing interest in Buddhism by people of Christian and Jewish faith. He describes the four-day retreat as a mix of meditation (hours at a time), lectures (on “loving kindness” and “inherent goodness”), and discussions of Buddhism in today’s world. He describes his learning about making Buddhism active, as a way to handle gender issues, globalization, politics, and more. At the end of the retreat, Atlas says he walked away with lessons of acceptance and the idea that he was capable of “self-transformation”. He leaves us with the idea that before we can go out and change the world, we have to better ourselves, and this can start with meditation.
        This article addresses something that plays such a huge role in Buddhist culture: meditation. Atlas, made seemingly more relatable by his skepticism and newness to Buddhism, gives us a simple, believable tale of one Western man’s attempt to find inner-peace. He talks about our obsession with, what he calls, “nightstand Buddhism” taking bits and pieces of Buddhism from the books we read and integrating these into our own religions. He brings up a good point, in Western culture, though we might not understand or take up Buddhism completely, we do admire its virtues and often implement these ideas into our lives. With Buddhist retreats like this one springing up frequently, it seems the Buddhism is more easily accessible than ever. Americans seem to interpret its teachings loosely, but are curious nonetheless. Many Americans are eager to live peaceful, mindful lives and though they may oversimplify Buddhism in their attempts to understand it, there is growing interest throughout the United States.



James Atlas's original article can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/opinion/sunday/buddhists-delight.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1