Thread by @EngagedPureLand

@LionsRoar editor @MelvinMcLeodSun, in an otherwise moving editorial, commits serious Pure Land Erasure: he mislables the famous #haiku master Issa as a "Zen master."

Issa, as is well known, was a Jodo Shinshu monk. #AAPI #BuddhistStudies #Buddhism
lionsroar.com/this-world-of-…

McLeod is actually getting his misinformation from Zen teacher @John_Tarrant, who in the same issue mislables Issa as a "Zen poet."

Which points to the larger nature of the issue.
lionsroar.com/where-oh-where…

What we have here is a serious problem. It's not just about a leading Buddhist magazine completely mislabeling one of the most famous historical Buddhists.

It's an indicator of the Pure Land Deficiency Syndrome that plagues @LionsRoar @tricyclemag @buddhadharma and their ilk.

If @LionsRoar had Pure Land Buddhists on their staff, these two errors in the same issue wouldn't happen. Out here in the regular world, where Pure Land Buddhists outnumber Zen Buddhists, most of us are aware of Issa and his affiliation. Or at least would think to ask.

But @LionsRoar has never employed a Japanese Pure Land Buddhist, despite claiming to represent all forms of Buddhism. (The impressive Nancy Chu, hired a few months ago as part of an admirable diversity push, is the only person they've ever employed with Pure Land connections.)

With PLDS in full force at the magazine, this means there are fewer articles on Pure Land Buddhism; articles tend to rehash the basics; misassumptions aren't challenged. Pure Land material sneaks in yet is called Zen.

There are 14 articles on Lion's Roar that are labeled Pure Land or Shin. They have titles like "What is Pure Land?," "What is Jodo Shinshu?," and "Key Terms of Shin Buddhism." One is about the Lotus Sutra, which is not a primarily Pure Land text.

There are 783 articles at Lion's Roar that are labeled Chan or Zen.

Thus Pure Land Erasure occurs as a systemic problem, due to institutional factors. Among other things, this tends to drive down the number of articles by Asian-American Buddhists.

It's not a coincidence that McLeod and Tarrant--two excellent teachers and good people, whose writings have benefitted many--are white. Pure Land Erasure arising from Pure Land Deficiency Syndrome is part of the systemic whiteness of the Anglophone Buddhist publishing industry.

For more on that, see this thread about a recent similar incident at @tricyclemag

https://twitter.com/EngagedPureLand/status/1420387885774163978

There's a progression of errors. White Tarrant reads a haiku, likes it, and assumes it MUST be Zen, because the Buddhist publishing industry has convinced us that Japanese spirituality is Zen (and that Pure Land has nothing useful to teach us). He calls Issa a "Zen poet."

White McLeod reads Tarrant's article, likes it, and assumes Issa MUST be Zen because a) same reason as above and b) respected white Zen teacher Tarrant said so. Then he calls Issa a "Zen master," upping the stakes.

"Zen master" is largely a romanticized Western fiction. But it's casually attached to figures as a way of increasing their status/mystique. Now the mostly white, non-Pure Land staff of Lion's Roar reads McLeod's piece prior to publication, and, naturally, don't catch the error.

The issue goes out and the mostly white, non-Pure Land readership of Lion's Roar has their assumptions about the value of Zen (and the irrelevancy of Pure Land) confirmed once again. Rinse and repeat, this cycle is self-reinforcing and never-ending.

It's not like Lion's Roar is malintended, or there isn't value in McLeod or Tarrant's writings. The problem is a system build by white Buddhists for white Buddhists to promote white Buddhism (Zen is largely coded white in North America) results in errors, oversight, and exclusion

It's good that Lion's Roar is waking up to some of its problems, and trying to take steps to reduce them (such as the hiring of Chu, Pamela Ayo Yetunde, and Mihiri Tillakaratne). And we are seeing some Pure Land inclusion, such as in this current article
lionsroar.com/goodbye-and-go…

(Can't help noticing that Jodo Shinshu is at the very bottom, though)

If you'd like to learn more about the real Issa, check out @issa_haiku and this book:
amazon.com/Pure-Land-Haik…

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