From Nightstand Buddhist to Everyday Buddhist

You may have heard the term “nightstand Buddhist.” What does it mean, and what can it tell us about Buddhism?

For many people, their first exposure to Buddhism is through reading. Someone like this may be very curious about Buddhism and feels motivated to learn about it through books, which pile up next to their bed as nighttime reading. Thus, the term “nightstand Buddhist.”

Certainly, books can be a great introduction to Buddhism’s long history and rich variety of practice traditions. They can give a broad overview of the subject, provide historical background, and answer many questions. One of my first Buddhist books was The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Buddhism, which, despite the annoying title, contained lots of solid information. Reading can help us build a good knowledge base and motivate us to explore Buddhism more deeply.

So, there is nothing wrong and much that is positive about being a nightstand Buddhist. But if you approach Buddhism only through reading, you can fall into the trap of beginning and ending your learning process there. Book-learning is comfortable, especially if you are used to going to school and measuring your success by your grasp of written material. You may think that you have mastered a subject because you’ve read a lot about it and can demonstrate your knowledge.

But if you are seeking a spiritual path, you won’t get very far if you approach Buddhism as something that can be understood through words alone. That is because the most crucial aspects of Buddhism are not found in books.

Rev. Masao Kodani has often said that Shin Buddhism is a religion of experience, rather than faith. In Buddhism we find a deeply experiential spiritual path. There are no admission requirements, no right or wrong answers, no creed or dogma to memorize and be tested on. It is, rather, a way of life, which we learn and practice through our ordinary, everyday existence.

How do we experience Shin Buddhism? Among other things, we do it through physical actions, such as listening, chanting, bowing, and offering incense. These are powerful ways of embodying, or actualizing, one’s spiritual awareness – transforming the abstract into something real. When we do these actions – even if we can’t put into words what they mean – through repetition and over time they become a part of our being, so that when we bow our heads and put our hands together in gassho, we actually feel the sensations of humility and gratitude. This is a deeper way of engaging with the Buddhist teachings than reading a book, because it involves our bodies, tapping into something beyond thought.

We also experience Buddhism in a very real way through our interactions with other people. This is crucial, because as followers of the Buddhist path, what we are studying is not “Buddhism” as an academic subject, but ourselves. As Shin Buddhist teacher Dr. Nobuo Haneda says, “Buddhism is nothing but self-examination.” Meaning, Buddhism is all about self-examination. And we don’t learn about ourselves by reading. We come to see ourselves and learn who we are in real life, through our daily interactions with other people, including family, friends, enemies, strangers, coworkers, and fellow Sangha members. When I behave in a selfish or angry or petty way with other people, I can clearly see the vast gap between the “good” person I want to be and the foolish being I really am. Once I see this and realize how deluded I am, and humbly acknowledge my inability to bridge that gap, then I can truly awaken to the working of Amida Buddha’s compassion in my life.

Another thing you cannot get from books is the experience of being part of a Sangha – the community of fellow Buddhists. I attended a recent adult discussion after a Dharma talk by OCBC Ministers’ Assistant Teresa Shimogawa on the topic of “What to Do with Our Worry?” There was so much honest and heartfelt sharing and interchange in that session. People shared their struggles, gave words of encouragement, and offered advice. Conversations continued even after the discussion ended. It was a beautiful example of Sangha members being each other’s best teachers.

When it comes to spirituality, there is a huge gap between theory and practice. When we are searching for meaning and transcendence in our lives, it is not a dry academic subject. It is, in fact, a matter of life and death. So, I have a lot of respect for visitors who come to OCBC to learn more about Buddhism. They aren’t settling for just reading books. They are perceptive enough to see that they need to go deeper. They are brave enough to visit a Buddhist temple where they don’t know to expect. They understand that true learning requires deep engagement and stepping outside your comfort zone.

By doing so, they have taken their first steps from being “nightstand Buddhists” to becoming “everyday Buddhists” – from a person who sees Buddhism as a subject to be studied and mastered, to someone for whom it has become a way of living as their authentic selves as they face the struggles and joys of daily life.

In Gassho,
Janis Hirohama,
Ministers’ Assistant