I’m just putting it out there, but could the following ideas shed some light on this subject.

1. An absence of Canadian Buddhist figureheads. Sure we have K.D. Lang and Lenoard Cohen and they’re great but we as Canadians always seem to be exporting our talent. This brings me to asking if we have enough of an infrastructure to support the education of Buddhist studies here in Canada. Many of us have taken or do consider hitting the ‘Road to Naropa’ since there are very few institutions outside of the Canadian university system that are teaching courses that compare to their offerings.

We did try to recruit the Dalai Lama for the Montreal Canadiens during his recent visit.

2. We as Buddhists are less technologically active (or at least open about our activity). Although we have a greater percentage of the population that is online, Canadian Buddhists are hiding online. I’m not connecting with any and the majority of my online exchanges come from the US and overseas. I don’t come across many Facebook groups speaking to inherently Canadian Buddhist events, actions or organizations. Is it that there is a generational or technological divide amongst Canadian Buddhists? Are we too shy to connect with one another online? Tell me I’m wrong.

3. We’re used to consuming American content. Tell me that you didn’t prefer MTV to Much Music? That the Canadian version of Sesame Street was as cool as that of our US counterparts? How many of the Buddhist blogs and podcasts you follow are Canadian?

4. We’re shy and don’t like offering opinions. Oh that British politesse.

All of this is just a gathering of random thoughts. I’d love to hear from other Canadian Buddhists to get your perspective and to help me to discover more about the elusive Canadian Buddhist community. (said in a “Hinterland Who’s Who” voice)