user749: There are a lot of people practicing their religion at home (to some extent). But how practical is that for a Buddhist?
My question came boiling up when a family-member said that I ultimately have to choose between 'my western life' or becoming a Monk because they think they aren't compatible and to be honest, I don't really know.
I feel myself to become quite less social when I practice Buddhism which is by my knowledge a common reaction when you get to see things as they are. The Vinaya Pitika describes 227 rules to ordained Monks for the sake of becoming enlightened. There are many distractions which keeps you from the right path and you will break 220 on average each day.

user111: Even in Asia, you have to leave the lay life, if you are to become a monk. Once you become a monk, your culture doesn't matter. You belong to the Sangha. There are many Theravada Sangha in the world with western origins. Ex: Venerable Yuttadhammo, Venerable Bodhi, Venerable Ajahn Brahm. etc. They are hardly anti-social. Look at how many lay followers they have. You don't have to compromise on Vinaya rules to be a benefit to the society.
Even if you stay as a lay person, you don't have to kill, steal, sexually misbehave, lie or get drunk to be social.

user533: I believe first you need to decide if you want to be a monk or keep as a lay buddhist. If you want to follow the lay buddhist path, there is nothing wrong with the west or our modern life, you just have to keep the 5 preceps, not really complicated.
If you want to become a monk, you just need to join a Sangha and that can be in the east or west, it doesn't make much difference these days if you find a serious place to practice.
Just to complicate a little bit...I used to question myself: If I truly believe in the Buddha why not becoming a monk? It is not the only way, but that was his way, there is clearly something special to be acquired following the Vinaya and everything... so why be satisfied with lay life? it is a hard question, but very, very personal.

user745: In my humble opinion, Buddhism meshes with the nobler aspects of western culture much better than most western religions. Buddhism has a system of ethics for lay people which is based not on appeals to authority but on what leads to true happiness, which is actually identical to the virtue ethics of most ancient Greek schools of philosophy for example, and the Buddha seems to have been a fan of democracy, setting up the Sangha of Monks and Nuns to make decisions by voting in a formal assembly in their communities, and the Buddha even gave a parable which seems to lay out a theory of government based on popular sovereignty in DN 27 ( http://www.urbandharma.org/pdf/AggannaSutta.pdf )
On top of it all, Buddhism rejects tradition and scripture as sources of authority, offering people not the all too familiar "Convert or burn in hell" line, but a confident "Don't take our word for it, test the teachings out for yourself!" attitude that fits much better with our much more empirical mindset.
Quite frankly, a lot of the things people point to as being major cultural barriers are quite superficial things like bowing, chanting, and other things which are by their nature supplementary to the teachings anyways.

user157: I woud say Theravadan Buddhism is compatible with the West because it is already happening. Jack Kornfield studied with Ajahn Chah and then went on to found the Insight Meditation Centre which is partially inspired by this practice (though doesn't wholly identify as Theravadan). Ajahn Chah's lineage itself has come to the West with the  Thai Forest Tradition and to quote from here

They provide centres for monastic training, as well as, teaching and
  practice for the lay community.

So you don't need to be a monk to practice. My own group the Triratna Buddhists are also very influenced by Theravada Buddhism and we have no concept of monks. Even order members are considered to be lay followers. 
As Buddhism moves Buddhism changes. As it moves into the West and as Western culture influences into the East then (Theravada) Buddhism will change. But Buddhism will always teach liberation - how could it be any other way. So I would humbly say that yes you can practice but the practice might not be quite as it was before.

749: <p>There are a lot of people practicing their religion at home (to some extent). But how practical is that for a Buddhist?</p>

<p>My question came boiling up when a family-member said that I ultimately have to choose between 'my western life' or becoming a Monk because they think they aren't compatible and to be honest, I don't really know.</p>

<p>I feel myself to become quite less social when I practice Buddhism which is by my knowledge a common reaction when you get to see things as they are. The Vinaya Pitika describes 227 rules to ordained Monks for the sake of becoming enlightened. There are many distractions which keeps you from the right path and you will break 220 on average each day.</p>
 111: <p>Even in Asia, you have to leave the lay life, if you are to become a monk. Once you become a monk, your culture doesn't matter. You belong to the Sangha. There are many Theravada Sangha in the world with western origins. Ex: Venerable Yuttadhammo, Venerable Bodhi, Venerable Ajahn Brahm. etc. They are hardly anti-social. Look at how many lay followers they have. You don't have to compromise on Vinaya rules to be a benefit to the society.</p>

<p>Even if you stay as a lay person, you don't have to kill, steal, sexually misbehave, lie or get drunk to be social.</p>
 533: <p>I believe first you need to decide if you want to be a monk or keep as a lay buddhist. If you want to follow the lay buddhist path, there is nothing wrong with the west or our modern life, you just have to keep the 5 preceps, not really complicated.</p>

<p>If you want to become a monk, you just need to join a Sangha and that can be in the east or west, it doesn't make much difference these days if you find a serious place to practice.</p>

<p>Just to complicate a little bit...I used to question myself: If I truly believe in the Buddha why not becoming a monk? It is not the only way, but that was his way, there is clearly something special to be acquired following the Vinaya and everything... so why be satisfied with lay life? it is a hard question, but very, very personal.</p>
 745: <p>In my humble opinion, Buddhism meshes with the nobler aspects of western culture much better than most western religions. Buddhism has a system of ethics for lay people which is based not on appeals to authority but on what leads to true happiness, which is actually identical to the virtue ethics of most ancient Greek schools of philosophy for example, and the Buddha seems to have been a fan of democracy, setting up the Sangha of Monks and Nuns to make decisions by voting in a formal assembly in their communities, and the Buddha even gave a parable which seems to lay out a theory of government based on popular sovereignty in DN 27 ( <a href="http://www.urbandharma.org/pdf/AggannaSutta.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.urbandharma.org/pdf/AggannaSutta.pdf</a> )</p>

<p>On top of it all, Buddhism rejects tradition and scripture as sources of authority, offering people not the all too familiar "Convert or burn in hell" line, but a confident "Don't take our word for it, test the teachings out for yourself!" attitude that fits much better with our much more empirical mindset.</p>

<p>Quite frankly, a lot of the things people point to as being major cultural barriers are quite superficial things like bowing, chanting, and other things which are by their nature supplementary to the teachings anyways.</p>
 157: <p>I woud say Theravadan Buddhism is compatible with the West because it is already happening. Jack Kornfield studied with Ajahn Chah and then went on to found the <a href="http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/">Insight Meditation Centre</a> which is partially inspired by this practice (though doesn't wholly <a href="http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/articles/the-treasures-of-the-theravada/">identify as Theravadan</a>). Ajahn Chah's lineage itself has come to the West with the  T<a href="http://forestsangha.org/history/">hai Forest Tradition</a> and to quote from here</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>They provide centres for monastic training, as well as, teaching and
  practice for the lay community.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>So you don't need to be a monk to practice. My own group the <a href="https://thebuddhistcentre.com/text/what-triratna-buddhist-community">Triratna Buddhists</a> are also very influenced by Theravada Buddhism and we have no concept of monks. Even order members are considered to be lay followers. </p>

<p>As Buddhism moves Buddhism changes. As it moves into the West and as Western culture influences into the East then (Theravada) Buddhism will change. But Buddhism will always teach liberation - how could it be any other way. So I would humbly say that yes you can practice but the practice might not be quite as it was before.</p>
