Spiritual materialism?

clipped from www.newsweek.com Beliefwatch: WWBD? In the past year, Buddhism-themed restaurants and bars have proliferated; there are now at least 20 in about 13 cities. This spring, four bastions of serene extravagance–Buddakan, Buddha Bar, Megu Midtown and Moksha–opened in New York alone. But even some Buddhists have gotten into the act. Lama Surya Das, American Buddhist founder of the Dzogchen Foundation, is developing a flavor with Ben & Jerry’s called Jolly Lama–a gold-and-maroon-swirled sorbet that’s in the early stages of review–and plans to donate his profits to a Tibetan refugee project. “Buddha’s open-minded,” he says. “He taught the middle way, not a way of austerity or grim unworldliness.”