Overall, consideration of institutional Buddhism and common Buddhist practice illustrates the complexity and diversity of responses that can be associated with a seemingly overarching influence on cultural norms. The problem with “big influences” is that they become translated in different ways, depending on what one wishes to emphasize. In the case of Buddhism, doctrine which could be viewed as supporting authority, patriarchy, and fatalism have received emphasis over those which would seem to facilitate or at least not inhibit behavioral and social change. Organized Buddhism’s mixed responses to the epidemic are another indication of how difficult it is to identify one specific kind of “Buddhist” response to the epidemic. The understanding of “major cultural influences” like these requires attention to their complexity and also to the meaning ascribed to important parts of these influences. It also requires attention to differences between doctrine and practice and recognition of how doctrine is interpreted by believers as opposed to non-Buddhists.