The Faces of Buddhism in America

by Prebish, Charles S.; Tanaka, Kenneth Kenichi

• ISBN13: 9780520204607
• ISBN10: 0520204603
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-12-01
• Publisher: Univ of California Pr

Summary

Buddhism is the fastest growing religion in the United States, with adherents estimated in the several millions. But what exactly defines a "Buddhist"? This has been a much-debated question in recent years, particularly in regard to the religion's bifurcation into two camps: the so-called "imported" or ethnic Buddhism of Asian immigrants and the "convert" Buddhism of a mostly middle-class, liberal, intellectual elite. In this timely collection Charles S. Prebish and Kenneth K. Tanaka bring together some of the leading voices in Buddhist studies to examine the debates surrounding contemporary Buddhism's many faces. The contributors investigate newly Americanized Asian traditions such as Tibetan, Zen, Nichiren, Jodo Shinshu, and Theravada Buddhism and the changes they undergo to meet the expectations of a Western culture desperate for spiritual guidance. Race, feminism, homosexuality, psychology, environmentalism, and notions of authority are some of the issues confronting Buddhism for the first time in its three-thousand-year history and are powerfully addressed here. In recent years American Buddhism has been featured as a major story on ABC television news, National Public Radio, and in other national media. A strong new Buddhist journalism is emerging in the United States, and American Buddhism has made its way onto the Internet. The faces of Buddhism in America are diverse, active, and growing, and this book will be a valuable resource for anyone interested in understanding this vital religious movement.

Table of Contents

In Memoriam: Reverend Dr. Yehan Numata (1897-1994)	vii
Introduction	1	(12)
Charles S. Prebish
Part One: American Buddhist Traditions in Transition	13	(170)
1. Chinese Buddhism in America: Identity and Practice	13	(18)
Stuart Chandler
2. Shin Buddhism in America: A Social Perspective	31	(18)
Alfred Bloom
3. Japanese Zen in America: Americanizing the Face in the Mirror	49	(30)
G. Victor Sogen Hori
4. Nichiren Shoshu and Soka Gakkai in America: The Pioneer Spirit	79	(20)
Jane Hurst
5. Tibetan Buddhism in America: The Development of American Vajrayana	99	(18)
Amy Lavine
6. Korean Buddhism in America: A New Style of Zen	117	(12)
Mu Soeng
7. Vietnamese Buddhism in North America: Tradition and Acculturation	129	(18)
Cuong Tu Nguyen
A.W. Barber
8. Theravada Buddhism in America: Prospects for the Sangha	147	(16)
Paul David Numrich
9. Insight Meditation in the United States: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness	163	(20)
Gil Fronsdal
Part Two: Issues in American Buddhism	183	(104)
10. Who Is a Buddhist? Charting the Landscape of Buddhist America	183	(13)
Jan Nattier
11. Divided Dharma: White Buddhists, Ethnic Buddhists, and Racism	196	(11)
Rick Fields
12. Americanizing the Buddha: Paul Carus and the Transformation of Asian Thought	207	(21)
Martin J. Verhoeven
13. Buddhist and Western Psychotherapies: An Asian American Perspective	228	(10)
Ryo Imamura
14. Helping the Iron Bird Fly: Western Buddhist Women and Issues of Authority in the Late 1990s	238	(15)
Rita M. Gross
15. Coming Out in the Sangha: Queer Community in American Buddhism	253	(13)
Roger Corless
16. Responding to the Cries of the World: Socially Engaged Buddhism in North America	266	(21)
Donald Rothberg
Epilogue: The Colors and Contours of American Buddhism	287	(12)
Kenneth K. Tanaka
Notes	299	(44)
Selected Bibliography	343	(6)
List of Illustrations	349	(2)
Contributors	351	(4)
Index	355