COVER STORY: Tensions in American Buddhism July 6, 2001
Episode no. 445
MARY ALICE WILLIAMS:
Buddhism is the world's fourth largest religion, founded about 2500
years ago in India. The Buddha taught that life is suffering and the
way to overcome that is to get rid of attachments. Widely practiced
across Asia, Buddhism has attracted many converts in this country. They
are developing forms of Buddhist practice that are often very different
from the practices of Asian-Americans. Some observers believe there is
a growing ethnic divide in American Buddhism. Correspondent Kim Lawton
has our cover story.
KIM LAWTON: In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Pat
Phelan is being installed as abbess, head of the Red Cedar Zen Temple.
She has taken the name Taitaku Josho to demonstrate her acceptance of
Buddhist precepts. She is being elevated to her new position in a
symbolic "Mountain Seat ceremony," attended by the Zen Center's
members. Like Phelan, all of the Center's members are converts to the
Buddhist tradition and its sometimes puzzling exchanges.
A few miles across town there's another Buddhist temple, which people
often mistake for a Chinese restaurant. Here Vietnamese Buddhists
gather to worship in what's known as the "Pure Land" Buddhist
tradition. Some members of this sangha, or worship community, have been
in the U.S. for more than 20 years; others have arrived more recently.
The two Buddhist centers are in the same Bible Belt community, but
virtually separate, largely unaware of each other. That's a situation
increasingly common as Buddhism takes hold across America. The forms of
practice are diverse, with numerous traditions. But many believe the
biggest divide may be an ethnic one.
LOPON CLAUDE D'ESTRÉE (Chaplain,
George Mason University): There is an Asian Buddhist community, and
there is a Western American Buddhist community, and they don't often
mix.
PROFESSOR RYO IMAMURA (Buddhist Priest
and Professor, Evergreen State College): I think we co-exist
peacefully, probably not interacting a whole lot.
HELEN TWORKOV (TRICYCLE magazine):
There's definitely some divides, and I think we could call it a racial
divide. I do not think it's a racist divide.
LAWTON: Buddhism has always traced a
wide cultural path. From its beginnings -- 2,500 years ago -- in the
Himalayan Mountains to its spread across Asia, Buddhism has adapted to
and ultimately shaped each culture it has encountered.
Buddhism first came to the United States more
than 150 years ago with the arrival of Chinese and Japanese immigrants.
Even in those days, there was interest from non-Asians.
PROFESSOR STEPHEN PROTHERO (Associate
Professor, Religion, Boston University): There was a sort of Buddhist
boom in the late-19th century, and there was a second one that began in
the '50s with the Beat generation and those kinds of people.
LAWTON: In the '60s and '70s that boom
became a virtual explosion of non-Asian conversions, among them a
relatively large number of Jews. Many of those converts now lead their
own Buddhist communities, also mostly non-Asian converts.
Precise figures are difficult to come by.
Experts say there are between three and four million Buddhists in the
United States today. About 75% of them are of Asian heritage. But
despite their numbers, many Asian Americans say they don't feel
sufficiently acknowledged in this country's Buddhist landscape.
Hollywood and the media have perpetuated the impression that the
American Buddhist community consists of mostly-white practitioners who
follow charismatic Asian leaders such as Thich Nah Hahn or the Dalai
Lama.
PROFESSOR IMAMURA: I think when the term "American
Buddhism" is used, most Asian-American Buddhists feel outside of the
dialogue.
LAWTON: Ryo Imamura is an
18th-generation Buddhist priest and a third generation Asian American.
His grandfather ministered to the Buddhist community in the early-20th
century in Hawaii, and in the '40s and '50s, Imamura's parents began a
Buddhist Study Center in Berkeley, California. The Center attracted
some non-Asians. Imamura says those times have largely disappeared. He
says while Asian teachers may have started Buddhist groups here, white
converts now lead them.
PROFESSOR IMAMURA:
Racism has to play a role because of the times. I think most Caucasian
Americans have not interacted with Asians, certainly not in ways that
put Asians in more authoritative roles, or roles of respect. And I
don't know if you want to characterize this as racist, but I think they
are much more comfortable looking up to a white, male authority figure,
or maybe a female one.
LAWTON: Many say there are
clear reasons that Buddhist groups tend to divide along racial lines.
In addition to obvious language barriers, there are differences in
practice. Most convert Buddhists focus on meditation. Their communities
tend to be more lay oriented, with more women in positions of
leadership. For some converts, Buddhism is more a philosophy than a
religion.
For Asian Americans, the temple has more congregational importance,
playing a key religious, social, and cultural role in the community.
LOPON D'ESTRÉE: In a sense, we
have two different agendas or maybe cultural agendas. The Asian
tradition is based on something they have grown up with and has more
ritual aspects. Coming to a service on Sunday is like coming to church
anywhere else. Western Buddhists tend to be more interested in learning
how to meditate and Buddhist philosophy. So there is somewhat of a
clash of cultures.
LAWTON: Cultural divides also exist
within Asian-American communities, with little interaction across those
ethnic lines either.
MS. TWORKOV: In some cases, you have communities of
these people. I mean they really came out of the killing fields. They
came to this country traumatized by the wars in Southeast Asia. Their
needs are not only very different [from the] needs of white
middle-class Americans, they're very different from the needs of very
well educated middle-class Japanese Americans.
LAWTON: Tworkov's magazine, TRICYCLE,
focuses on the needs of the diverse convert community.
MS. TWORKOV: By nature, the immigrant
relationship to religion is conservative. You want to conserve your
culture, your values, your heritage, your language. And that is done
primarily through the church, the temple, the religious value system.
We came along in the '60s and we wanted to transform everything, so
everything was about, really it was like an opposite direction.
LAWTON: Experts say ethnic divides
aren't unique to Buddhism.
PROFESSOR PROTHERO: It needs to be admitted that
this is the normal course of things in American religion. We have had a
history of Lutheran groups in the U.S. who are Finnish or who are
German, who don't particularly interact with one another. [The same can
be said about] the Orthodox, Russian Orthodox Christians, and the
Orthodox from Greece, for example, the Greek Orthodox.
LAWTON: But Prothero admits with
Buddhism the definitions are more fluid, leading some to wonder whether
all the differing strands can still be kept under one umbrella.
PROFESSOR PROTHERO: There is no central
authority in Buddhism. There is no Buddhist pope, as much as some like
to position the Dalai Lama as the sort of pope-designate for the
American scene. There isn't anyone who can excommunicate you if you
have a goofy idea of what Buddhism is all about, or if you try to
define Buddhism in a way that is unorthodox.
LAWTON: Some Buddhist leaders believe
all of American Buddhism would be enriched by more dialogue and
interaction.
KEN TANAKA (Co-editor, THE FACES OF BUDDHISM IN
AMERICA): I certainly feel an excitement in the fact that you do have
virtually all the Buddhist groups represented here. And not only for a
conference, but living in a same community. Given that, it is always
going to be a minority religion, that there ought to be much more
interaction, mutual support,... to survive for one thing.
LAWTON: But others on both sides of the
divide say that shouldn't be rushed or forced.
MS. TWORKOV: There's a lot of concern about
bringing the groups together. But frankly my own view is it's always
coming from a place of being politically correct, and there's not
necessarily a good reason for it. There's no reason why people should
not be developing their own kinds of practice and their own forms of
practice and working according to their own needs.
PROFESSOR IMAMURA: I think because of
the realities of our society, our diverse society, and the need of we,
who are called racial minorities or ethnic minorities, to maintain our
identity and our pride in our communities, I think we need that racial
divide in a way.
LAWTON: Many say the fact that this is
even an issue at all shows the extent to which Buddhism has taken root
and is maturing here in America.
I'm Kim Lawton reporting.
RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY invited several scholars to discuss
the divisions and direction of Buddhism in America today. Read their full commentary.
MARY ALICE WILLIAMS:
Buddhism is the world's fourth largest religion, founded about 2500
years ago in India. The Buddha taught that life is suffering and the
way to overcome that is to get rid of attachments. Widely practiced
across Asia, Buddhism has attracted many converts in this country. They
are developing forms of Buddhist practice that are often very different
from the practices of Asian-Americans. Some observers believe there is
a growing ethnic divide in American Buddhism. Correspondent Kim Lawton
has our cover story.
KIM LAWTON: In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Pat
Phelan is being installed as abbess, head of the Red Cedar Zen Temple.
She has taken the name Taitaku Josho to demonstrate her acceptance of
Buddhist precepts. She is being elevated to her new position in a
symbolic "Mountain Seat ceremony," attended by the Zen Center's
members. Like Phelan, all of the Center's members are converts to the
Buddhist tradition and its sometimes puzzling exchanges.
LOPON CLAUDE D'ESTRÉE (Chaplain,
George Mason University): There is an Asian Buddhist community, and
there is a Western American Buddhist community, and they don't often
mix.
Buddhism first came to the United States more
than 150 years ago with the arrival of Chinese and Japanese immigrants.
Even in those days, there was interest from non-Asians.
Precise figures are difficult to come by.
Experts say there are between three and four million Buddhists in the
United States today. About 75% of them are of Asian heritage. But
despite their numbers, many Asian Americans say they don't feel
sufficiently acknowledged in this country's Buddhist landscape.
PROFESSOR IMAMURA: I think when the term "American
Buddhism" is used, most Asian-American Buddhists feel outside of the
dialogue.
LAWTON: Many say there are
clear reasons that Buddhist groups tend to divide along racial lines.
In addition to obvious language barriers, there are differences in
practice. Most convert Buddhists focus on meditation. Their communities
tend to be more lay oriented, with more women in positions of
leadership. For some converts, Buddhism is more a philosophy than a
religion. 
MS. TWORKOV: In some cases, you have communities of
these people. I mean they really came out of the killing fields. They
came to this country traumatized by the wars in Southeast Asia. Their
needs are not only very different [from the] needs of white
middle-class Americans, they're very different from the needs of very
well educated middle-class Japanese Americans.
PROFESSOR PROTHERO: It needs to be admitted that
this is the normal course of things in American religion. We have had a
history of Lutheran groups in the U.S. who are Finnish or who are
German, who don't particularly interact with one another. [The same can
be said about] the Orthodox, Russian Orthodox Christians, and the
Orthodox from Greece, for example, the Greek Orthodox.
KEN TANAKA (Co-editor, THE FACES OF BUDDHISM IN
AMERICA): I certainly feel an excitement in the fact that you do have
virtually all the Buddhist groups represented here. And not only for a
conference, but living in a same community. Given that, it is always
going to be a minority religion, that there ought to be much more
interaction, mutual support,... to survive for one thing.
MS. TWORKOV: There's a lot of concern about
bringing the groups together. But frankly my own view is it's always
coming from a place of being politically correct, and there's not
necessarily a good reason for it. There's no reason why people should
not be developing their own kinds of practice and their own forms of
practice and working according to their own needs.
