Buddhism in America

Buddhism is a religion with millions of followers in the United States, including traditionally Buddhist Asian Americans as well as non-Asian converts. While in the large history of Buddhism it is relatively new to the United States, it’s introduction to the U.S. is interesting because is a new and different environment for Buddhists. Because it is relatively new to the United States, it developed an already interesting history and continues to do so as America and Buddhism come to grips with each other. While western interaction with Buddhism has happened, it has developed quite differently in America. Aside from sprouting various followings, it has rooted itself in American culture through schools and Universities. This essay will trace Buddhism’s interactions with the West, specifically America, and describe the three types of modern American Buddhism: immigrant Buddhism, import Buddhism, including Zen, Tibetan Buddhism, and Vipassana, and export Buddhism.

Western civilization and the Buddhist world have been interacting for thousands of years, but only rarely. The most significant began in 334 BC, early in the history of Buddhism, when Alexander the Great conquered most of Central Asia. An important influence in the area was made, which interacted with the Buddhism that had been introduced from India creating Greco-Buddhism. This significantly affected Mahayana Buddhism, but it has not made the same influence on Western thought. The Middle East also provided a way for Buddhist thoughts to infiltrate Europe during the Christian era. One example is the story of Barlaam and Josaphat. This story of folk heroes is believed to be a changed account of the life of Siddhartha Gautama. It was translated from Persian to Arabic to Greek. These intermittent relations produced very little real religious interaction, therefore the European settlers who colonized the Americas had almost no exposure to Buddhism. This lasted until the 19th century, when large numbers of immigrants from East Asia began to arrive in the New World. They began to arrive in large numbers following the California Gold Rush of 1849.

The first Buddhist temple in America was built in 1853 in San Francisco by the Sze Yap Company, a Chinese American fraternal society. Another society, the Ning Yeong Company, built a second in 1854. By 1875, there were eight temples, and by 1900 there were about 400 Chinese temples on the west coast of the United States. Most contained at least some Buddhist elements. The first Japanese Buddhist temple in the U.S. was built in San Francisco in 1899. Around the same time Asian immigrants were starting to appear in America, American intellectuals were beginning to come to terms with Buddhism, based mostly on what was learned from British colonial possessions in India and East Asia. Englishmen, such as William Jones and Charles Wilkins worked on translating Sanskrit texts into English. Even Henry David Thoreau was interested in Buddhist philosophy. In 1844, the Dial, which was edited by Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, published the first English version of a portion of the Lotus Sutra. The poet Walt Whitman also seems to be influenced by Indian religion on his writings.

Some scholars suggest that Buddhism in America can be divided into three separate categories. The oldest and largest of these is “immigrant” or “ethnic Buddhism.” These are Buddhist traditions that arrived in America along with immigrants who were already believers. This type largely remained with those immigrants and their descendants. The next oldest and arguably the most prominent is “import Buddhism”, because it came to America because of the demands American converts had who sought it out. By going abroad or by supporting foreign teachers this is sometimes called “elite Buddhism” because its followers came from social elites. The newest trend in Buddhism is “export” or "evangelical Buddhism.” These are based in another country and recruit members in America.

Immigrant Buddhist congregations come in a wide variety. The New World is home to Chinese Buddhists, Japanese Buddhists, Korean Buddhists, Sri Lankan Buddhists, Vietnamese Buddhists, Thai Buddhists, etc. The passage of the 1965 Immigration Act in the United States greatly increased the number of immigrants arriving from China, and Vietnam. It is common for Buddhist temples and societies to central for the social life of an immigrant community It connects them to the Old World traditions in a foreign environment. However, as time passes congregations began to consist of higher percentages of people born in America. This is very common among Japanese Buddhists. The largest national immigrant Buddhist organization in the United States is the Buddhist Churches of America. The BCA is an affiliate of Japan’s Nishi Hongwanji, which is a form of Pure Land Buddhism. It took its current form in 1944.