Over the past half century in America, Buddhism has grown from a
transplanted philosophy to a full-fledged religious movement, rich in
its own practices, leaders, adherents, and institutions. Long favored as
an essential guide to this history,
Buddhism in America covers the three major groups that shape the
tradition--an emerging Asian immigrant population, native-born converts,
and old-line Asian American Buddhists--and their distinct, yet
spiritually connected efforts to remake Buddhism in a Western context.
This edition updates existing text and adds three new essays on
contemporary developments in American Buddhism, particularly the aging
of the baby boom population and its effect on American Buddhism's modern
character. New material includes revised information on the full range
of communities profiled in the first edition; an added study of a second
generation of young, Euro-American leaders and teachers; an accessible
look at the increasing importance of meditation and neurobiological
research; and a provocative consideration of the mindfulness movement in
American culture. The volume maintains its detailed account of South and
East Asian influences on American Buddhist practices, as well as
instances of interreligious dialogue, socially activist Buddhism, and
complex gender roles within the community. Introductory chapters
describe Buddhism's arrival in America with the nineteenth-century
transcendentalists and rapid spread with the Beat poets of the 1950s.
The volume now concludes with a frank assessment of the challenges and
prospects of American Buddhism in the twenty-first century.
