The New Buddhism

The Western Transformation of an Ancient Tradition, James William Coleman (2001). Oxford University Press

ONE - WHAT IS THIS?

Buddhism has a 2,500-year history of changing and adapting to different times and places.
A new form of Buddhism is now emerging in the industrialized nations of the West.
This new Western Buddhism is fundamentally different from previous forms, yet its core principles remain unchanged.
An example is a woman in New Jersey practicing a traditional Tibetan ritual of prostrations in her apartment.

The Buddhist Tradition

The central goal of Buddhism is personal awakening, not glorifying a deity.
The Buddha did not claim to be a deity but simply someone who “woke up” and saw things as they are.
Buddhism became an institutionalized religion as structures and traditions grew around the Buddha’s teachings after his death.
The core of Buddhism is the direct experience of the awakened state, which sees everything as an interdependent and ever-changing stream.
Human suffering arises from attachment and the desire to resist inevitable change.
Suffering can be ended through ethical behavior, meditation, and transcendent wisdom.
As an institution, Buddhism split into two main groups: a monastic elite dedicated to enlightenment and laypeople who supported them while seeking a better rebirth.
In many forms of Buddhism, the Buddha and other enlightened beings (bodhisattvas) became objects of popular worship.

Buddhism in the West

Early Western encounters with Buddhism were marked by confusion over its lack of a God and immortal soul, but it attracted intellectuals as a rational alternative to Christianity.
A primary division exists between “ethnic Buddhism,” brought by Asian immigrants to serve their communities, and “new Buddhism,” adopted by Western converts.
The first stream of “new Buddhism” to gain popularity was Japanese Zen, introduced to intellectuals and later embraced by the “beat generation,” leading to a “Zen boom” and the establishment of centers across North America.
The second stream, Tibetan Vajrayana, grew in the West following the Tibetan diaspora in the 1950s and is known for charismatic teachers like the Dalai Lama and its colorful, emotionally expressive traditions.
The newest stream, Vipassana, derives from the ancient Theravadan tradition and was brought to the West by Westerners, making it more secular and often influenced by Western psychology.
Soka Gakkai is a distinct Japanese denomination that sits between ethnic and new Buddhism; it is a mass movement focused on chanting for material and personal happiness rather than meditation.

A Note on Method

The author’s research expanded from focusing solely on Western Zen to including all major Buddhist traditions in the West due to their interconnectedness.
The research is based on four main sources: the author’s fifteen years of personal experience, a review of existing literature, formal interviews with teachers and students, and informal observations at Buddhist centers.
A survey was conducted on a “purposive sample” of 359 members from seven different Buddhist centers across North America, representing the Zen, Tibetan, and Vipassana traditions, as well as one nonsectarian group.
Surveys were distributed at group meetings, and the overall response rate was over 50%.
The author notes a likely bias in the survey results, as more dedicated and involved members were probably overrepresented.

The New Buddhism

In the “new Buddhism” of the West, the traditional sharp distinction between monks pursuing liberation and laypeople seeking merit is largely erased, with the pursuit of liberation becoming a common goal for all.
Meditation is the single most defining characteristic, practiced regularly at home and in group settings, and deepened through intensive silent retreats.
Influenced by feminism, Western Buddhism is moving toward gender equality, with women and men practicing as equals and a growing number of women becoming teachers and leaders, a stark contrast to male-dominated Asian traditions.
A broad eclecticism is common, with Western practitioners drawing from various Buddhist lineages, other religions, and psychology, creating a unique Western tradition.
Significant challenges revolve around issues of sex and power, leading to a re-evaluation of the teacher’s traditional authority to better align with Western democratic and egalitarian values.

Buddhism in Postmodern Society

Buddhism’s popularity and influence have grown steadily in the West, attracting many public figures.
Counting the number of Western Buddhists is difficult because the faith does not demand exclusivity; estimates for the U.S. range from 1.1 to 4 million.
The number of Buddhist books sold and meditation centers in North America and the UK has grown explosively in recent decades.
Growth is attributed to improved global communications, adaptations that make Buddhism more accessible, and its appeal to the challenges of postmodern life.
New Western Buddhists are typically white, middle to upper-middle class, highly educated, and politically liberal.
The main motivation for joining is “spiritual growth,” which can involve seeking wisdom, using meditation as a form of psychotherapy, or pursuing enlightenment.
The movement’s appeal is rooted in addressing the fragmented and insecure sense of self in postmodern society, where identity must be actively constructed rather than being socially given.

TWO - ASIAN ROOTS - The Origins of the Buddhist Tradition

To understand the new Buddhism of the West, it is necessary to examine its Asian origins.
Buddhism is the oldest universal religion, but much of its early history is poorly documented, especially regarding concrete events and popular practices away from monasteries.
While historical records improved as Buddhism spread to China, significant gaps remain.
The history of Buddhism is dramatic, spanning 25 centuries and numerous cultures, filled with diverse characters and events.
The single unwavering theme throughout its history is the search for a solution to human suffering.

The Beginnings

Siddhartha Gautama was born in the 5th or 6th century BCE during a period of significant social, economic, and spiritual change in India.
The era saw the rise of a merchant class, conflict between empires and tribal republics, and a challenge to the established Brahman priesthood by wandering ascetics known as s’ramanas.
Born a prince and sheltered from suffering, Siddhartha left his luxurious life after witnessing old age, sickness, and death to seek a solution to human suffering.
He first studied meditation and then practiced extreme asceticism for six years before rejecting both for a “middle way”.
Siddhartha achieved enlightenment under a bodhi tree, becoming the Buddha (also known as Sakyamuni).
He spent the next 45 years teaching the dharma and established the sangha, a community of monks and nuns open to all social classes, as well as attracting many lay followers.

The teachings

The Buddha’s teachings encompass ethical behavior, meditation, and wisdom, which are seen as interconnected and mutually reinforcing components necessary for enlightenment.
Ethical behavior is based on the law of karma, where the intention behind an action determines its karmic result. Lay followers are guided by five precepts: refraining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and taking intoxicants.
Meditation is the key to gaining wisdom and includes practices like right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration (samadhi).
Wisdom is the direct, personal realization of the true nature of things, particularly the principle of interdependent causality (all things are interconnected and ever-changing) and the absence of a permanent, unchanging self.
The core of his teaching is summarized in the Four Noble Truths:
1. The cause of suffering is desire and attachment.
2. Life involves suffering.
3. Suffering can be ended.
4. The way to end suffering is the Eightfold Path.
The ultimate goal is nirvana, the “extinguishing” of desire, aversion, and illusion, which is described not as nothingness but as a state of the greatest possible bliss.

The Evolution of Indian Buddhism

After the Buddha’s death, his teachings were preserved through memorization by the sangha (monastic community), which led to multiple oral traditions.
The early Buddhist community was composed of three main groups: the laity, monks and nuns, and the arhats.
Arhats were enlightened individuals who served as the spiritual leaders and living ideals of the community.
Monks and nuns lived austere, disciplined lives, relying on charity to pursue their spiritual quest.
The laity, often from the upper classes, focused on gaining merit (good karma) through ethical living, supporting the monks, and venerating holy sites like stupas.
King Asoka, in the 3rd century BCE, became a crucial royal patron who helped spread Buddhism as a mass religion by promoting morality and tolerance.

The rise of the mahayana

Beginning around the first century BCE, Mahayana (“greater vehicle”) Buddhism emerged from new, philosophically sophisticated sutras.
It introduced the ideal of the bodhisattva—an enlightened being who postpones their own final nirvana to help liberate all others.
A pantheon of celestial bodhisattvas (e.g., Avalokitesvara) and cosmic Buddhas (e.g., Amitabha) who preside over “pure lands” became central to devotion.
The “bodhisattva way” emphasizes the virtues of wisdom and compassion, along with skill in means (upaya) to help others.
A core philosophical doctrine is emptiness (sunyata), the concept that all phenomena are empty of any independent, permanent existence.

The tantras

Tantric Buddhism, or Vajrayana, was the last major development in India, arising as a revitalization movement when Hinduism was resurgent.
It was pioneered by tantric siddhas (adepts), who often lived outside monasteries and used unorthodox methods to achieve liberation.
Tantric teachings are traditionally secret, requiring the guidance of a guru and often written in a coded “twilight speech.”
The practice introduced many new deities, including prominent female figures like Tara, who are used in ritual and meditation.
Key practices include the recitation of mantras (sacred phrases), the use of mandalas (sacred diagrams), and complex deity visualization exercises.

Tibet

Buddhism was introduced around the 7th century with royal patronage, blending with the native Bon shamanism.
The Indian master Padmasambhava is credited with subduing local demonic forces and founding the oldest sect, the Nyingma.
After a period of decline, a “second transmission” began in the 11th century, featuring popular figures like the poet-saint Milarepa.
Major sects emerged, including the Kagyupa (tracing its lineage through Milarepa) and the Gelukpa (founded by the reformer Tsongkhapa).
Leadership is often passed down through a unique system of identifying reincarnated lamas (rinpoches), such as the Dalai Lama of the Gelukpa sect, which eventually gained political control.
Monasteries were the centers of Tibetan civilization, holding vast economic and political power.
For the average Tibetan, religion focused on accumulating merit and performing rituals for magical protection from evil spirits.

The spread of Chinese Buddhism

China acted as a cultural source, spreading its style of Buddhism to Korea, Vietnam, and Japan.
In Vietnam, Ch’an (Thien) Buddhism became dominant, incorporating Pure Land practices for the common people.
In Korea, Buddhism (Son) was once a state religion but was later repressed. It has seen a revival but faces challenges and internal divisions.
In Japan, Buddhism was initially for the elite but later spread to the masses through Pure Land practices.
The Kamakura period saw the rise of new sects favored by the samurai class, including the uniquely Japanese form created by Nichiren, which focuses on chanting devotion to the Lotus Sutra.
Zen (Ch’an) Buddhism became prominent, with key figures like Dogen founding the Soto school (emphasizing “just sitting” meditation) and Hakuin revitalizing the Rinzai school (emphasizing koan practice).

THREE - WESTERN FLOWER - The Growth of the New Buddhism

There is very little early history of Buddhism in the West.
While a few Greek philosophers may have been influenced by Buddhist thought, the religion was largely unknown.
Buddhism only became known in the West with the arrival of European colonialism in Asia.

The Word Spreads

Early Western accounts of Buddhism came from Christian missionaries and scholars who often portrayed it as a negative, “heathen” religion that rejected God and viewed nirvana as annihilation.
Some influential nineteenth-century philosophers and writers, including Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Emerson, incorporated their understanding of Eastern thought into their work.
A more sympathetic perspective emerged in 1879 with Sir Edwin Arnold’s popular poem, The Light of Asia, which drew parallels between the lives of Buddha and Jesus.
Interest in Buddhism grew as American Protestantism faced an intellectual crisis due to scientific skepticism and social change, with some seeing Buddhism as a more compatible alternative.
The Theosophical Society, mixing Western occultism with Eastern mysticism, played a key role in popularizing the idea that Buddhism held profound, ancient wisdom.
Despite this interest, the first wave of Western Buddhism remained small, with few adopting actual practices or establishing institutions, and it cooled off after World War I.
The movement failed to gain a significant foothold because the Buddhist worldview was perceived as too negative and passive, clashing with the pragmatic optimism of American culture.

Arriving in the West

The 1893 World Parliament of Religions in Chicago is considered the first major introduction of traditional Buddhism to the West.
Anagarika Dharmapala from Sri Lanka was a popular speaker, but Japanese Rinzai master Soyen Shaku and his students had a more lasting impact.
D. T. Suzuki, Soyen Shaku’s student, did more than anyone to introduce Zen to the West through his prolific writings and personal example, influencing many Western intellectuals, artists, and writers.
Nyogen Senzaki, another of Soyen’s students, taught Zen in obscurity in the US, establishing a “floating zendo” and providing Westerners with authentic meditation practice.
Early British Buddhism was predominantly Theravadin, influenced by colonial ties to Sri Lanka and Burma.
Anagarika Dharmapala brought the Maha Bodhi Society to England in 1925.
Travers Christmas Humphreys was a key figure in British Buddhism, founding the Buddhist Lodge (later the Buddhist Society) in 1924.

Beat Zen

Before World War II, Buddhism had a very limited and often misunderstood presence in the West, with few qualified teachers or dedicated practitioners.
Post-war, the US experienced a cultural shift due to the psychological discontent of consumerism, the decline of Anglo-Protestant cultural dominance, and increased economic prosperity which allowed for greater nonconformity and access to higher education.
The Beat Generation, a movement of young writers and artists, presented the first organized challenge to conventional American culture and was the first group in the West to broadly embrace Buddhism.
Key figures like Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Gary Snyder discovered Zen Buddhism primarily through reading books, including those by D. T. Suzuki.
The Beats were drawn to Zen for its perceived spontaneity, its philosophical freedom from the constraints of consumer society, and its ecstatic descriptions of satori, which they viewed as an “ultimate high.”
While Beat Zen lacked formal discipline and systematic meditation, their spiritual quest was sincere, and their rejection of social norms in pursuit of a spiritual path has precedents within Buddhist history.

Alan Watts: The Way of the Writer

Although influential in the Beat Zen era, Alan Watts did not consider himself a Beat, describing himself as “in this milieu rather than of it.”
He criticized both “Beat Zen” (bohemian rebellion) and “Square Zen” (copying Japanese forms), arguing true Zen liberates the mind from conventional thought.
Watts was a more popular and accessible writer than D.T. Suzuki, effectively presenting Eastern ideas to a wide Western audience.
His approach to Buddhism was primarily intellectual, de-emphasizing disciplined meditation which he believed could reinforce the ego.
He shared the Beats’ skepticism of organized religion and their “unrepentant sensualism.”
The central theme of his work was that the Western concept of a separate ego is an illusion and that all things are interconnected.

The Zen Boom and the New Bohemians

The 1960s hippie counterculture, centered in San Francisco’s Haight Ashbury, displaced the earlier Beat generation.
While both groups rejected consumerism, hippies were communal, colorful, and emotional (“Peace and Love”), whereas the Beats were individualistic, reserved, and wore dark clothes.
The Beat subculture’s intellectual and reserved style was initially more compatible with Japanese Zen.
Hippies’ openness to Buddhism was largely driven by their widespread use of psychedelic drugs like LSD, which produced profound alterations of consciousness and led them to seek explanations in Eastern religions.
This led to a “Zen boom” in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as many from the psychedelic scene turned to Zen meditation, forming the core of new Zen centers.
American Buddhism at this time had three main sources: intellectual Beat Zen, ethnic Buddhism from Asian immigrant communities, and Western students who studied in Asia and returned to teach.
Soto Zen became prominent through Japanese teachers like Shunryu Suzuki and Taizan Maezumi. Maezumi’s Harada-Yasutani lineage, which combined Soto and Rinzai traditions and offered detailed instruction, was particularly suited to Americans.
Peggy (Jiyu) Kennett, an English woman who trained in Japan, founded Shasta Abbey and adapted Soto Zen to Western culture, incorporating Christian-style terminology and music.
Zen teachers from other Asian nations, such as Thich Nhat Hanh from Vietnam and Sueng Sahn from Korea, also became influential, often teaching a more eclectic style of Zen that blended various Buddhist traditions.

Shunryu Suzuki: Just Sit

Shunryu Suzuki was a Japanese Zen priest who came to the US in 1959 and had a major influence on American Buddhism.
He founded America’s first Zen Center in 1961 and its first Buddhist monastery at Tassajara in 1967.
He was described as warm, open, rigorous, and a person who lived completely in the present moment.
His teaching focused on the practice of sitting meditation (zazen) rather than the goal of a sudden breakthrough (satori).
Suzuki taught that enlightenment is not a special feeling but is found in the state of mind that exists when sitting in the correct posture.
He stressed that students should not expect to “get” anything from their meditation but simply be themselves.
He used a strict schedule and formal rules, such as bowing, as tools to help students practice constant mindfulness and find freedom within form.

The Tibetan Diaspora Reaches the West

The Chinese invasion of Tibet in the 1950s forced a third of the population, including the Dalai Lama and many influential teachers, into exile.
The Buddhist establishment was a particular target, leading to the destruction of countless monasteries.
Fearing their tradition would be lost, Tibetan teachers in exile began a concerted effort to pass their teachings on to other cultures.
In 1969, Tarthang Tulku established the Tibetan Nyingma Meditation Center in Berkeley, California, the first organized effort to reach Western students.
Tarthang Tulku’s curriculum included arduous preparatory practices and he also created programs for professionals, an educational institute, and a publishing house.
The first three-year retreat for Westerners was offered by the yogi Kalu Rinpoche in France.
Kalu Rinpoche first visited the West in 1971 and went on to establish multiple retreat centers in North America.

Trungpa Rinpoche: CrazyWisdom

Chogyam Trungpa was a pivotal figure in shaping Tibetan Buddhism in the West, inheriting the countercultural mantle of “Beat Zen.”
He was known for his ability to adapt traditional teachings for Western students, establishing a large network of practice centers, the Naropa Institute, and the secular Shambhala training program.
Trungpa was a controversial figure who drank heavily, smoked, and had sexual relationships with students, which was seen by many followers as a form of “crazy wisdom” teaching.
Born in Tibet in 1939 and recognized as a reincarnated lama, he fled the Chinese invasion in 1959, later studying at Oxford University.
After a car accident in 1969 left him partially paralyzed, he renounced his monastic vows to teach as a layman.
Arriving in North America in 1970, he attracted many countercultural students and warned against “spiritual materialism,” the ego’s use of spiritual techniques for self-strengthening.
His teaching methods evolved, starting students with meditation, later introducing advanced practices, and encouraging a more formal style over time.
Shambhala training, introduced in 1977, is a secular path focused on the “warrior” ideal, discovering basic goodness, and embracing both joy and sadness.
He died in 1987 at a young age, believed to be due to his heavy drinking, and his cremation was reportedly accompanied by miraculous rainbows.

Vipassana: New Insight from an Ancient Tradition

Theravada Buddhism was the last major Buddhist tradition to arrive in North America, partly because its home countries lacked the strong political and military ties to the US that Japan and Korea had.
The Vipassana tradition was primarily spread in the West by Westerners who studied in Asia, resulting in centers that are more westernized and have less ritual than Zen or Tibetan centers.
Key figures Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein, and Jack Kornfield founded the Insight Meditation Center (IMC) in Barre, Massachusetts.
Jack Kornfield later helped establish the Spirit Rock Meditation Center on the West Coast, which, along with IMC, forms the core of Vipassana practice in North America.
Unlike centers led by a single teacher, both IMC and Spirit Rock are organized around a community of teachers with collective decision-making.
The Barre center (IMC) has remained close to traditional Vipassana, while Spirit Rock has integrated perspectives from Western psychology and other spiritual traditions.

Jack Kornfield:American Dharma

An influential American Buddhist teacher, Jack Kornfield is known for his sincere teaching style and for urging American Buddhism to confront misconduct by its teachers.
Raised in a tense, intellectual household, he switched his major from pre-med to Asian studies at Dartmouth, later joining the Peace Corps in Thailand where he began his Buddhist practice under the monk Achaan Chah.
After years of rigorous monastic training, he returned to the U.S. and realized his spiritual practice had not resolved his emotional immaturity or relationship problems.
To integrate Eastern and Western approaches, he earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and worked as a therapist.
He co-founded the Insight Meditation Center, but his teaching style, which focused more on emotions and daily life, diverged from his colleagues.
He later moved to the West Coast and co-founded the Spirit Rock Meditation Center, one of the fastest-growing Buddhist organizations in the West.
His teachings combine classic Vipassana meditation with Western psychology, emphasizing the courage to face all aspects of life directly.

New Approaches Emerge

Western Buddhism evolved from teachers tied to single Asian traditions to those trained in multiple traditions, often blending insights with other philosophies like Sufism, Taoism, and Western psychology.
An influential innovator was Dennis Lingwood (Sangharakshita), who founded an international network of Buddhist centers and programs.
After being introduced to Eastern thought, he was drafted into the British army, which took him to India where he spent nearly 20 years studying various Buddhist traditions.
His unorthodox views clashed with established British Buddhist groups upon his return in 1964.
In 1967, he founded the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO) to build a broadly based Buddhist community, including residential and business centers.
The FWBO’s stated goal is the radical transformation of society into a “New Society”.
The organization is often perceived by other Western Buddhists as self-enclosed and having limited interaction with the wider Buddhist community.

Toni Packer: Beyond Buddhism?

The Springwater Center, founded by Toni Packer, practices a form of meditation similar to Zen but has removed all Buddhist rituals, icons, and terminology.
Packer was a leading student of Kapleau Roshi at the Rochester Zen Center but grew uncomfortable with the power structures, authority, and rituals of organized Buddhism.
Her background growing up in Nazi Germany instilled a deep questioning of life and authority.
Influenced by Krishnamurti, she left the Rochester Zen Center in 1981 to form her own group, which eventually became the Springwater Center.
Packer calls her work “meditative inquiry,” which focuses on questioning one’s experience in the present moment without preconceived beliefs.
She emphasizes direct experience and self-discovery, quoting the Buddha’s final words: “Be a lamp unto yourself.”

Crisis and Renewal

The 1970s saw a boom in Western Buddhism with the creation of practice centers, a new model distinct from traditional Asian temples, often structured like large families around a charismatic teacher.
In the 1980s, these centers faced crises due to rapid growth, cultural clashes between Western democratic values and Asian hierarchical traditions, and patriarchal attitudes.
Unmet expectations, teacher inaccessibility, and festering resentments often exploded into scandals, frequently involving sexual misconduct by teachers.
Major upheavals occurred at the Rochester Zen Center (a split between leaders), the San Francisco Zen Center (head Richard Baker was forced to resign over an affair), and other centers facing similar issues.
The biggest crisis involved Trungpa Rinpoche’s successor, Osel Tendzin, who knowingly transmitted AIDS to students, leading to his eventual removal.
The 1990s became a period of renewal and “coming of age,” as students accepted the humanity and flaws of their teachers.
In response, centers implemented reforms like elected boards, codes of conduct, and a renewed focus on Buddhist precepts, with Thich Nhat Hanh being an influential figure.
A historic 1993 conference at Spirit Rock Center marked a turning point, as Western Buddhist teachers openly discussed issues of sexual abuse and power dynamics for the first time.

Thich Nhat Hanh: Engaged Buddhism

A Vietnamese Zen monk who became a spokesperson for “engaged Buddhism,” a practice that puts meditation into action to relieve suffering in society.
During the Vietnam War, he advocated for peace and reconciliation, which led to him being targeted by both sides and eventually exiled from his country in 1973.
He was instrumental in persuading Martin Luther King to oppose the war and was nominated by King for the Nobel Peace Prize.
After being exiled, he established the Plum Village retreat center in France and organized rescue operations for Vietnamese “boat people.”
He was a major influence on Western Buddhism, pushing for stronger ethical standards and rewriting the traditional precepts into the “five mindfulness trainings” to better fit contemporary society.
He taught that outer peace depends on inner peace and that meditation is a tool to help one reintegrate into society, not escape from it.
His teachings emphasize mindfulness in everyday activities, using techniques like breath awareness, using a telephone as a mindfulness bell, and meditating with a half smile.

FOUR - AT THE MARROW - Practice and Belief

The diversity of Western Buddhism is illustrated by contrasting meditation centers in Marin County, California.
The San Francisco Zen Center (Green Gulch Farm) is formal and highly ritualized, with a strict code of etiquette, specific postures, and an altar.
The Spirit Rock Meditation Center is informal and relaxed, with minimal ritual, and participants can choose their own cushions or chairs.
A Tibetan tradition retreat is a riot of color and symbolism, filled with thangkas, statues, and ritual instruments.
Another group (Toni Packer’s) meets in a former convent, with a meditation room bare of any Buddhist imagery.
Despite these contrasting approaches, a common core defines Western Buddhism as a distinct religious movement.
Buddhism lacks a central hierarchy or official doctrine, functioning more like a group of lineages where individual teachers are free to change practices.

Zen

Zen is the largest style of Asian Buddhism in North America, accounting for about 40% of all meditation-focused Buddhist groups.
The number of Zen groups in North America increased by 260% over a ten-year period.
In Great Britain, Zen is less common, making up about 17% of Buddhist groups.
Several Zen traditions are active in the West, including Japanese (Rinzai and Soto), Korean (Son), and Vietnamese (Thien).
Japanese Rinzai Zen is known as “samurai Zen” for its disciplined, frontal-assault approach.
Japanese Soto Zen is larger, softer in tone, and places more emphasis on ritual.
Korean Zen in the West has a more casual style than the formal Japanese traditions.
Vietnamese Zen is primarily represented by Thich Nhat Hanh, whose style is soft and eclectic.

Zen style

Zen centers are characterized by strenuous effort, discipline, seriousness, and self-control.
The kyosaku, or “encouragement stick,” is a symbol of this discipline, though it is now typically used only upon request in the West.
The aesthetic is one of elegant simplicity and austerity, often featuring dark colors like black or gray.
Zen centers are typically formal, with many rules and a visible hierarchy reflected in seating arrangements, clothing (robes, kesa), and hairstyles.
Despite the formal hierarchy, Zen values honest simplicity.

Zen Practice

Rituals like chanting and bowing are considered meditative practices to cultivate awareness and gratitude, not to glorify a deity.
Physical work is treated as a form of meditation, a tradition that originated in Chinese monasteries.
Walking meditation (kinhin) is practiced between periods of sitting meditation to loosen muscles while maintaining concentration.
Sitting meditation (zazen) is the core practice, with a strong emphasis on maintaining a stable and alert posture.
Meditation techniques progress from counting breaths to simply following the breath, and eventually to shikantaza (“just sitting”).
Koan practice is a unique Zen technique where students work on paradoxical questions to provoke direct insight beyond logic.
A sesshin is an intensive, multi-day meditation retreat with a demanding schedule of sitting, walking, chanting, and interviews with a teacher.

Vajrayana

Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana) saw rapid growth in the West from the 1960s onwards, becoming a significant portion of Buddhist centers in North America, Britain, and Ireland.
The Dalai Lama has become a living symbol of the Buddhist faith for many, even those outside the Tibetan tradition.

The spirit of tibetan buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism is unique among world religions, with practices like selecting leaders based on past lives and using deities in sexual union in its art.
Compared to the pragmatic and simple Zen and Vipassana traditions, Vajrayana is seen as more exotic, mysterious, and emotionally “hot” and passionate.
Its rituals are complex, and the strong influence of Tibetan-born teachers maintains a distinct Asian cultural feel and a greater social distance between teachers and students.

The practice of vajrayana

Vajrayana practice is highly complex, incorporating more techniques and philosophical schools than other Buddhist traditions.
A tradition of secrecy surrounds its highest teachings to prevent harm from misuse, and understanding requires personal instruction from a qualified teacher.
Guru devotion is a central focus, where students are expected to view their teacher as a living Buddha, a practice that has caused issues in the West.
The core of higher practice is visualization, where practitioners imagine themselves as a deity within a sacred world (mandala) to dissolve their ordinary ego.
The path is often a long progression, with different teachers using different methods. Some lineages require years of preliminary practices (ngondro), such as 100,000 prostrations, before students can engage in advanced visualization.
Other approaches include intensive, multi-year retreats or a focus on academic study of Buddhist philosophy.
Dzogchen, or “great perfection,” is a formless meditation traditionally for advanced practitioners but is now taught more openly to Westerners.

Vipassana

Vipassana arrived later in North America compared to Zen or Tibetan Buddhism and grew without the influence of charismatic Asian teachers.
While there are fewer Vipassana groups, the movement is growing rapidly, more than doubling between 1988 and 1998.
It originates from the Theravadin tradition, which is stronger in Britain due to its colonial history with Burma and Sri Lanka.

The spirit of vipassana

Vipassana is a paradox: it stems from conservative Theravada Buddhism but is more westernized and less traditional than Zen or Vajrayana.
While Theravada focuses on monasticism and escaping rebirth, Western Vipassana emphasizes meditation and psychological wisdom for everyday life.
The atmosphere is casual and secular, with minimal robes, rituals, or symbols.
The approach is often compared to psychotherapy, with many teachers being trained therapists who address psychological issues.
The movement is egalitarian; teachers are called by their first names, act as “spiritual friends,” and often share leadership responsibilities.

The practice of Vipassana

Meditation is the central focus, with two main types: concentrative techniques to calm the mind and insight meditation (Vipassana) to develop present-moment awareness.
Teachers provide more explicit guidance during meditation compared to Zen.
A common technique is metta (loving-kindness) meditation, a guided practice to cultivate feelings of kindness towards oneself, others, and all beings.
Walking meditation is also a key practice, characterized by longer sessions and an individualistic style, unlike the uniform walking in Zen.
Group retreats are intensive, running from early morning to late night with alternating periods of sitting and walking meditation, but they lack the formal services and rituals found in Zen retreats.

Nonsectarian

Nonsectarian Buddhist groups are not affiliated with a single tradition, are highly diverse, and are growing much faster than other types of groups.
The most common types are local “sitting groups” without a specific teacher, which are often democratic, egalitarian, and attract members from various Buddhist backgrounds.
Group meetings typically involve shared meditation, discussing readings, or watching videos of various teachers, with practices varying significantly between groups.
Some groups are organized around a particular constituency, such as the Gay Buddhist Fellowship or groups in prisons and colleges.
Other nonsectarian groups are led by teachers who may be self-taught, trained in multiple traditions, or have rejected their original tradition, sometimes forming new lineages.
The Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO) is the largest nonsectarian organization, blending elements from various Buddhist traditions and featuring a highly structured spiritual hierarchy, unlike most egalitarian nonsectarian groups.
The FWBO emphasizes community building through communal housing and “right livelihood” businesses.
A growing number of groups focus on social goals, part of a movement known as “engaged Buddhism,” which applies Buddhist teachings to social, political, and economic issues.
Key organizations in engaged Buddhism include the Buddhist Peace Fellowship (BPF), which focuses on peace and human rights, and other groups involved in services like hospice care and combating homelessness.
Socially engaged Buddhism in the West tends to align with the left side of the political spectrum, though many members prefer their centers to focus on charitable activities rather than political involvement.

The Common Ground

Despite different styles, Western Buddhist groups share a large core of common practices and beliefs, with meditation being the most important activity.
Most practitioners meditate almost daily, with common techniques including counting breaths, labeling thoughts, koan study (Zen), visualization (Tibetan), and walking meditation.
Meditation retreats are another key element, with most practitioners attending at least one per year, varying in length from a few days to three months depending on the tradition.
There is a shared body of beliefs, with the primary goal being liberation from suffering and delusion (enlightenment) through letting go of ego-centered attachments (“nonclinging”).
Core concepts include “interbeing” (interdependent co-origination) and the impermanence of all things.
Ethical behavior is fundamental, viewed either as a tool for liberation or as the natural result of a liberated mind.
Surveys show strong acceptance of karma (93%) and rebirth (81%), and majority acceptance of help from Buddhas and Bodhisattvas (66%).
The fruits of Buddhist practice are similar across traditions, including profound experiences (samadhi, kensho), liberating wisdom, compassion, and a reported positive impact on daily life.
Common pitfalls include using meditation to avoid problems, detachment leading to passionless attitudes, and “spiritual materialism,” where spiritual achievements inflate the ego.

The religious dimension

Western Buddhism exists on a spectrum from religious to secular.
Religious groups feature traditional elements like robes, rituals, and sacred images, and are common in Zen and Tibetan traditions.
Secular groups are more informal, focusing on learning and mutual support, and are common among nonsectarian groups.
The preference for a religious or secular style is often a matter of personal taste, potentially influenced by one’s upbringing.
The religious approach can create a strong sense of community, but its pitfalls include creating an “in-group/out-group” mentality and prioritizing the institution over personal liberation.

Teachers, students, and the structure of authority

Teacher-student relationships in Western Buddhism vary widely and can be categorized into three main patterns.
Spiritual Friend: A more egalitarian relationship with minimal hierarchy, common in Vipassana and nonsectarian groups.
Spiritual Authority: A more formal relationship with greater social distance, where teachers hold titles like roshi or lama and receive deference. This is typical of many Zen groups.
Guru: The teacher is seen as a divine embodiment of enlightenment and is worshipped by followers, requiring complete surrender. This is most characteristic of the Tibetan tradition.
Each style has potential pitfalls, from encouraging student dependency to allowing students to avoid necessary challenges.
Larger Buddhist groups are often legally incorporated with a board of directors, but the head teacher’s personality typically determines the board’s actual power.
Becoming a teacher can involve formal training programs, but more commonly it is a long-term process of practice culminating in recognition by a head teacher.
The Tibetan tradition has higher ranks like geshe (an academic degree) and tulku (a reincarnated lama), which are less accessible to Westerners, often leaving top leadership positions filled by ethnic Tibetans.
Larger centers often develop complex hierarchies, creating social distinctions between residents and commuters, or between ordained members (monks/priests) and lay practitioners.

FIVE - SEX, POWER, AND CONFLICT

Western Buddhist centers were initially expected to be enlightened organizations, free from the conflicts common in other institutions.
This idealistic image was shattered by a series of crises and scandals in the 1980s, which shocked the community and whose effects are still felt.
The crises caused some members to leave or push for reform, while others remained loyal to their teachers.
The conflicts were caused by issues of sex and power, raising questions about gender roles, sexual exploitation, leadership transparency, and the abuse of authority.

Women on the Buddhist Path

In theory, Buddhism is more egalitarian than other religions as it lacks a male deity, does not sanctify specific gendered family norms, and its ethics are not considered unchangeable divine laws.
The goal of enlightenment is accessible to all genders, making discrimination theologically inconsistent, yet historically Asian Buddhism often denied women equal access to practice.
An early story describes the Buddha’s reluctance to ordain women, only agreeing after his attendant Ananda’s intervention and imposing eight special rules that subordinated nuns to monks.
Scholars attribute this subordination not to Buddhist doctrine but to the patriarchal society of ancient India, where women leaving family roles was deeply unsettling.
Early monastic literature often depicted women negatively, likely to enforce celibacy, and the order of nuns eventually died out in Theravadin countries.
Mahayana and Zen traditions theoretically affirmed women’s spiritual equality, with figures like Dogen strongly proclaiming it, but in practice, nuns remained subordinate to monks.
Vajrayana (Tibetan) Buddhism is doctrinally the most favorable to women, featuring powerful female deities (dakinis), though its institutions were also co-opted by male hierarchies.
When Buddhism arrived in the West, its appeal to liberal audiences pushed teachers to focus on the tradition’s egalitarian core, and the emerging norm is now complete gender equality.
An exception is the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO), whose founder has expressed views that women are less spiritually capable than men.
Despite a strong commitment to equality in most Western groups, women remain underrepresented in leadership due to lingering cultural biases and the disproportionate family and child-rearing responsibilities they often shoulder.
Buddhist women in the West have created new channels for communication and community, such as journals, conferences, and books, to address their shared experiences.
Surveys show Western Buddhists are generally satisfied with the status of women, and some traditions, like Vipassana, have achieved a 50/50 gender balance among teachers.
A major remaining challenge is integrating family life into rigorous Buddhist practice, as traditional monasticism was based on renouncing such ties.
While parenthood can be viewed as a spiritual practice, its practical demands make intensive meditation retreats difficult, especially for mothers.
Western centers are experimenting with solutions like family days, child care, and youth programs, but more needs to be done to provide parents with equal access to spiritual resources.

Men’s Buddhism and Women’s Buddhism?

Feminist writers argue that a distinct style of women’s Buddhism is developing in the West, emphasizing daily life practice and emotions over intensive retreats and hierarchical structures.
However, prominent female teachers like Joko Beck, Sharon Salzberg, and Pema Chodron exhibit widely divergent styles, challenging the idea of a single “women’s practice.”
Survey data shows far more similarities than differences between male and female practitioners; less than a third of variables showed a statistically significant gender difference.
There were no significant differences in the evaluation of teachers, the positive influence of Buddhism, the average length or frequency of meditation, or the number of retreats attended.
An exception was found at the Rochester Zen Center, where men were significantly more likely to report a kensho (enlightenment) experience, which may be partly explained by men having longer average membership.
Key differences found in the survey include:
- Women constitute the majority of members (57%), particularly in less hierarchical groups like Vipassana.
- Men were slightly more skeptical about core Buddhist doctrines like karma and rebirth.
- Women were more likely to be drawn to Buddhism through personal relationships or to deal with a personal problem.
- Men were significantly more likely to have used psychedelic drugs and to cite them as a stimulus for their interest in Buddhism.
The overall conclusion from the data is one of remarkable similarity, though the small differences that do exist often align with broader societal gender distinctions.

Lust and Enlightenment

Buddhism presents a wide and contradictory range of views on sexuality, from seeing lust as a defilement to viewing it as a direct path to enlightenment.
Early Buddhist teachings, attributed to the Buddha, identify desire—especially sexual passion—as the cause of suffering and advocate for its elimination to achieve liberation.
The early ideal was the celibate arhat (a sexless saint), and monks were given strict rules (the Vinaya) to avoid sexual contact, including avoiding the opposite sex and meditating on the loathsomeness of the human body.
With the development of Mahayana Buddhism, the spiritual superiority of celibate monks was challenged, and new texts featured enlightened laypeople and women.
Zen masters largely ignored the issue of sex in their writings, though celibacy was the expectation until the 19th century in Japan, when monks were allowed to marry. The general Zen view became that sex is a neutral part of life.
Vajrayana (Tantric) Buddhism introduced the view that sexual passion can be a powerful tool for enlightenment when used correctly in a ritualistic practice known as sexual yoga.
Tantric sex is an advanced and secret practice for combining energies to achieve a state of “emptiness and bliss,” considered suitable only for the most advanced practitioners.
In the West, transplanting monastic celibacy has been difficult due to the sexually open culture. Most Western Buddhists have adopted a neutral view of sex.
Following scandals and a period of sexual experimentation in the 1960s and 70s, many Western Buddhist groups have renewed their focus on the lay precept against “sexual misconduct,” though defining this term has proven problematic.

Gays, Lesbians, and the Buddha

Buddhism has a strong appeal for gays and lesbians, partly because many Buddhist centers are populated by liberal, educated people who are less likely to hold anti-gay prejudices.
North American Buddhist institutions have generally not marginalized or denied ordination to gay and lesbian members, though individual Buddhists may still hold anti-gay sentiments.
Traditional Buddhist doctrine views the heterosexual/homosexual division as a dualism to be transcended. Monastic codes historically prohibited all sexual intercourse for monks, regardless of the partner’s gender.
Early Buddhism did show prejudice against pandaka (effeminate individuals), banning them from ordination, and the interpretation of “sexual misconduct” for laypeople often depended on local culture.
The current Dalai Lama has expressed conflicting views, forcefully rejecting discrimination against gay people while also reiterating a traditional doctrine that defines same-sex acts as sexual misconduct. He has clarified that no one can be excluded for this and that he cannot unilaterally change doctrine.
In the West, some Buddhist centers have actively reached out to the gay community, such as the San Francisco Zen Center, which led to the creation of the Hartford Street Zen Center and the Maitri Hospice for AIDS patients.
Some Western Buddhist centers now host specific retreats for gay and lesbian members, and support groups like the Gay Buddhist Fellowship have formed.
The formation of these “identity-oriented” groups has raised concerns about fragmenting the community, but proponents argue they are necessary for oppressed groups to heal and find empowerment.

Buddhism in Crisis

In the 1980s, Western Buddhist centers faced crises rooted in the misuse of power, sex, money, and deception by teachers.
The San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC) crisis began with Abbot Richard Baker, whose extravagant lifestyle and secret affairs led to his forced resignation.
In the aftermath, SFZC reformed its structure to be more democratic, with an elected board and term limits for abbots, which helped it manage a later leadership crisis.
Similar scandals involving sex and alcohol occurred at the Zen Center of Los Angeles with Taizan Maezumi Roshi, and with other Asian teachers like Soen Sa Nim, who admitted to affairs while claiming celibacy.
Chogyam Trungpa’s community experienced a major crisis after his death, when his successor, Osel Tendzin, knowingly exposed sexual partners to the AIDS virus.
Scandals almost exclusively involved male teachers, though at least one female teacher, Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo, faced similar controversies regarding lifestyle and conduct.

The sexual conundrum

Teachers may have sex with students due to human impulse, student availability, and the isolation inherent in their leadership role.
Students are often attracted to the idealized, powerful figure of the teacher, and a relationship can bring status and attention.
A survey by Jack Kornfield revealed that a high percentage of non-celibate teachers had sexual relationships with students.
Arguments exist on both sides: some see it as a private matter between consenting adults, while others argue the power imbalance makes it inherently unethical, similar to a therapist-patient relationship.
The impact on students varies; Kornfield found about half reported the relationship undermined their practice or self-worth.
The potential for harm is high due to the student’s vulnerability, unrealistic expectations, and the psychological stress of secrecy, which can damage the entire community.
Despite the risks, some relationships, like the one described by Jan Chozen Bays, have been reported as non-exploitative and profound.

Power and community

Sexual misconduct was often the trigger for explosions, but underlying conflicts about power and community life were already present.
Many centers were founded with an authoritarian structure based on Asian models, where the teacher’s word was law, clashing with Western democratic ideals.
For residential students, the teacher’s authority extended into all aspects of daily life, leading to feelings of frustration and being trapped.
These communities often behaved like dysfunctional families, using denial and cover-ups to protect an idealized image of the teacher, which worsened the problems.
Resentment grew from the contrast between the austere lifestyle of students and the luxurious living of some teachers, as well as the lack of a clear future or career path for long-term residents.

The response

The crises prompted a new sense of honesty and realism, acknowledging that spiritual teachers can be flawed.
Some centers implemented structural reforms, such as creating elected boards of directors, having multiple teachers to balance power, and establishing ethics committees.
Many centers created formal codes of ethics, with some explicitly forbidding sexual relations between teachers and current students and requiring a waiting period before a relationship can begin.
Western Buddhist teachers began networking through conferences and associations to address these issues collectively, creating a shared code of conduct.
Informal networks and organizations like the Buddhist Peace Fellowship emerged to handle complaints that individual centers failed to resolve.
The response escalated to public action, including a high-profile lawsuit for sexual harassment against teacher Sogyal Rinpoche, which was settled out of court.

Summing Up

Many issues in Western Buddhism, such as those concerning sex and power, are part of its adaptation to a new culture that lacks the traditional Asian framework for evaluating spiritual teachers.
The most significant and permanent transformation has been the growing power of women and the move towards full gender equality, a stark contrast to Eastern Buddhism.
The teacher-student relationship remains inherently unequal, as it is based on the teacher’s perceived wisdom. While some groups have become more democratic, respected teachers still wield enormous power, though better controls are expected to develop over time.
Since Buddhism lacks strong norms on lay sexuality, it has largely adapted to Western cultural trends, mirroring the liberal attitudes of the 1960s-70s and the more conservative reaction of the 1980s-90s, including a focus on eliminating sexual harassment.

SIX - WHY BUDDHISM?

Western Buddhism is a radical departure from mainstream Western religions like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
While mainstream Western faiths share common roots, texts, and a belief in a single creator God, Buddhism has none of these.
Becoming a Buddhist involves a more fundamental shift in worldview and spiritual practice than converting between other Western religions.
Despite these significant differences, Buddhism is one of the fastest-growing religions in the West.

The Circles of Involvement

Defining who is a Buddhist is difficult, as criteria like group membership, rituals, specific practices, or core beliefs are not universally applicable.
Self-identification is also problematic because a key goal of Buddhist practice is to dissolve the sense of self, and many involved individuals do not identify as “Buddhist”.
A more useful approach is to conceptualize involvement as a series of concentric circles, from casual interest to dedicated practice.
The outermost circle includes people indirectly influenced by Buddhist ideas in popular culture or by prominent figures like the Dalai Lama.
The next circle consists of “bookstore Buddhists” (and the “cybersangha”) who learn from books and online resources without joining a formal group.
A further circle includes those who participate in a Buddhist group, with involvement ranging from occasional visits to regular attendance where the community (sangha) becomes socially and spiritually important.
The inner circles are made up of a small group for whom practice is the central focus of their lives, including residents of centers, administrators, senior students, and authorized teachers at the core.
Involvement also varies by intensity of practice (which doesn’t always correlate with group involvement) and follows different patterns, such as steady progression, long-term casual interest, or temporary engagement during a crisis.

The Western Sangha

Gender: Western Buddhism attracts more women (58%) than men (42%), though some groups have a male majority.
Race and Religion: The membership is overwhelmingly white. People from Jewish backgrounds are overrepresented compared to the general population, while those from Protestant backgrounds are underrepresented.
Socioeconomic Status: The group appeals most strongly to the middle and upper-middle classes.
Education: Members are extremely well-educated; more than half of the respondents in a survey held advanced degrees, making it potentially the most highly educated religious group in the West.
Politics: The demographic is far more liberal than the general population, with almost 60% identifying as Democrats and only 2.6% as Republican.
Age: While attracting all ages, the average age is 46, indicating a strong appeal to the baby boomer generation.
Culture: The movement has a strong appeal to bohemians, intellectuals, and artists, with a high percentage (62.5%) having used psychedelic drugs.
Geography: Buddhist groups are most likely to be found in cosmopolitan urban areas, such as the East and West Coasts of the US, Ontario in Canada, and London in the UK.

Why Buddhism?

Traditional sociological theories of religion, which are based on Judeo-Christian models, do not adequately explain Western Buddhism.
Sociologists often misclassify Buddhism by either ignoring it, recasting it as a theistic religion, or dismissing its non-theistic forms as secular philosophy.
Western Buddhism does not fit the typical model of a “new religion” or “cult” because it generally lacks fervent evangelism and exclusive, close-knit communities.
The concept of “conversion” is problematic, as many Western Buddhists continue to identify with other faiths, such as Christianity or Judaism.
Contrary to many sociological theories, the primary motivation for joining is not a “quest for community” but a desire for spiritual fulfillment and help with personal problems.
Most people are introduced to Buddhism through books and classes rather than through social ties with existing members.

Getting involved

The path into Buddhism typically begins with an exploratory period of reading books and magazines.
The next step is starting a meditation practice, which is now considered an essential component and is often learned before joining a group.
Formal involvement with a Buddhist group usually occurs years after an individual has started meditating on their own.
Practicing martial arts serves as a pathway into Buddhism for a small minority (around 8%).
A significant number of practitioners (about one-third in the sample) report that using psychedelic drugs encouraged their involvement by challenging their conventional view of reality.

Opportunity

The growth of Buddhism is linked to increased opportunities for Westerners to encounter it.
Modern transportation, global communication, migration, and media have increased exposure to Buddhist ideas.
Rising literacy, higher education levels, and affluence have provided more people with the time and resources to explore new philosophies.
The decline of Christian cultural dominance, due to secularism and multiculturalism, has made alternative spiritual paths more psychologically available.
Buddhism is often seen as more compatible with a secular, scientific worldview due to its emphasis on cause-and-effect (karma) and experiential verification over faith.
The practice appeals strongly to the highly educated, upper-middle classes, intellectuals, and artists, who are more likely to encounter its ideas and appreciate its disciplined, philosophical nature.

Buddhism and postmodern society

Surveys show that Westerners are primarily motivated by a desire for spiritual fulfillment and a need to deal with personal problems.
Buddhism’s appeal is deeply connected to the “crisis of self” in postmodern society, where identity is no longer stable or socially given but must be constantly constructed.
This creates psychological uncertainty and a “ravenous hunger for identity.”
Buddhism offers a multi-level response to this crisis:
- It can provide a supportive new identity and community.
- It offers psychotherapeutic tools, like meditation, for managing personal issues such as anger and fear.
- At its deepest level, it deconstructs the entire “project of the self” through the teaching of “no-self,” which directly addresses the suffering caused by clinging to a precarious identity.
The teaching of “no-self” has moved from the periphery to the center of Western Buddhism because it resonates strongly with the challenges of maintaining an identity in the postmodern world.

SEVEN - THE NEW BUDDHISM TAKES SHAPE

Historically, Buddhism took centuries to adapt to new cultures, but its evolution in the West is happening much faster, over decades.
The rapid pace of change is driven by modern society.
Western Buddhism has already undergone some of the most radical changes in the religion’s history.
This is not a final form; the aim is to chart the direction of change, not predict an ultimate destination.

The New Buddhism and the Old

Western Buddhism resembles original Buddhism in that its followers are converts, it de-emphasizes ritual, it is egalitarian, and it focuses on the direct experience of enlightenment through meditation.
It is not a fundamentalist movement, as it incorporates over 2,000 years of Buddhist philosophy and techniques, as well as insights from other faiths, science, and psychotherapy.
A key difference from traditional Asian Buddhism is the shift from monastic withdrawal to seeking enlightenment within the context of everyday life.
In the West, Buddhism is positioned between mainstream religions and marginalized “cults”; it is respected for its ancient tradition and figures like the Dalai Lama, but is also seen as foreign.
Adherents are typically committed converts with a “mystical” orientation, seeking direct personal experience rather than reinforcing a social order.
While sharing a demographic with the “New Age” movement, Buddhist leaders distinguish their tradition by its disciplined practice, defined beliefs, and historical structure, in contrast to the New Age’s perceived vagueness.
The closest resemblance in doctrine and practice is to other Asian traditions in the West, such as Hinduism, Taoism, and Sufism, which share a similar quest for direct experience.

Into the Future

It is uncertain whether Western Buddhism will blend into a single eclectic tradition or if distinct streams like Zen, Vipassana, and Tibetan Buddhism will remain separate; a fourth, nonsectarian stream is also emerging.
Fundamental differences, such as religious vs. secular approaches and “hot” (emotional, visionary) vs. “cool” (quiet, still) styles, may be difficult to reconcile within single groups.
As Buddhist groups in the West accumulate wealth, financial misconduct may become a more significant issue than the sexual misconduct scandals seen so far.
To ensure accountability, separating the spiritual authority of teachers from the administrative authority of a board and promoting shared leadership among multiple teachers are seen as more effective than simple codes of ethics.
Tibetan groups may reform under Western leadership, continue with traditional Asian leadership, or, most likely, split into both traditional and more open, Western-led groups.
Buddhism has a good chance of being accepted into the Western religious mainstream due to its high-status membership, influence in the arts, and values that resonate with Western culture, though this would challenge core Western assumptions about God and the self.
While unlikely to become a mass religion, it will probably continue to grow among its base of well-educated, middle- and upper-class members; Sokka Gakkai and prison dharma projects are exceptions that have reached a broader demographic.
There is a trend toward “engaged Buddhism,” with broad support for social welfare and charity work, but less support for direct political activism.
Dialogue with other faiths, like Judaism and Christianity, may lead to new syncretistic faiths, while dialogue with science and psychology is already influencing both Buddhism and Western psychotherapy.
Buddhism’s greatest impact may be on the emerging global culture, as its core teachings challenge the consumerist and individualistic assumptions of postmodern society.