What is American Buddhism?

For many years I have avoided writing a blog.  My question has always been, "Why would anyone be interested in what I had for breakfast?"  Although editors sometimes had an answer (my favorite was simply, "You'd be surprised."), I didn't see any need to try to put either my personal or my professional opinions onto the Internet.

So what has changed?  I have been considering several questions about Buddhism, and writing them often helps me to structure them more thoughtfully.  A blog seems like an easy place to write and amend them over time.  Furthermore, it might get some responses that would be interesting and valuable, if anyone reads it and comments.

Although I have been a student of Buddhism (and Taoism) for almost 25 years, it is only fairly recently that I have been willing to call myself Buddhist.  For most of that time I generally refused to pidgeonhole myself, and if cornered, I would usually say that I was a devout agnostic.  It was only when I was travelling to work in another country and was required to fill in a form that included identifying a religion that I finally was forced to state publicly that I was Buddhist.  Although this ultimately has been helpful to me, as I embrace the dharma in a more personal way, it has also raised more questions.  People want to know what kind of Buddhist I am.  Am I Zen, Tibetan, Insight, Shambhala, etc?  I do not come from a single lineage, and my only response has been that I am an American Buddhist.  But what is an American Buddhist? 

Religions (like languages) are constantly transforming, especially as they come into contact with other cultures.  Buddhism has many traditions, largely centered around geography.  As Buddhism spread, it adapted to fit the existing cultures and continued to change as it flourished within those cultures.  For example, as it moved into China and came into contact with Taoist thought, it brought forth Chan Buddhism, which when it moved into Japan became Zen.  Buddhism moved into the English-speaking West over 100 years ago (for a fascinating semi-personal account, read Christian Humphreys' history of the Buddhist Society in London, in A Buddhist Students' Manual, 1956).  It moved into America in the 1950s, merging with the Beat culture of the times, then the hippy culture of the 60s, and is finally beginning to mature.  But what is it?

I don't have an answer, but I have several possible questions, based largely on my perception of American culture.

• Perhaps it is a straight-talking, and no-nonsense type of Buddhism - A practical Buddhism.
• Perhaps it is grounded in empiricism - a scientific style, stripped of mysticism.  Perhaps it is the opposite - highly magical and evangelical (or maybe it's one way for "red" states and the other for "blue" states).
• Maybe it is becoming more fundamentalist and outspoken.
• Maybe it is a melting pot of all of the various Buddhist traditions (e.g., Hinayana, Mahayana, Vajrayana), with less emphasis on transmission through a single lineage.
• Perhaps it is seen as the next new trendy thing to wear, or is a method for being perceived as novel and/or shocking.
• Maybe it rests on an assumption that ancient Eastern wisdom is somehow better or more relevant than modern wisdom traditions.
• Perhaps it provides a more healthy way to proclaim rebellion than smoking Marlboros.
• Maybe it is becoming more individualistic rather than communal.
• Maybe it is more arrogant than other forms of Buddhism, thinking that it alone has Truth.
• Maybe it is more aggressive or violent in its approach to solving problems.
• Maybe it is forgiving (or supportive) of shorter and shorter attention spans.
• Maybe it provides a sense of belonging - a type of ancestral home that most Americans lack because of our mixed race heritage and our general willingness to change where we live, our jobs, and our marriages.
• Maybe it is seen as the antidote to an increasingly complex and fast-paced environment?

The question of what is American Buddhism is, of course, a modern koan.  There is no single answer.  The answer is dependently arising within each individual and across time. 

I can only hope to give a sense of what I mean for myself when I define myself as an American Buddhist, rather than defining myself within a specific tradition.  My approach to Buddhism (at this particular point in my history) is that it is multiply determined - I draw from all traditions, seeking to find what works for me, knowing that my path may be different from someone else's, although both may be equally "true."  It is a philosophical Buddhism, rather than being mystical.  My Buddhism is very empirical in nature.  I am, by training and vocation, a scientist.  I often find deep parallels between what we are learning about scientific psychology, physical science, and Buddhist philosophy.  I expect I will write about these aspects quite a bit in the future.  Ultimately, it is very practical type of Buddhism. I find that it works, and that deepens my interest in studying and following the Dharma.

This is, of necessity, an incomplete answer.  What is American Buddhism to you?  Does it even exist?