DISQUS

I happened upon your blog googling the article today. You ask some interesting questions and just wanted to comment. First, you did not mention Soka Gakkai when talking about American Buddhist groups. I think you are missing something if you don't count Soka Gakkai as one of the many modern Buddhist movements in Japan and one of the most successful spearheads of Japanese Buddhism in the US. They do not have the problems of separation between Japanese and Americans in the American organization, and I would suggest that it has to do with the evangelical (bodhisattva) attitude encouraged by the organization. I am ambivalent about that organization, but they have introduced Buddhism on a real personal level to more people in America than probably every other Buddhist sect combined. And not just to liberal upper class whites - go to a Soka Gakkai meeting in the US and you will see the full spectrum of America. I know very well the background of Soka Gakkai, having grown up with it (I am no longer associated with them but respect the organization for what it is). I know its controversial foundation in the teachings of a controversial monk, etc. etc., but if you don't consider it as part of the Buddhist movement, you may need to check what you know about them and what your understanding of Mahayana Buddhism is. As far as the state of Buddhism in Japan, I would argue that one of the biggest blows to Japanese Buddhism was dispensing with the requirement of celibacy among the religious. This can be traced back to a few early trends - the growth of lay monks (they seem to have been very influential in places like Mt. Koya) in the medieval period which seems to have contributed to the emergence of the Jodo Shinshu acceptance of marriage for its priests. The blood line succession issues in that sect illustrate the problems that can arise when a religious order founded on celibacy no longer a requires it - the Buddha knew what he was doing when he required his disciples to take up the life of homelessness with celibacy. Of course, it would be unfair to lay the blame for the end of celibacy among the Japanese Buddhist religious on Jodo Shinshu - the laws enacted by Nobunaga and the Tokugawa shogunate did their part to crystalize Buddhist institutions by allowing for the the transfer of temples to children, prohibiting transfer of sectarian allegiances, curtailing of missionary work and proselytizing, etc. Basically, they wanted to remove the sectarian heat from Buddhism, and in doing so, I would argue the spirit was inflicted with a death blow. We are just now seeing the result of centuries of regulation and persecution on the Buddhist establishment. The laws created a captive audience for blood line temples and the clergy got lazy, plain and simple- running the temple became like taking on the family dentistry practice. Yawn. The Meiji Restoration and subsequent imposition of state Shinto also took its toll.
In the US, I think we will be going into a period of self reflection - if Buddhism is going to take hold and grow, its not going to be propelled forward by new converts - its going to be built by people born into families that converted to Buddhism. The view of Buddhism in a new convert and a person born into it are universes apart. I do hope that Buddhism takes root in America. We need it. And not the new agey hokey Buddhism - we need the real thing. In the very least, we need a taste of the Buddhist pardigm to challenge American/Western assumptions about life and provoke further development - this secular/materialist outlook is taking the meaning out of life, and the fundamental protestant Christianity is too rigid to serve a fertile ground.
Sorry for being long winded and volunteering more than my fair share of opinions.