First brought to the United States in the nineteenth century by Chinese and Japanese immigrants, Buddhism has become a major feature of the North American religious, cultural, and social landscape. Nearly every form of Asian Buddhism has some presence in North America in addition to a variety of Buddhist “convert” communities, hybrid communities, and “secular” Buddhist networks. Buddhist-derived practices such as mindfulness meditation have been deployed in health care and educational sett...

As of 2010, there were approximately 3-4 million Buddhists in the United States, and that figure is expected to grow significantly. Beyond the numbers, the influence of Buddhism can be felt throughout the culture, with many more people practicing meditation, for example, than claiming Buddhist identity. A century ago, this would have been unthinkable. So how did Buddhism come to claim such a significant place in the American cultural landscape? The Making of American Buddhism offe...

Buddhism in America provides the most comprehensive and up to date survey of the diverse landscape of US Buddhist traditions, their history and development, and current methodological trends in the study of Buddhism in the West, located within the translocal flow of global Buddhist culture.Divided into three parts (Histories; Traditions; Frames), this introduction traces Buddhism's history and encounter with North American culture, charts the landscape of US Buddhist commu...

Both a demonstration of and critical self-reflection on method, this book explores how methodologies shape our understanding of the diversity of Buddhist traditions in the past and the present. International contributors from the West and Asia explore case studies and reflect on methods in the study of Buddhism, united in their debt to Richard K. Payne, the influential Buddhist studies scholar.Methods in Buddhist Studies features new translations of Buddhist works as well ...

Explores facets of North American Buddhism while taking into account the impact of globalization and increasing interconnectivity.Finalist for the 2015 ForeWord INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award in the Religion CategoryBuddhism beyond Borders provides a fresh consideration of Buddhism in the American context. It includes both theoretical discussions and case studies to highlight the tension ...