[Buddha-l] Shin Buddhism in America

[Peter D. Junger]

There is an article from the New York Times on Shin Buddhism in 
America today entitled: Buddhism With a New Mind-Set by James 
Estrin.  

Shin Buddhism does not get much mention on this list, so I think
that it is worthwhile to mention it.

The article begins:

   New  York,  USA  --  Western  spiritual  seekers  who  have focused on
   meditation have fueled a remarkable growth in Buddhist practice in the
   United  States.  So  what to do if you are part of an ancient Buddhist
   tradition  that  is  huge  in  Asia  but has failed to catch on in the
   United States, in part because it has no real place for meditation?

   Change the tradition.

   That  is  what  the Rev. T. Kenjitsu Nakagaki of the New York Buddhist
   Church  and  other leaders of the Buddhist Churches of America, one of
   the oldest and most established Buddhist movements in the country, are
   doing.

   The  65 temples across the country that make up the church network are
   part  of  a  school  of Buddhism known as Pure Land that is one of the
   most  widespread  in  the  world  and  was once a thriving part of the
   Japanese-American  community.  Over the last few decades, however, the
   movement  has lost two-thirds of its United States members as a result
   of assimilation and the diminishing numbers of Japanese coming to this
   country.

   Spurred  by  a new reform-minded bishop, Koshin Ogui, a growing number
   of  the  movement's  temples  have abandoned their traditional lack of
   interest  in  meditation  and  are  offering  the practice as a way to
   survive by reaching out to non-Japanese adherents.

The rest of the article can be found at:

  <URL: http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=2,2825,0,0,1,0>.

--
Peter D. Junger--Case Western Reserve University Law School--Cleveland, OH
 EMAIL: junger at samsara.law.cwru.edu    URL:  http://samsara.law.cwru.edu