[Buddha-l] ethnic Buddhism.

[Franz Metcalf]

Patricia et al.,

Thanks for the heads-up on the Hori article in the new book. And, in  
reference to the issue of naming the various (and mixed-up) sorts of  
Buddhism we find in the West, Hori is himself a wonderful counter- 
example to just about any nomenclature we might adopt. He *is*  
Buddhist, but what label shall we burden him with? Is he an "ethnic"  
Buddhist? (He is a Japanese-Canadian.) Is he an "elite" Buddhist? (He  
speaks English as his first language and is a professor of religion.)  
Does he practice "baggage" Buddhism? (His family is culturally  
Buddhist, despite being in Canada for generations.) Is he a  
"traditional" Buddhist? (He went through the whole classic Rinzai  
monastic training.) Or perhaps a "modern" Buddhist? (He is no longer a  
monk, and he has changed his views on practice in the West.) We need  
such distinctions to function, to divide up our fields and objects of  
study, but let's not divide up the good Professor Hori as well.

This reminds me of the scene (chapter 17) in _The Empty Mirror_ (http://tinyurl.com/65humz 
) when Jan-san is considering converting to Buddhism and asks whether  
Han-san, an advanced monk, is Buddhist. Han-san's response: "Is a  
cloud a member of the sky?"

I imagine Dr. Hori appreciates his celestial freedom.

Franz

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