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story	BUDDHISM
BUDDHISM	IN
IN	AMERICA
AMERICA	BUTTON
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Read	in
in	app
app	By
By	George
George	Vecsey
Vecsey	June
June	Credit
Credit	The
The	New
New	York
York	Times
Times	Archives
Archives	See
See	the
the	article
article	in
in	its
its	original
original	context
context	from
from	June
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Section	SM
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Buy	Reprints
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View	on
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exclusive	benefit
benefit	for
for	home
home	delivery
delivery	and
and	digital
digital	subscribers
subscribers	About
About	the
the	Archive
Archive	This
This	is
is	a
a	digitized
digitized	version
version	of
of	an
an	article
article	from
from	The
The	Times
Times	s
s	print
print	archive
archive	before
before	the
the	start
start	of
of	online
online	publication
publication	in
in	To
To	preserve
preserve	these
these	articles
articles	as
as	they
they	originally
originally	appeared
appeared	The
The	Times
Times	does
does	not
not	alter
alter	edit
edit	or
or	update
update	them
them	Occasionally
Occasionally	the
the	digitization
digitization	process
process	introduces
introduces	transcription
transcription	errors
errors	or
or	other
other	problems
problems	we
we	are
are	continuing
continuing	to
to	work
work	to
to	improve
improve	these
these	archived
archived	versions
versions	The
The	father
father	s
s	words
words	reflected
reflected	the
the	pain
pain	in
in	his
his	face
face	as
as	he
he	talked
talked	about
about	his
his	teenage
teenage	son
son	At
At	first
first	he
he	said
said	he
he	was
was	an
an	atheist
atheist	and
and	didn
didn	t
t	want
want	any
any	part
part	of
of	religion
religion	the
the	father
father	said
said	But
But	lately
lately	he
he	has
has	been
been	saying
saying	he
he	s
s	an
an	agnostic
agnostic	so
so	maybe
maybe	that
that	s
s	promising
promising	Sure
Sure	we
we	would
would	have
have	liked
liked	him
him	to
to	follow
follow	our
our	example
example	These
These	words
words	of
of	disappointment
disappointment	could
could	have
have	been
been	spoken
spoken	by
by	millions
millions	of
of	Christian
Christian	or
or	Jewish
Jewish	parents
parents	whose
whose	children
children	showed
showed	no
no	interest
interest	in
in	the
the	family
family	faith
faith	In
In	this
this	case
case	however
however	the
the	father
father	was
was	an
an	American
American	born
born	converted
converted	Buddhist
Buddhist	Yet
Yet	us
us	disillusioned
disillusioned	as
as	it
it	may
may	sound
sound	the
the	father
father	s
s	lament
lament	may
may	be
be	an
an	indication
indication	that
that	Eastern
Eastern	religion
religion	has
has	reached
reached	a
a	new
new	stage
stage	in
in	America
America	a
a	stage
stage	in
in	which
which	many
many	founding
founding	fathers
fathers	and
and	mothers
mothers	are
are	secure
secure	enough
enough	in
in	their
their	religious
religious	beliefs
beliefs	to
to	want
want	to
to	see
see	them
them	adopted
adopted	by
by	their
their	children
children	Eastern
Eastern	religion
religion	has
has	enjoyed
enjoyed	several
several	periods
periods	of
of	growth
growth	among
among	non
non	Oriental
Oriental	Americans
Americans	since
since	the
the	end
end	of
of	World
World	War
War	II
II	the
the	first
first	with
with	the
the	Beat
Beat	generation
generation	in
in	the
the	late
late	s
s	then
then	a
a	larger
larger	wave
wave	with
with	the
the	peace
peace	and
and	love
love	generation
generation	of
of	the
the	mid
mid	s
s	which
which	sought
sought	self
self	awareness
awareness	as
as	one
one	antidote
antidote	to
to	the
the	Vietnam
Vietnam	War
War	and
and	general
general	disillusionment
disillusionment	with
with	American
American	institutions
institutions	Most
Most	of
of	the
the	wanderers
wanderers	of
of	those
those	generations
generations	have
have	moved
moved	on
on	to
to	the
the	next
next	stimulus
stimulus	by
by	now
now	their
their	interest
interest	in
in	meditation
meditation	and
and	harmony
harmony	either
either	diverted
diverted	or
or	disrupted
disrupted	But
But	as
as	the
the	s
s	make
make	their
their	last
last	inscrutable
inscrutable	stand
stand	a
a	smaller
smaller	core
core	of
of	converts
converts	to
to	Buddhism
Buddhism	is
is	building
building	distinctly
distinctly	American
American	communities
communities	combining
combining	the
the	teachings
teachings	of
of	Zen
Zen	with
with	the
the	demands
demands	of
of	contemporary
contemporary	American
American	life
life	In
In	clusters
clusters	of
of	varying
varying	size
size	across
across	the
the	country
country	the
the	largest
largest	of
of	which
which	are
are	centered
centered	in
in	Rochester
Rochester	New
New	York
York	City
City	Los
Los	Angeles
Angeles	and
and	San
San	Francisco
Francisco	an
an	estimated
estimated	Americans
Americans	are
are	quietly
quietly	practicing
practicing	some
some	form
form	of
of	Buddhism
Buddhism	Perhaps
Perhaps	the
the	best
best	example
example	of
of	community
community	building
building	among
among	contemporary
contemporary	Buddhists
Buddhists	is
is	the
the	Zen
Zen	Center
Center	on
on	the
the	comfortable
comfortable	east
east	end
end	of
of	Rochester
Rochester	where
where	about
about	members
members	who
who	live
live	in
in	houses
houses	and
and	apartments
apartments	throughout
throughout	the
the	city
city	are
are	finding
finding	a
a	Buddhist
Buddhist	focus
focus	for
for	their
their	lives
lives	The
The	Zen
Zen	Center
Center	consists
consists	of
of	two
two	large
large	old
old	houses
houses	now
now	joined
joined	by
by	an
an	archway
archway	with
with	a
a	peaceful
peaceful	garden
garden	and
and	meeting
meeting	hall
hall	out
out	back
back	Just
Just	inside
inside	the
the	front
front	door
door	a
a	wall
wall	of
of	photographs
photographs	resembles
resembles	a
a	suburban
suburban	community
community	house
house	bulletin
bulletin	board
board	There
There	are
are	snapshots
snapshots	of
of	a
a	Buddhist
Buddhist	Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving	since
since	many
many	Buddhists
Buddhists	are
are	vegetarian
vegetarian	the
the	turkey
turkey	is
is	released
released	in
in	a
a	game
game	preserve
preserve	rather
rather	than
than	eaten
eaten	snapshots
snapshots	of
of	children
children	wearing
wearing	goblin
goblin	costumes
costumes	on
on	Halloween
Halloween	snapshots
snapshots	of
of	the
the	center
center	s
s	softball
softball	team
team	Every
Every	Sunday
Sunday	to
to	people
people	walk
walk	or
or	bicycle
bicycle	to
to	the
the	center
center	they
they	are
are	discouraged
discouraged	from
from	driving
driving	cars
cars	for
for	environmental
environmental	and
and	good
good	neighbor
neighbor	reasons
reasons	for
for	the
the	A
A	M
M	meditation
meditation	They
They	are
are	almost
almost	all
all	Caucasians
Caucasians	ranging
ranging	in
in	age
age	from
from	to
to	well
well	over
over	most
most	are
are	trim
trim	and
and	healthy
healthy	looking
looking	As
As	they
they	arrive
arrive	at
at	the
the	front
front	door
door	they
they	are
are	already
already	withdrawing
withdrawing	into
into	the
the	silence
silence	of
of	the
the	next
next	few
few	hours
hours	taking
taking	off
off	their
their	shoes
shoes	putting
putting	on
on	brown
brown	robes
robes	finding
finding	a
a	spot
spot	in
in	one
one	of
of	the
the	austere
austere	but
but	airy
airy	rooms
rooms	where
where	they
they	can
can	assume
assume	a
a	full
full	lotus
lotus	position
position	With
With	eyes
eyes	half
half	closed
closed	they
they	will
will	empty
empty	their
their	minds
minds	of
of	distractions
distractions	The
The	meditation
meditation	is
is	broken
broken	into
into	three
three	half
half	hour
hour	segments
segments	punctuated
punctuated	by
by	walking
walking	meditation
meditation	exercises
exercises	through
through	the
the	house
house	After
After	the
the	meditation
meditation	the
the	group
group	gathers
gathers	to
to	chant
chant	in
in	English
English	and
and	listen
listen	to
to	the
the	words
words	of
of	the
the	center
center	s
s	roshi
roshi	or
or	venerable
venerable	teacher
teacher	Philip
Philip	Kapleau
Kapleau	The
The	natural
natural	feeling
feeling	of
of	the
the	rooms
rooms	in
in	these
these	houses
houses	is
is	enhanced
enhanced	by
by	the
the	woodwork
woodwork	which
which	has
has	been
been	stripped
stripped	of
of	paint
paint	Carpets
Carpets	and
and	simple
simple	furniture
furniture	complement
complement	the
the	plants
plants	arranged
arranged	in
in	front
front	of
of	every
every	window
window	The
The	food
food	shared
shared	by
by	the
the	staff
staff	following
following	the
the	meditation
meditation	session
session	is
is	magnificent
magnificent	steaming
steaming	dishes
dishes	of
of	grain
grain	fresh
fresh	vegetables
vegetables	from
from	a
a	farmers
farmers	market
market	homemade
homemade	applesauce
applesauce	and
and	breads
breads	cheeses
cheeses	hearty
hearty	soups
soups	We
We	don
don	t
t	let
let	new
new	people
people	work
work	in
in	the
the	kitchen
kitchen	says
says	one
one	of
of	the
the	center
center	s
s	monks
monks	We
We	believe
believe	you
you	need
need	experienced
experienced	calm
calm	people
people	there
there	Good
Good	karma
karma	creates
creates	good
good	food
food	In
In	the
the	center
center	there
there	are
are	statues
statues	of
of	Buddha
Buddha	in
in	prominent
prominent	places
places	of
of	course
course	but
but	little
little	else
else	speaks
speaks	of
of	Buddhism
Buddhism	s
s	Eastern
Eastern	origins
origins	or
or	the
the	years
years	Philip
Philip	Kapleau
Kapleau	spent
spent	in
in	Japan
Japan	It
It	is
is	his
his	objective
objective	to
to	help
help	people
people	make
make	Zen
Zen	an
an	American
American	way
way	of
of	life
life	rather
rather	than
than	a
a	foreign
foreign	religion
religion	to
to	keep
keep	the
the	spirit
spirit	of
of	Zen
Zen	but
but	give
give	it
it	an
an	American
American	dress
dress	If
If	Zen
Zen	Buddhism
Buddhism	is
is	going
going	to
to	grow
grow	in
in	this
this	country
country	says
says	Roshi
Roshi	Kapleau
Kapleau	we
we	must
must	get
get	rid
rid	of
of	foreign
foreign	cultural
cultural	encrustations
encrustations	Philip
Philip	Kapleau
Kapleau	is
is	one
one	of
of	or
or	bona
bona	fide
fide	roshis
roshis	teaching
teaching	in
in	America
America	today
today	Since
Since	there
there	is
is	no
no	central
central	Buddhist
Buddhist	organization
organization	roshis
roshis	are
are	known
known	mainly
mainly	by
by	reputation
reputation	He
He	was
was	born
born	in
in	in
in	Connecticut
Connecticut	and
and	worked
worked	as
as	a
a	court
court	reporter
reporter	for
for	the
the	United
United	States
States	at
at	the
the	Nuremberg
Nuremberg	trials
trials	and
and	later
later	at
at	war
war	trials
trials	in
in	Japan
Japan	He
He	says
says	he
he	was
was	impressed
impressed	with
with	the
the	way
way	the
the	Japanese
Japanese	dealt
dealt	with
with	their
their	role
role	in
in	the
the	atrocities
atrocities	of
of	the
the	war
war	compared
compared	with
with	the
the	way
way	Christian
Christian	Germany
Germany	dealt
dealt	with
with	its
its	past
past	He
He	was
was	introduced
introduced	to
to	the
the	Buddhist
Buddhist	notion
notion	of
of	karmic
karmic	retribution
retribution	for
for	inflicting
inflicting	pain
pain	a
a	harvest
harvest	of
of	pain
pain	will
will	be
be	reaped
reaped	and
and	determined
determined	to
to	explore
explore	Buddhism
Buddhism	In
In	with
with	no
no	knowledge
knowledge	of
of	the
the	Japanese
Japanese	language
language	he
he	gave
gave	up
up	his
his	job
job	in
in	America
America	and
and	sought
sought	a
a	Japanese
Japanese	master
master	eventually
eventually	studying
studying	under
under	three
three	one
one	of
of	whom
whom	was
was	Dr
Dr	D
D	T
T	Suzuki
Suzuki	In
In	he
he	decided
decided	he
he	had
had	grown
grown	stale
stale	and
and	came
came	home
home	to
to	America
America	a
a	year
year	old
old	man
man	who
who	shaved
shaved	his
his	head
head	and
and	considered
considered	himself
himself	ready
ready	to
to	share
share	Zen
Zen	Buddhist
Buddhist	He
He	established
established	his
his	first
first	center
center	in
in	Rochester
Rochester	in
in	with
with	a
a	nucleus
nucleus	of
of	people
people	Today
Today	the
the	Zen
Zen	Center
Center	has
has	American
American	affiliates
affiliates	in
in	Denver
Denver	Chicago
Chicago	and
and	Boston
Boston	There
There	are
are	four
four	centers
centers	Canada
Canada	one
one	in
in	Mexico
Mexico	City
City	one
one	Costa
Costa	Rica
Rica	and
and	one
one	in
in	Poland
Poland	the
the	Zen
Zen	Center
Center	s
s	estimated
estimated	membership
membership	is
is	worldwide
worldwide	The
The	center
center	supports
supports	itself
itself	with
with	membership
membership	dues
dues	ranging
ranging	from
from	to
to	quarter
quarter	fees
fees	for
for	training
training	programs
programs	and
and	seminar
seminar	workshops
workshops	voluntary
voluntary	contributions
contributions	and
and	royalties
royalties	from
from	Roshi
Roshi	Kapleau
Kapleau	s
s	three
three	books
books	The
The	Rochester
Rochester	center
center	has
has	a
a	staff
staff	of
of	none
none	of
of	whom
whom	including
including	Roshi
Roshi	Kapleau
Kapleau	earns
earns	a
a	salary
salary	Today
Today	Roshi
Roshi	Kapleau
Kapleau	sees
sees	more
more	older
older	people
people	moving
moving	toward
toward	Buddhism
Buddhism	In
In	the
the	s
s	it
it	was
was	mainly
mainly	the
the	young
young	They
They	were
were	disillusioned
disillusioned	and
and	in
in	despair
despair	many
many	of
of	them
them	on
on	the
the	verge
verge	of
of	suicide
suicide	he
he	says
says	They
They	felt
felt	the
the	Establishment
Establishment	was
was	insincere
insincere	not
not	meeting
meeting	genuine
genuine	needs
needs	A
A	lot
lot	of
of	young
young	people
people	were
were	in
in	drug
drug	trouble
trouble	looking
looking	for
for	something
something	Many
Many	of
of	them
them	had
had	no
no	skills
skills	and
and	could
could	be
be	called
called	irresponsible
irresponsible	Young
Young	people
people	wanted
wanted	something
something	simple
simple	something
something	worthwhile
worthwhile	I
I	had
had	to
to	show
show	them
them	they
they	could
could	change
change	their
their	karma
karma	a
a	Buddhist
Buddhist	and
and	Hindu
Hindu	term
term	meaning
meaning	a
a	self
self	caused
caused	inevitability
inevitability	To
To	do
do	so
so	meant
meant	to
to	take
take	responsibility
responsibility	for
for	their
their	own
own	lives
lives	I
I	had
had	to
to	show
show	them
them	enlightenment
enlightenment	came
came	from
from	within
within	Buddhism
Buddhism	does
does	not
not	seek
seek	converts
converts	proselytizing
proselytizing	is
is	foreign
foreign	to
to	it
it	In
In	Zen
Zen	the
the	idea
idea	is
is	almost
almost	to
to	push
push	people
people	away
away	says
says	Roshi
Roshi	Kapleau
Kapleau	A
A	person
person	needs
needs	real
real	ardor
ardor	and
and	perseverence
perseverence	to
to	attain
attain	a
a	higher
higher	order
order	of
of	enlightenment
enlightenment	Roshi
Roshi	Kapleau
Kapleau	tells
tells	this
this	story
story	A
A	young
young	man
man	once
once	came
came	to
to	a
a	venerable
venerable	master
master	and
and	asked
asked	How
How	long
long	will
will	take
take	to
to	reach
reach	enlightenment
enlightenment	The
The	master
master	said
said	Ten
Ten	years
years	The
The	young
young	man
man	blurted
blurted	That
That	long
long	The
The	master
master	said
said	No
No	I
I	was
was	mistaken
mistaken	It
It	will
will	take
take	you
you	years
years	The
The	young
young	man
man	asked
asked	Twenty
Twenty	years
years	and
and	the
the	master
master	said
said	Come
Come	to
to	think
think	of
of	it
it	maybe
maybe	Buddhism
Buddhism	eludes
eludes	easy
easy	definition
definition	A
A	group
group	of
of	psychiatrists
psychiatrists	once
once	engaged
engaged	Roshi
Roshi	Kapleau
Kapleau	to
to	explain
explain	Zen
Zen	to
to	them
them	He
He	obliged
obliged	by
by	silently
silently	munching
munching	a
a	ripe
ripe	banana
banana	When
When	a
a	student
student	asked
asked	what
what	it
it	all
all	meant
meant	the
the	roshi
roshi	rubbed
rubbed	the
the	banana
banana	peel
peel	in
in	the
the	student
student	s
s	face
face	and
and	said
said	You
You	have
have	just
just	witnessed
witnessed	a
a	first
first	rate
rate	example
example	of
of	Zen
Zen	Are
Are	there
there	any
any	questions
questions	Most
Most	of
of	the
the	psychiatrists
psychiatrists	said
said	they
they	still
still	didn
didn	t
t	get
get	it
it	and
and	pressed
pressed	their
their	speaker
speaker	for
for	a
a	definition
definition	Roshi
Roshi	Kapleau
Kapleau	thought
thought	awhile
awhile	and
and	said
said	All
All	right
right	Zen
Zen	is
is	a
a	flea
flea	copulating
copulating	with
with	an
an	elephant
elephant	Knowing
Knowing	how
how	the
the	roshi
roshi	feels
feels	about
about	definitions
definitions	I
I	nevertheless
nevertheless	persisted
persisted	in
in	asking
asking	him
him	for
for	one
one	A
A	pathless
pathless	path
path	that
that	has
has	to
to	be
be	walked
walked	not
not	talked
talked	about
about	he
he	said
said	A
A	path
path	between
between	two
two	extremes
extremes	self
self	indulgence
indulgence	and
and	self
self	mortification
mortification	The
The	realization
realization	that
that	we
we	exist
exist	on
on	two
two	levels
levels	relative
relative	to
to	time
time	and
and	space
space	and
and	transient
transient	beyond
beyond	time
time	and
and	space
space	Does
Does	that
that	do
do	Leave
Leave	it
it	blank
blank	or
or	answer
answer	it
it	yourself
yourself	According
According	to
to	a
a	recent
recent	survey
survey	there
there	may
may	now
now	be
be	two
two	million
million	adults
adults	in
in	this
this	country
country	involved
involved	in
in	some
some	form
form	of
of	Eastern
Eastern	religion
religion	In
In	a
a	Gallup
Gallup	survey
survey	of
of	experiential
experiential	movements
movements	groups
groups	stressing
stressing	personal
personal	spiritual
spiritual	discovery
discovery	this
this	total
total	fell
fell	behind
behind	other
other	movements
movements	such
such	as
as	transcendental
transcendental	meditation
meditation	six
six	million
million	yoga
yoga	five
five	million
million	charismatic
charismatic	renewal
renewal	three
three	million
million	and
and	mysticism
mysticism	three
three	million
million	In
In	her
her	book
book	Buddhism
Buddhism	in
in	America
America	Emma
Emma	McCloy
McCloy	Layman
Layman	estimates
estimates	that
that	native
native	born
born	Americans
Americans	have
have	made
made	some
some	form
form	of
of	personal
personal	commitment
commitment	to
to	Buddhism
Buddhism	but
but	she
she	adds
adds	The
The	influence
influence	of
of	Buddhism
Buddhism	in
in	America
America	has
has	been
been	and
and	will
will	continue
continue	to
to	be
be	greater
greater	than
than	membership
membership	figures
figures	would
would	lead
lead	us
us	to
to	expect
expect	and
and	it
it	is
is	here
here	to
to	stay
stay	Dr
Dr	Layman
Layman	notes
notes	that
that	meditation
meditation	practices
practices	have
have	already
already	been
been	integrated
integrated	into
into	some
some	psychiatric
psychiatric	methods
methods	and
and	some
some	Christian
Christian	worships
worships	and
and	she
she	says
says	Buddhist
Buddhist	concepts
concepts	of
of	suffering
suffering	impermanence
impermanence	and
and	nonself
nonself	have
have	already
already	been
been	widely
widely	accepted
accepted	She
She	predicts
predicts	many
many	people
people	will
will	be
be	influenced
influenced	by
by	Buddhism
Buddhism	to
to	seek
seek	a
a	simple
simple	life
life	If
If	you
you	are
are	in
in	touch
touch	with
with	yourself
yourself	through
through	meditation
meditation	you
you	can
can	influence
influence	other
other	people
people	Roshi
Roshi	Kapleau
Kapleau	says
says	If
If	you
you	are
are	in
in	touch
touch	with
with	deeper
deeper	forces
forces	you
you	can
can	propel
propel	these
these	forces
forces	You
You	can
can	be
be	a
a	powerful
powerful	transmitter
transmitter	Ruth
Ruth	Sandberg
Sandberg	s
s	face
face	is
is	serene
serene	her
her	body
body	is
is	as
as	lithe
lithe	as
as	a
a	teen
teen	ager
ager	s
s	but
but	she
she	is
is	a
a	grandmother
grandmother	who
who	spends
spends	six
six	months
months	a
a	year
year	in
in	Florida
Florida	and
and	six
six	months
months	teaching
teaching	hatha
hatha	yoga
yoga	in
in	Rochester
Rochester	When
When	my
my	husband
husband	died
died	I
I	was
was	still
still	searching
searching	she
she	says
says	It
It	was
was	my
my	good
good	karma
karma	that
that	a
a	friend
friend	gave
gave	me
me	a
a	clipping
clipping	about
about	the
the	roshi
roshi	s
s	first
first	book
book	I
I	read
read	it
it	and
and	as
as	soon
soon	as
as	I
I	could
could	I
I	hopped
hopped	on
on	plane
plane	to
to	Rochester
Rochester	The
The	minute
minute	walked
walked	into
into	this
this	center
center	I
I	knew
knew	I
I	was
was	home
home	Sitting
Sitting	on
on	that
that	cushion
cushion	meditating
meditating	I
I	lost
lost	all
all	my
my	hang
hang	ups
ups	During
During	a
a	Saturday
Saturday	workshop
workshop	Mrs
Mrs	Sandberg
Sandberg	demonstrates
demonstrates	exercises
exercises	to
to	assist
assist	in
in	meditation
meditation	To
To	a
a	novice
novice	whose
whose	muscular
muscular	legs
legs	are
are	resisting
resisting	the
the	lotus
lotus	position
position	she
she	points
points	out
out	sweetly
sweetly	An
An	inflexible
inflexible	body
body	is
is	the
the	sign
sign	of
of	an
an	inflexible
inflexible	mind
mind	Pain
Pain	is
is	a
a	word
word	frequently
frequently	used
used	by
by	Buddhists
Buddhists	around
around	the
the	country
country	At
At	the
the	Zen
Zen	Center
Center	of
of	Los
Los	Angeles
Angeles	a
a	tranquil
tranquil	priest
priest	named
named	John
John	Daishin
Daishin	Buksbazen
Buksbazen	told
told	me
me	how
how	the
the	pain
pain	of
of	the
the	politics
politics	and
and	the
the	assassinations
assassinations	in
in	sent
sent	him
him	to
to	meditation
meditation	At
At	the
the	Tibetan
Tibetan	Buddhist
Buddhist	Nyingma
Nyingma	Center
Center	in
in	Berkeley
Berkeley	a
a	gracious
gracious	student
student	Kimberley
Kimberley	Bacon
Bacon	told
told	of
of	the
the	emptiness
emptiness	that
that	led
led	her
her	around
around	the
the	country
country	searching
searching	for
for	something
something	And
And	many
many	can
can	tell
tell	stories
stories	like
like	Zenson
Zenson	s
s	a
a	year
year	old
old	priest
priest	in
in	the
the	Zen
Zen	Center
Center	Zenson
Zenson	grew
grew	up
up	in
in	a
a	small
small	town
town	outside
outside	Rochester
Rochester	He
He	hung
hung	posters
posters	of
of	Mickey
Mickey	Mantle
Mantle	on
on	his
his	wall
wall	played
played	sports
sports	and
and	experimented
experimented	with
with	drugs
drugs	in
in	the
the	s
s	He
He	went
went	to
to	Denmark
Denmark	for
for	a
a	while
while	afraid
afraid	of
of	being
being	drafted
drafted	He
He	had
had	abandoned
abandoned	his
his	parents
parents	Christian
Christian	beliefs
beliefs	early
early	on
on	One
One	day
day	a
a	friend
friend	told
told	him
him	about
about	the
the	Zen
Zen	Center
Center	His
His	first
first	response
response	to
to	meditation
meditation	was
was	the
the	pain
pain	of
of	a
a	posture
posture	that
that	was
was	impossible
impossible	for
for	his
his	leg
leg	muscles
muscles	thickened
thickened	from
from	years
years	of
of	playing
playing	sports
sports	It
It	took
took	him
him	six
six	months
months	to
to	stretch
stretch	his
his	ligaments
ligaments	so
so	he
he	could
could	sit
sit	in
in	the
the	full
full	lotus
lotus	position
position	legs
legs	crossed
crossed	each
each	foot
foot	resting
resting	on
on	the
the	opposite
opposite	thigh
thigh	Sitting
Sitting	longer
longer	and
and	longer
longer	hands
hands	in
in	his
his	lap
lap	eyes
eyes	downward
downward	counting
counting	his
his	breaths
breaths	he
he	learned
learned	not
not	to
to	think
think	about
about	sports
sports	or
or	sex
sex	or
or	the
the	traffic
traffic	outside
outside	the
the	building
building	or
or	dope
dope	or
or	any
any	of
of	his
his	troubles
troubles	He
He	learned
learned	simple
simple	woodworking
woodworking	and
and	clerical
clerical	tasks
tasks	and
and	he
he	learned
learned	to
to	take
take	his
his	meals
meals	in
in	silence
silence	as
as	is
is	I
I	can
can	only
only	say
say	what
what	it
it	has
has	done
done	for
for	me
me	Zenson
Zenson	says
says	Since
Since	I
I	came
came	here
here	I
I	have
have	had
had	a
a	sense
sense	of
of	oneness
oneness	with
with	the
the	world
world	It
It	s
s	ongoing
ongoing	ever
ever	deepening
deepening	Two
Two	years
years	ago
ago	he
he	was
was	ordained
ordained	as
as	a
a	priest
priest	shaved
shaved	his
his	head
head	and
and	adopted
adopted	the
the	name
name	of
of	Zenson
Zenson	son
son	of
of	Zen
Zen	Roshi
Roshi	Kapleau
Kapleau	gives
gives	names
names	to
to	his
his	priests
priests	and
and	monks
monks	that
that	approximate
approximate	Western
Western	sounds
sounds	My
My	parents
parents	came
came	to
to	my
my	ordination
ordination	Zenson
Zenson	says
says	I
I	once
once	heard
heard	one
one	of
of	my
my	relatives
relatives	say
say	He
He	s
s	such
such	a
a	nice
nice	boy
boy	How
How	did
did	he
he	get
get	mixed
mixed	up
up	in
in	that
that	Buddhist
Buddhist	thing
thing	They
They	didn
didn	t
t	understand
understand	Buddhism
Buddhism	was
was	the
the	cause
cause	of
of	my
my	being
being	a
a	nice
nice	boy
boy	I
I	think
think	they
they	were
were	surprised
surprised	when
when	they
they	came
came	here
here	They
They	expected
expected	me
me	to
to	be
be	into
into	some
some	dark
dark	weird
weird	place
place	Look
Look	around
around	you
you	This
This	is
is	a
a	nice
nice	place
place	isn
isn	t
t	it
it	Meditation
Meditation	is
is	only
only	one
one	part
part	of
of	the
the	path
path	to
to	enlightenment
enlightenment	Another
Another	important
important	part
part	is
is	the
the	dialogue
dialogue	with
with	the
the	roshi
roshi	what
what	Roshi
Roshi	Kapleau
Kapleau	calls
calls	a
a	kneeto
kneeto	knee
knee	eyeball
eyeball	to
to	eyeball
eyeball	confrontation
confrontation	neither
neither	intellectual
intellectual	nor
nor	spiritual
spiritual	but
but	rather
rather	like
like	a
a	joust
joust	using
using	water
water	pistols
pistols	and
and	beanbags
beanbags	as
as	well
well	as
as	lances
lances	and
and	spiked
spiked	clubs
clubs	In
In	his
his	recently
recently	published
published	book
book	Zen
Zen	Dawn
Dawn	in
in	the
the	West
West	Roshi
Roshi	Kapleau
Kapleau	writes
writes	that
that	it
it	is
is	his
his	job
job	to
to	take
take	away
away	much
much	that
that	is
is	foreign
foreign	to
to	your
your	true
true	nature
nature	the
the	sticky
sticky	beliefs
beliefs	chesty
chesty	opinions
opinions	petty
petty	rationalizations
rationalizations	illusory
illusory	ideals
ideals	and
and	deluded
deluded	thoughts
thoughts	all
all	of
of	which
which	imprison
imprison	you
you	as
as	in
in	a
a	cocoon
cocoon	Descriptions
Descriptions	of
of	these
these	meetings
meetings	with
with	the
the	master
master	called
called	dokusan
dokusan	remind
remind	me
me	of
of	the
the	old
old	joke
joke	about
about	the
the	seeker
seeker	of
of	truth
truth	who
who	struggles
struggles	for
for	years
years	to
to	find
find	the
the	ultimate
ultimate	guru
guru	on
on	top
top	of
of	a
a	mountain
mountain	only
only	to
to	be
be	given
given	the
the	advice
advice	that
that	life
life	is
is	a
a	fountain
fountain	When
When	the
the	visitor
visitor	protests
protests	the
the	shallowness
shallowness	of
of	this
this	advice
advice	the
the	guru
guru	asks
asks	You
You	mean
mean	it
it	s
s	not
not	After
After	spending
spending	two
two	days
days	around
around	the
the	unpretentious
unpretentious	Roshi
Roshi	Kapleau
Kapleau	I
I	began
began	to
to	see
see	a
a	level
level	of
of	truth
truth	in
in	the
the	joke
joke	One
One	time
time	a
a	student
student	asked
asked	him
him	What
What	is
is	Buddha
Buddha	The
The	roshi
roshi	replied
replied	Who
Who	are
are	you
you	The
The	roshi
roshi	agrees
agrees	this
this	might
might	sound
sound	like
like	pretty
pretty	weak
weak	stuff
stuff	but
but	he
he	adds
adds	the
the	student
student	came
came	to
to	awakening
awakening	as
as	a
a	result
result	of
of	this
this	exchange
exchange	Although
Although	a
a	roshi
roshi	is
is	allowed
allowed	to
to	do
do	some
some	outrageous
outrageous	things
things	tease
tease	taunt
taunt	whack
whack	with
with	ritual
ritual	stick
stick	or
or	smack
smack	the
the	student
student	on
on	the
the	side
side	of
of	the
the	head
head	the
the	roshi
roshi	is
is	not
not	above
above	criticism
criticism	Roshi
Roshi	Kapleau
Kapleau	s
s	books
books	include
include	anecdotes
anecdotes	about
about	pupils
pupils	who
who	whacked
whacked	their
their	masters
masters	back
back	Roshis
Roshis	have
have	been
been	known
known	to
to	be
be	wrong
wrong	The
The	role
role	of
of	the
the	teacher
teacher	is
is	to
to	preserve
preserve	the
the	student
student	from
from	the
the	teacher
teacher	s
s	influence
influence	says
says	Roshi
Roshi	Kapleau
Kapleau	You
You	cannot
cannot	lean
lean	on
on	the
the	teacher
teacher	He
He	will
will	push
push	you
you	away
away	Each
Each	student
student	is
is	also
also	given
given	a
a	riddle
riddle	called
called	a
a	koan
koan	to
to	ponder
ponder	for
for	five
five	or
or	years
years	When
When	he
he	autographed
autographed	a
a	book
book	for
for	me
me	the
the	roshi
roshi	inscribed
inscribed	To
To	George
George	In
In	the
the	seas
seas	birds
birds	fly
fly	in
in	the
the	air
air	fish
fish	swim
swim	Deeper
Deeper	Zen
Zen	meditation
meditation	comes
comes	in
in	four
four	and
and	seven
seven	day
day	periods
periods	of
of	seclusion
seclusion	called
called	sesshin
sesshin	in
in	which
which	fasting
fasting	and
and	silence
silence	produce
produce	alternate
alternate	moments
moments	of
of	despair
despair	and
and	joy
joy	With
With	no
no	deity
deity	to
to	cling
cling	to
to	seven
seven	days
days	of
of	sesshin
sesshin	are
are	a
a	plunge
plunge	into
into	the
the	inner
inner	self
self	At
At	a
a	recent
recent	sesshin
sesshin	the
the	members
members	were
were	resting
resting	in
in	the
the	garden
garden	when
when	they
they	heard
heard	the
the	unmistakable
unmistakable	sounds
sounds	of
of	a
a	prowler
prowler	being
being	chased
chased	by
by	police
police	in
in	the
the	next
next	yard
yard	None
None	of
of	the
the	meditators
meditators	stirred
stirred	for
for	fear
fear	of
of	losing
losing	the
the	intensity
intensity	needed
needed	for
for	a
a	seven
seven	day
day	seclusion
seclusion	Some
Some	Westerners
Westerners	question
question	whether
whether	Buddhism
Buddhism	is
is	a
a	religion
religion	at
at	all
all	As
As	it
it	moved
moved	from
from	India
India	to
to	China
China	to
to	Japan
Japan	and
and	then
then	to
to	the
the	West
West	it
it	has
has	constantly
constantly	acquired
acquired	divergent
divergent	even
even	opposite
opposite	ways
ways	There
There	are
are	celibate
celibate	priests
priests	married
married	priests
priests	divorced
divorced	priests
priests	Roshi
Roshi	Kapleau
Kapleau	is
is	married
married	His
His	wife
wife	lives
lives	with
with	their
their	teenage
teenage	daughter
daughter	in
in	Toronto
Toronto	and
and	leads
leads	a
a	spiritual
spiritual	group
group	under
under	an
an	Indian
Indian	teacher
teacher	There
There	are
are	hermit
hermit	sects
sects	and
and	worldly
worldly	sects
sects	There
There	is
is	no
no	god
god	or
or	dogma
dogma	But
But	since
since	it
it	has
has	its
its	priesthoods
priesthoods	and
and	its
its	rituals
rituals	since
since	it
it	deals
deals	with
with	the
the	meaning
meaning	of
of	life
life	and
and	death
death	since
since	it
it	fills
fills	the
the	same
same	deep
deep	needs
needs	that
that	Judaism
Judaism	and
and	Christianity
Christianity	fill
fill	for
for	others
others	since
since	it
it	proposes
proposes	life
life	of
of	spirituality
spirituality	it
it	fits
fits	all
all	other
other	criteria
criteria	of
of	a
a	religion
religion	All
All	the
the	forms
forms	of
of	Buddhism
Buddhism	stem
stem	from
from	one
one	man
man	an
an	Indian
Indian	named
named	Siddartha
Siddartha	Gautama
Gautama	who
who	enjoyed
enjoyed	a
a	year
year	ministry
ministry	six
six	centuries
centuries	before
before	Christ
Christ	His
His	thousands
thousands	of
of	disciples
disciples	called
called	him
him	the
the	Buddha
Buddha	a
a	Sanskrit
Sanskrit	word
word	for
for	enlightened
enlightened	one
one	Different
Different	Oriental
Oriental	cultures
cultures	different
different	teachers
teachers	have
have	created
created	vastly
vastly	different
different	forms
forms	of
of	Buddhism
Buddhism	many
many	of
of	them
them	practiced
practiced	in
in	the
the	United
United	States
States	by
by	people
people	of
of	Chinese
Chinese	Japanese
Japanese	Korean
Korean	and
and	Tibetan
Tibetan	ancestry
ancestry	and
and	culture
culture	For
For	Americans
Americans	of
of	European
European	background
background	the
the	interest
interest	has
has	most
most	often
often	been
been	in
in	Zen
Zen	Buddhism
Buddhism	an
an	adaptation
adaptation	of
of	part
part	of
of	a
a	Chinese
Chinese	word
word	for
for	meditation
meditation	ch
ch	an
an	Zen
Zen	is
is	not
not	a
a	worship
worship	of
of	a
a	god
god	and
and	it
it	is
is	not
not	an
an	intellectual
intellectual	philosophy
philosophy	but
but	rather
rather	a
a	series
series	of
of	disciplines
disciplines	that
that	includes
includes	sitting
sitting	in
in	a
a	meditative
meditative	position
position	for
for	long
long	periods
periods	of
of	time
time	Very
Very	long
long	periods
periods	of
of	time
time	For
For	a
a	deeper
deeper	understanding
understanding	a
a	sense
sense	Some
Some	Buddhists
Buddhists	feel
feel	Christians
Christians	and
and	Jews
Jews	can
can	comfortably
comfortably	adapt
adapt	most
most	Buddhist
Buddhist	teachings
teachings	C
C	T
T	Shen
Shen	a
a	Chinese
Chinese	born
born	industrialist
industrialist	who
who	sponsors
sponsors	many
many	Buddhist
Buddhist	activities
activities	in
in	the
the	New
New	York
York	area
area	says
says	Christ
Christ	and
and	Buddha
Buddha	had
had	similar
similar	visions
visions	but
but	that
that	Buddha
Buddha	had
had	more
more	time
time	to
to	complete
complete	his
his	vision
vision	because
because	he
he	lived
lived	years
years	and
and	Christ
Christ	lived
lived	only
only	around
around	The
The	Death
Death	of
of	Master
Master	Hofuku
Hofuku	Pao
Pao	fu
fu	The
The	master
master	called
called	his
his	monks
monks	together
together	and
and	said
said	During
During	the
the	last
last	week
week	my
my	energy
energy	has
has	been
been	draining
draining	certainly
certainly	no
no	cause
cause	for
for	worry
worry	It
It	s
s	just
just	that
that	death
death	is
is	near
near	A
A	monk
monk	asked
asked	You
You	are
are	about
about	to
to	die
die	What
What	meaning
meaning	does
does	it
it	have
have	We
We	will
will	continue
continue	living
living	And
And	what
what	meaning
meaning	does
does	that
that	have
have	They
They	are
are	both
both	the
the	Way
Way	the
the	master
master	replied
replied	But
But	how
how	can
can	I
I	reconcile
reconcile	the
the	two
two	asked
asked	the
the	monk
monk	Hofuku
Hofuku	answered
answered	When
When	rains
rains	it
it	pours
pours	and
and	wrapping
wrapping	his
his	legs
legs	in
in	the
the	full
full	lotus
lotus	calmly
calmly	died
died	The
The	Wheel
Wheel	of
of	Death
Death	by
by	Philip
Philip	Kapleau
Kapleau	One
One	of
of	the
the	central
central	beliefs
beliefs	of
of	Buddhism
Buddhism	is
is	that
that	life
life	endures
endures	over
over	a
a	longer
longer	cycle
cycle	than
than	mere
mere	Reprinted
Reprinted	by
by	permission
permission	of
of	Harper
Harper	Row
Row	by
by	Philip
Philip	Kapleau
Kapleau	birth
birth	and
and	death
death	As
As	Roshi
Roshi	Kapleau
Kapleau	wrote
wrote	in
in	The
The	Wheel
Wheel	of
of	Death
Death	human
human	life
life	has
has	an
an	unseen
unseen	subterranean
subterranean	existence
existence	and
and	appears
appears	at
at	other
other	places
places	in
in	other
other	times
times	and
and	other
other	shapes
shapes	The
The	lesson
lesson	from
from	the
the	deaths
deaths	of
of	some
some	Zen
Zen	masters
masters	is
is	that
that	dying
dying	is
is	just
just	another
another	step
step	a
a	time
time	of
of	ceremony
ceremony	and
and	insight
insight	One
One	of
of	the
the	most
most	persistent
persistent	criticisms
criticisms	of
of	Eastern
Eastern	religions
religions	is
is	that
that	they
they	lack
lack	the
the	activism
activism	of
of	Western
Western	groups
groups	the
the	philanthropic
philanthropic	educational
educational	and
and	community
community	spirited
spirited	zeal
zeal	of
of	the
the	major
major	Western
Western	religions
religions	In
In	his
his	recent
recent	book
book	Turning
Turning	East
East	Dr
Dr	Harvey
Harvey	Cox
Cox	the
the	Harvard
Harvard	theologian
theologian	praised
praised	many
many	of
of	the
the	techniques
techniques	and
and	results
results	of
of	Eastern
Eastern	religion
religion	but
but	said
said	he
he	was
was	suspicious
suspicious	of
of	inward
inward	movements
movements	that
that	were
were	uninvolved
uninvolved	with
with	other
other	humans
humans	who
who	had
had	not
not	yet
yet	reached
reached	or
or	sought
sought	their
their	brand
brand	of
of	enlightenment
enlightenment	Nevertheless
Nevertheless	he
he	described
described	Oriental
Oriental	meditation
meditation	as
as	a
a	step
step	toward
toward	escaping
escaping	illusion
illusion	and
and	ego
ego	and
and	toward
toward	seeing
seeing	the
the	world
world	of
of	impermanence
impermanence	and
and	suffering
suffering	for
for	what
what	it
it	is
is	He
He	called
called	Christianity
Christianity	one
one	pole
pole	of
of	the
the	dialectic
dialectic	of
of	action
action	and
and	repose
repose	being
being	and
and	doing
doing	and
and	he
he	predicted
predicted	that
that	Christianity
Christianity	would
would	act
act	as
as	a
a	prism
prism	to
to	transform
transform	Buddhism
Buddhism	Most
Most	Buddhists
Buddhists	have
have	heard
heard	Dr
Dr	Cox
Cox	s
s	criticism
criticism	of
of	inward
inward	movements
movements	and
and	have
have	an
an	answer
answer	We
We	are
are	a
a	lot
lot	like
like	the
the	Quakers
Quakers	says
says	Dr
Dr	Michael
Michael	Taizen
Taizen	Soule
Soule	a
a	biologist
biologist	and
and	full
full	time
time	official
official	at
at	the
the	Los
Los	Angeles
Angeles	Zen
Zen	Center
Center	Quakers
Quakers	do
do	more
more	good
good	than
than	anyone
anyone	but
but	they
they	do
do	a
a	lot
lot	of
of	work
work	on
on	themselves
themselves	first
first	If
If	you
you	have
have	a
a	beneficial
beneficial	impact
impact	on
on	yourself
yourself	after
after	a
a	while
while	you
you	can
can	t
t	help
help	but
but	act
act	properly
properly	When
When	one
one	purifies
purifies	himself
himself	says
says	Zenson
Zenson	the
the	priest
priest	at
at	the
the	Rochester
Rochester	center
center	one
one	purifies
purifies	society
society	You
You	start
start	where
where	you
you	are
are	You
You	beautify
beautify	your
your	building
building	We
We	won
won	an
an	award
award	fur
fur	the
the	best
best	restoration
restoration	work
work	in
in	our
our	part
part	of
of	town
town	and
and	we
we	didn
didn	t
t	even
even	ask
ask	to
to	enter
enter	the
the	competition
competition	We
We	help
help	clean
clean	up
up	the
the	city
city	We
We	live
live	in
in	harmony
harmony	with
with	our
our	neighborhood
neighborhood	What
What	has
has	Buddhism
Buddhism	accomplished
accomplished	in
in	America
America	Some
Some	members
members	are
are	sure
sure	the
the	Vietnam
Vietnam	War
War	ended
ended	because
because	of
of	the
the	mural
mural	pressure
pressure	vibrated
vibrated	outward
outward	by
by	meditation
meditation	sessions
sessions	Some
Some	Buddhists
Buddhists	feel
feel	Ameri
Ameri	cans
cans	have
have	toned
toned	down
down	their
their	lives
lives	cleaned
cleaned	up
up	their
their	towns
towns	evaluated
evaluated	what
what	services
services	and
and	efforts
efforts	were
were	necessary
necessary	because
because	of
of	Buddhist
Buddhist	thinking
thinking	The
The	writing
writing	they
they	cite
cite	most
most	frequently
frequently	is
is	the
the	book
book	by
by	E
E	F
F	Schumacher
Schumacher	Small
Small	Is
Is	Beautiful
Beautiful	and
and	the
the	chapter
chapter	Buddhist
Buddhist	Economics
Economics	in
in	which
which	the
the	author
author	writes
writes	Consumption
Consumption	is
is	merely
merely	a
a	means
means	to
to	human
human	well
well	being
being	the
the	aim
aim	should
should	be
be	to
to	obtain
obtain	the
the	maximum
maximum	of
of	well
well	being
being	with
with	the
the	minimum
minimum	of
of	consumption
consumption	You
You	can
can	inflame
inflame	people
people	s
s	minds
minds	subconsciously
subconsciously	Roshi
Roshi	Kapleau
Kapleau	says
says	When
When	we
we	hold
hold	a
a	sesshin
sesshin	our
our	friends
friends	as
as	far
far	away
away	as
as	Poland
Poland	say
say	they
they	can
can	feel
feel	the
the	vibrations
vibrations	across
across	the
the	ocean
ocean	That
That	is
is	the
the	basis
basis	of
of	prayer
prayer	People
People	who
who	are
are	developed
developed	in
in	Zen
Zen	can
can	cast
cast	positive
positive	forces
forces	into
into	the
the	world
world	They
They	can
can	influence
influence	millions
millions	of
of	people
people	It
It	is
is	happening
happening	already
already	Roshi
Roshi	Kapleau
Kapleau	cites
cites	an
an	old
old	Buddhist
Buddhist	adage
adage	A
A	small
small	master
master	hides
hides	himself
himself	in
in	the
the	mountains
mountains	a
a	great
great	master
master	hides
hides	himself
himself	in
in	the
the	marketplace
marketplace	The
The	era
era	of
of	seclusion
seclusion	is
is	over
over	for
for	many
many	Buddhist
Buddhist	groups
groups	which
which	are
are	finding
finding	their
their	mission
mission	right
right	out
out	in
in	the
the	bustle
bustle	and
and	some
some	would
would	say
say	hustle
hustle	of
of	the
the	marketplace
marketplace	The
The	face
face	of
of	American
American	Buddhism
Buddhism	includes
includes	self
self	improvement
improvement	courses
courses	publishing
publishing	ventures
ventures	and
and	Tibetan
Tibetan	self
self	healing
healing	techniques
techniques	offered
offered	by
by	the
the	Nyingma
Nyingma	Center
Center	in
in	Berkeley
Berkeley	photography
photography	and
and	cultural
cultural	studies
studies	and
and	advice
advice	on
on	how
how	to
to	care
care	for
for	the
the	dying
dying	all
all	offered
offered	by
by	the
the	Los
Los	Angeles
Angeles	Zen
Zen	Center
Center	college
college	degrees
degrees	offered
offered	by
by	the
the	Nampa
Nampa	Institute
Institute	an
an	unaccredited
unaccredited	college
college	in
in	Boulder
Boulder	Colo
Colo	which
which	is
is	as
as	close
close	in
in	spirit
spirit	to
to	Woodstock
Woodstock	as
as	it
it	is
is	to
to	Orient
Orient	The
The	Tibetan
Tibetan	teacher
teacher	Tarthang
Tarthang	Tulku
Tulku	Rinpoche
Rinpoche	urges
urges	his
his	disciples
disciples	at
at	the
the	Nyingma
Nyingma	Center
Center	to
to	make
make	their
their	wisdom
wisdom	available
available	to
to	the
the	world
world	Thus
Thus	handsome
handsome	page
page	brochure
brochure	boasts
boasts	There
There	s
s	something
something	for
for	everyone
everyone	at
at	the
the	institute
institute	He
He	insists
insists	these
these	courses
courses	are
are	offered
offered	not
not	to
to	evangelize
evangelize	but
but	as
as	way
way	of
of	sharing
sharing	wisdom
wisdom	for
for	its
its	sake
sake	Native
Native	born
born	blacks
blacks	and
and	whites
whites	are
are	also
also	joining
joining	more
more	traditional
traditional	Oriental
Oriental	groups
groups	Paul
Paul	Kennedy
Kennedy	a
a	year
year	old
old	Irish
Irish	American
American	Rutgers
Rutgers	graduate
graduate	recently
recently	became
became	the
the	first
first	non
non	Oriental
Oriental	monk
monk	ever
ever	ordained
ordained	by
by	a
a	Chinese
Chinese	Buddhist
Buddhist	group
group	when
when	he
he	joined
joined	the
the	Temple
Temple	of
of	Enlightenment
Enlightenment	in
in	the
the	Bronx
Bronx	Most
Most	Oriental
Oriental	Buddhist
Buddhist	groups
groups	have
have	cultural
cultural	programs
programs	for
for	children
children	to
to	keep
keep	their
their	Japanese
Japanese	or
or	Chinese
Chinese	or
or	Korean
Korean	traditions
traditions	yet
yet	their
their	worship
worship	services
services	closely
closely	resemble
resemble	Protestant
Protestant	church
church	services
services	with
with	Western
Western	style
style	hymns
hymns	and
and	altars
altars	These
These	Oriental
Oriental	American
American	groups
groups	have
have	almost
almost	nothing
nothing	to
to	do
do	with
with	groups
groups	like
like	the
the	Zen
Zen	Center
Center	of
of	Rochester
Rochester	which
which	are
are	trying
trying	to
to	shed
shed	all
all	foreign
foreign	cultural
cultural	encrustations
encrustations	on
on	the
the	path
path	to
to	enlightenment
enlightenment	Many
Many	of
of	the
the	frustrated
frustrated	young
young	people
people	who
who	discovered
discovered	Buddhism
Buddhism	in
in	the
the	s
s	are
are	now
now	sober
sober	not
not	so
so	young
young	couples
couples	of
of	the
the	late
late	s
s	Many
Many	are
are	raising
raising	modest
modest	families
families	of
of	a
a	child
child	or
or	two
two	Their
Their	worldly
worldly	skills
skills	are
are	producing
producing	decent
decent	incomes
incomes	and
and	the
the	American
American	born
born	Buddhists
Buddhists	are
are	trying
trying	to
to	build
build	communities
communities	The
The	neighbors
neighbors	on
on	Arnold
Arnold	Park
Park	in
in	Rochester
Rochester	seem
seem	to
to	have
have	accepted
accepted	the
the	quiet
quiet	people
people	who
who	come
come	to
to	meditate
meditate	but
but	some
some	citizens
citizens	in
in	New
New	York
York	City
City	Iowa
Iowa	and
and	Minnesota
Minnesota	have
have	within
within	recent
recent	months
months	stalled
stalled	land
land	sales
sales	to
to	Buddhists
Buddhists	Roshi
Roshi	Kapleau
Kapleau	has
has	taken
taken	great
great	effort
effort	to
to	avoid
avoid	the
the	child
child	nabbing
nabbing	charges
charges	occasionally
occasionally	leveled
leveled	against
against	some
some	cults
cults	and
and	he
he	recently
recently	received
received	approval
approval	from
from	a
a	Rochester
Rochester	minister
minister	before
before	the
the	minister
minister	s
s	year
year	old
old	daughter
daughter	was
was	allowed
allowed	to
to	visit
visit	the
the	center
center	The
The	Japanese
Japanese	born
born	roshi
roshi	in
in	Los
Los	Angeles
Angeles	Taizan
Taizan	Maezumi
Maezumi	tries
tries	to
to	visit
visit	families
families	of
of	his
his	members
members	when
when	he
he	travels
travels	across
across	the
the	The
The	Buddhists
Buddhists	seem
seem	to
to	know
know	they
they	are
are	not
not	for
for	every
every	American
American	and
and	indeed
indeed	they
they	have
have	no
no	room
room	for
for	every
every	American
American	Meditating
Meditating	requires
requires	intense
intense	motivation
motivation	The
The	ones
ones	who
who	come
come	have
have	some
some	real
real	desire
desire	for
for	spiritual
spiritual	moral
moral	philosophical
philosophical	or
or	intellectual
intellectual	uplifting
uplifting	Dedicated
Dedicated	Buddhists
Buddhists	feel
feel	their
their	way
way	of
of	life
life	offers
offers	something
something	important
important	to
to	Americans
Americans	who
who	can
can	understand
understand	it
it	Joseph
Joseph	Lippman
Lippman	a
a	former
former	Congressional
Congressional	aide
aide	who
who	came
came	to
to	Buddhism
Buddhism	through
through	his
his	two
two	sons
sons	and
and	is
is	now
now	the
the	dean
dean	of
of	the
the	Nyingma
Nyingma	Institute
Institute	in
in	Berkeley
Berkeley	says
says	he
he	believes
believes	life
life	is
is	going
going	to
to	get
get	more
more	painful
painful	in
in	America
America	both
both	spiritually
spiritually	and
and	physically
physically	He
He	says
says	Buddhism
Buddhism	can
can	teach
teach	people
people	to
to	live
live	with
with	less
less	to
to	be
be	content
content	with
with	themselves
themselves	to
to	cope
cope	with
with	the
the	diminishing
diminishing	pleasure
pleasure	and
and	greater
greater	pain
pain	that
that	will
will	accompany
accompany	the
the	last
last	quarter
quarter	of
of	this
this	Can
Can	these
these	perceptions
perceptions	be
be	transmitted
transmitted	from
from	one
one	generation
generation	to
to	another
another	Unlike
Unlike	Ca
Ca	tholicism
tholicism	with
with	its
its	first
first	communion
communion	at
at	the
the	age
age	of
of	or
or	Judaism
Judaism	with
with	its
its	bar
bar	and
and	bat
bat	mitzvah
mitzvah	at
at	the
the	age
age	of
of	Buddhism
Buddhism	has
has	no
no	rites
rites	of
of	passage
passage	for
for	children
children	Richard
Richard	and
and	Vicky
Vicky	Wehrman
Wehrman	moved
moved	from
from	Missouri
Missouri	to
to	be
be	close
close	to
to	Roshi
Roshi	Kapleau
Kapleau	to
to	raise
raise	their
their	children
children	as
as	Buddhists
Buddhists	if
if	possible
possible	in
in	a
a	polyglot
polyglot	society
society	My
My	daughter
daughter	is
is	going
going	to
to	Catholic
Catholic	school
school	this
this	year
year	because
because	it
it	was
was	the
the	best
best	alternative
alternative	says
says	Mrs
Mrs	Wehrman
Wehrman	She
She	takes
takes	religion
religion	minutes
minutes	a
a	day
day	but
but	they
they	re
re	not
not	trying
trying	to
to	convert
convert	her
her	And
And	as
as	Buddhists
Buddhists	we
we	are
are	wary
wary	of
of	setting
setting	up
up	programs
programs	for
for	our
our	children
children	but
but	lately
lately	my
my	daughter
daughter	has
has	come
come	to
to	the
the	center
center	for
for	some
some	of
of	the
the	celebrations
celebrations	Buddhists
Buddhists	tend
tend	to
to	want
want	their
their	children
children	to
to	be
be	exposed
exposed	not
not	indoctrinated
indoctrinated	When
When	we
we	first
first	moved
moved	into
into	our
our	neighborhood
neighborhood	we
we	used
used	to
to	sit
sit	on
on	the
the	floor
floor	to
to	eat
eat	but
but	the
the	children
children	felt
felt	strange
strange	about
about	bringing
bringing	their
their	friends
friends	home
home	so
so	we
we	got
got	chairs
chairs	We
We	try
try	to
to	have
have	a
a	middle
middle	class
class	style
style	for
for	them
them	but
but	we
we	do
do	have
have	altars
altars	around
around	the
the	house
house	I
I	don
don	t
t	think
think	anybody
anybody	says
says	anything
anything	to
to	the
the	children
children	about
about	being
being	different
different	Actually
Actually	some
some	Buddhist
Buddhist	parents
parents	say
say	the
the	most
most	noticeable
noticeable	aspect
aspect	of
of	their
their	Buddhism
Buddhism	is
is	their
their	vegetarianism
vegetarianism	But
But	even
even	that
that	is
is	becoming
becoming	commonplace
commonplace	in
in	schools
schools	and
and	offices
offices	these
these	days
days	Though
Though	not
not	all
all	Buddhists
Buddhists	are
are	vegetarian
vegetarian	those
those	who
who	are
are	like
like	to
to	take
take	some
some	credit
credit	for
for	the
the	rising
rising	consumption
consumption	of
of	fruits
fruits	and
and	vegetables
vegetables	The
The	Los
Los	Angeles
Angeles	Zen
Zen	Center
Center	has
has	a
a	day
day	care
care	center
center	for
for	children
children	and
and	allows
allows	the
the	children
children	to
to	improvise
improvise	their
their	own
own	Buddhist
Buddhist	rituals
rituals	other
other	groups
groups	are
are	leery
leery	of
of	early
early	exposure
exposure	because
because	of
of	memories
memories	of
of	their
their	own
own	Jewish
Jewish	or
or	Christian
Christian	childhoods
childhoods	The
The	Rochester
Rochester	group
group	has
has	been
been	concentrating
concentrating	on
on	American
American	style
style	holidays
holidays	New
New	Year
Year	s
s	Eve
Eve	parties
parties	with
with	a
a	traditional
traditional	Buddhist
Buddhist	drivingout
drivingout	of
of	ghosts
ghosts	Halloween
Halloween	Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving	Some
Some	parents
parents	do
do	not
not	transmit
transmit	their
their	Buddhist
Buddhist	beliefs
beliefs	to
to	their
their	children
children	Alan
Alan	Temple
Temple	a
a	leader
leader	of
of	the
the	Rochester
Rochester	center
center	who
who	lives
lives	and
and	works
works	in
in	a
a	suburban
suburban	neighborhood
neighborhood	says
says	he
he	is
is	hurt
hurt	that
that	his
his	year
year	old
old	son
son	has
has	no
no	interest
interest	in
in	Buddhism
Buddhism	Other
Other	families
families	have
have	more
more	success
success	The
The	Wehrmans
Wehrmans	try
try	not
not	to
to	appear
appear	unusual
unusual	to
to	their
their	two
two	teen
teen	age
age	children
children	but
but	they
they	do
do	conduct
conduct	meditations
meditations	in
in	their
their	home
home	and
and	they
they	see
see	signs
signs	of
of	passing
passing	the
the	practice
practice	to
to	the
the	next
next	wave
wave	My
My	son
son	resisted
resisted	for
for	a
a	long
long	time
time	but
but	lately
lately	he
he	has
has	been
been	coming
coming	around
around	Mrs
Mrs	Wehrman
Wehrman	says
says	The
The	other
other	day
day	we
we	were
were	all
all	cross
cross	with
with	each
each	other
other	for
for	some
some	reason
reason	A
A	lot
lot	of
of	bad
bad	vibrations
vibrations	in
in	the
the	house
house	My
My	son
son	said
said	Mom
Mom	we
we	d
d	better
better	have
have	a
a	sitting
sitting	So
So	he
he	put
put	on
on	a
a	robe
robe	and
and	got
got	a
a	cushion
cushion	and
and	he
he	began
began	to
to	sit
sit	He
He	only
only	lasted
lasted	five
five	minutes
minutes	and
and	we
we	all
all	lasted
lasted	longer
longer	than
than	he
he	did
did	but
but	we
we	got
got	good
good	karma
karma	back
back	into
into	our
our	house
house	Sylvan
Sylvan	Busch
Busch	a
a	commercial
commercial	artist
artist	who
who	is
is	president
president	of
of	the
the	Zen
Zen	Studies
Studies	Society
Society	in
in	New
New	York
York	City
City	says
says	his
his	year
year	old
old	son
son	has
has	just
just	started
started	to
to	attend
attend	the
the	center
center	s
s	meetings
meetings	Mr
Mr	Busch
Busch	who
who	has
has	been
been	practicing
practicing	Zen
Zen	Buddhism
Buddhism	since
since	says
says	he
he	never
never	tried
tried	to
to	influence
influence	his
his	son
son	s
s	choice
choice	knew
knew	if
if	he
he	was
was	curious
curious	he
he	would
would	look
look	in
in	Of
Of	the
the	future
future	of
of	Zen
Zen	Buddhism
Buddhism	in
in	America
America	Mr
Mr	Busch
Busch	says
says	We
We	have
have	made
made	a
a	good
good	start
start	But
But	with
with	pockets
pockets	of
of	people
people	here
here	and
and	people
people	there
there	we
we	can
can	t
t	really
really	be
be	considered
considered	established
established	Bringing
Bringing	a
a	new
new	religion
religion	to
to	a
a	country
country	as
as	big
big	as
as	the
the	United
United	States
States	is
is	not
not	easy
easy	But
But	we
we	are
are	doing
doing	a
a	lot
lot	of
of	good
good	we
we	are
are	putting
putting	down
down	roots
roots	Roshi
Roshi	Kapleau
Kapleau	has
has	been
been	thinking
thinking	about
about	putting
putting	down
down	new
new	roots
roots	as
as	well
well	He
He	has
has	recently
recently	decided
decided	to
to	build
build	a
a	new
new	headquarters
headquarters	on
on	acres
acres	in
in	Denver
Denver	A
A	female
female	disciple
disciple	Toni
Toni	Packer
Packer	will
will	run
run	the
the	center
center	in
in	Rochester
Rochester	as
as	an
an	affiliate
affiliate	Most
Most	Zen
Zen	teachers
teachers	move
move	around
around	he
he	says
says	of
of	his
his	decision
decision	There
There	is
is	no
no	concept
concept	of
of	an
an	irreplaceable
irreplaceable	guru
guru	Part
Part	of
of	Zen
Zen	training
training	is
is	not
not	to
to	let
let	people
people	get
get	dependent
dependent	on
on	you
you	They
They	must
must	stand
stand	on
on	their
their	own
own	feet
feet	Advertisement
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