Talking Across Each Other

Several students sit on the floor, round black cushions arranged in a semi-circle as they meditate in perfect silence for a half-hour in the Adams House Senior Common Room. While sounds of rehearsing choral groups waft up and into the calm room, each treasures the serene weekly moment of peace and semi-quiet.

The tranquility of the Harvard Buddhist Community's Sunday evening meditation, however, belies the startling fact that, despite Buddhism's centuries-old tradition in Asia, there are no Asian-students in the room.

There are no Asian groups at the College specifically devoted to practicing Buddhism, either.

According to Professor Christopher S. Queen, dean of students for continuing education and co-editor of a scholarly work on American Buddhists, "Buddhism in America," to be published in October, this fact is not surprising. Queen says the ethnic demographic at Harvard reflects "the two Buddhisms" of America in general.

"Sometimes we speak of ethnic Buddhists [who are born into Buddhism and are predominantly Asian] and convert Buddhists [who are predominantly white]," Queen says. "The two groups don't interact."

Although Asian Buddhists at Harvard may not participate in the campus group, which is predominantly non-Asian, there is an Asian Buddhist community at the College. In fact, according to Queen, the majority of the three to four million Buddhists practicing in America today are Asian-American.

Queen says Asian and non-Asian Buddhists have very different conceptions of spirituality. Asian-Americans and Asians in general tend to look up to monks and nuns as the living examples of Buddhism, whereas non-Asian converts "tend to want to be Buddhas themselves."

Reflecting differences in cultural background and religious needs, Queen says that the two groups "essentially practice two different religions."

Converts to the Faith

After their meditation session, most Buddhist Community members give intensely personal reasons for their religious practices. Although many grew up with exposure to other religions, they chose Buddhism, which can be practiced alongside other religions, as an unrestrictive and open-ended route to spiritual fulfillment.

Daniel C. Levi '99-'00, of Deerfield, III., the son of a rabbi, insists he is still Jewish, saying he first learned about Buddhism through books. Separating Buddhist practice from the spiritual experience of being Buddhist, Levi says meditation can be a good "psychological tool" for dealing with the stresses of daily life.

Levi says that for some years he believed "the real pulp" of Buddhist religious in America were the more Western versions "with their new take on religion." The thought of traditional meditation did not occur to him until he took a class on Buddhism.

A semester and summer abroad in Thailand and India last year made Levi more aware of the complexities of the different types of Buddhism in the world today. Levi says his experience abroad prompted him to probe the religious practices of other cultures and develop his own religious rituals.

"Now I meditate on and off, but it's more on than off," Levi says.

For Ross H. Fleischman '00, of Eugene, Ore., a Crimson editor, becoming a Zen Buddhist was one way to reconcile having the assurance of an established religion without having to rely on his Unitarian upbringing.

"When I was young, I was a devout atheist. I'd never been interested in Christianity because of [the conception of God]...Buddhism was a religion that didn't require that jump," Fleischman says.

Felicity Aulino '00, of Richmond, Va., whose extended family is Catholic, says she too was drawn to the flexibility of Buddhist belief. Aulino discovered Buddhism when she took a year off before college, visiting "spiritual" Savannah, Ga. with a friend to "find something."

"I knew I was coming to a very intense College and I wanted...[my] heart and mind to be of accord," Aulino says, adding that she is a neurobiology major who wishes to reconcile the scientific and the social interpretations of how the mind works.

"I like the spirit and the aura of the [Buddhist] community...I sense in them a serenity which I admire," she says.

Cultural Divide

Duncan Williams, a half-Japanese, ordained Buddhist monk who is co-editing "American Buddhists" with Queen, says Asian circumspection about Buddhism stems in part from the religion's traditional roots. He says some see it as an impediment to assimilating into "mainstream, Christian, American culture."

According to Williams, the Asian temples for Asians in America link religious identity with cultural identity. He points out that ethnic Buddhist temples often offer culture and language classes as well as services.

"Being a Buddhist in America is like being a hyphenated America...The question is, how does one be a Buddhist and a regular American?" Williams says. "Buddhism is a minority religion."

As for Asian-Buddhist students at the College, many say that they tend to take being Buddhist for granted as just another part of their heritage.

Andrew G. Chung '98, a Chinese-American, sums the situation up for many ethnic Buddhists when he talks about the role Buddhism plays in his life.

"I'm probably as Buddhist as you'd get, but I'm not that Buddhist," Chung says. "I have a Buddha [figure] around my neck...[but] no one knows [Buddhism] enough to know what exactly it is to say they're practicing."

Differences between Asian and non-Asian Buddhists say linguistic and ethnic divides can be a major deterrent to Asian and non-Asian Buddhist interactions.

Thu P. Ho '99, a Vietnamese-American Zen Buddhist who says she knows no non-Asian Buddhists at Harvard, says these are difficulties a non-Vietnamese might encounter at the Buddhist temple she goes to once a month, since services are conducted entirely in Vietnamese.

On the other hand, some practicing Asian Buddhists experience a sense of they perceive the Buddhist sects that they practice are not those popular with converts.

Kelly M. Yamanouchi '00, a Japanese-American and a Crimson editor, was raised an active member of the Buddhist Jodo Shinshu sect, but had trouble identifying with the rest of the Harvard Buddhist Community when she briefly attended a meeting last year.

"I came to Harvard looking for a [Buddhist] church to continue studying Buddhism...but Zen [which many converts practice]is very different from Jodo Shinshu," she says.

Yamanouchi now attends Buddhist services onlywhen she returns home to San Jose. In the interim,she practices by herself.

Hope For Future Dialogue

Dealing with the concern of practicingBuddhists at the University in general have notbeen addressed until recently. It is possible thatpart of the lack of interaction between Asian annon-Asian Buddhists is due to the fact that thecommunities have, to this point, been able tomaintain a parallel existence. This may soonchange.

Looking into the future Charles A. Goodman '97,who helped found the undergraduate HarvardBuddhist Community two years ago, predicts thatthe two disparate communities present at Harvardwill eventually become one.

"Immigrant Asian Buddhist communities will dieout, [due to assimilation] but the convertcommunities will become inclusive enough towelcome both Asian and non-Asian members," hesaid

Yamanouchi now attends Buddhist services onlywhen she returns home to San Jose. In the interim,she practices by herself.

Hope For Future Dialogue

Dealing with the concern of practicingBuddhists at the University in general have notbeen addressed until recently. It is possible thatpart of the lack of interaction between Asian annon-Asian Buddhists is due to the fact that thecommunities have, to this point, been able tomaintain a parallel existence. This may soonchange.

Looking into the future Charles A. Goodman '97,who helped found the undergraduate HarvardBuddhist Community two years ago, predicts thatthe two disparate communities present at Harvardwill eventually become one.

"Immigrant Asian Buddhist communities will dieout, [due to assimilation] but the convertcommunities will become inclusive enough towelcome both Asian and non-Asian members," hesaid