Who practices Zen meditation?In the United States, who are the people who practice Zen meditation and at the
same time provide or engage in psychotherapy? Zazen, or Zen meditation, is only
one part of Zen Buddhist practice. Taken as a whole, Zen Buddhist practice involves
cognitive, practical, and interactive work, manifested through sitting meditation,
listening to talks by and holding interviews with a teacher, the reading of canonical
texts, liturgical rites and rituals, chanting, retreats, and relationships with members
of a Buddhist community (Dubs 1987; Preston 1988). Zen Buddhist practice is
socially organized in such a way as to facilitate the experience of a shared sense of
reality (Preston 1988). The longer an individual practices any given meditation
technique, the more difficult it is to keep from identifying with that particular
technique’s contextual tradition (Shapiro 1994). There may certainly be individuals
who practice zazen or Zen meditation solely for the purpose of improving
psychological and physical health, but Zen Buddhist practitioners are likely to belong
to a spiritual community.
Despite the increasing visibility of Buddhism in the media, Buddhists in the United
States make up fewer than two million people, that is, less than 1 per cent of the
population (Nattier 1998). The larger Buddhist community in the United States has
been typologized according to ethnicity and purpose of participation. Prebish (1993,
1999), for example, coined the phrase ‘the two Buddhisms,’ referring to a Buddhism
of Asian American descent and one of mostly, but not exclusively, European American
descent. Fields (1992; 1998) coined the terms ‘white Buddhism’ and ‘ethnic
Buddhism,’ a distinction acknowledged as problematic by Fields himself and by
Nattier (1998) and Prebish (1993; 1999). The category white Buddhism is largely
made up of white, middle-class, educated Americans who are organized around Asian
or American teachers, and is mainly contemplative and lay practice, albeit based on
monastic models (Finn and Rubin 1999). White Buddhism is often self-conscious,
and mostly monogenerational, with baby-boomers vastly outnumbering practitioners
of other generations within a community (Fields 1998).
In contrast, ethnic Buddhism is mostly made up of Asians and Asian Americans,
is part of the culture of the country of origin, inseparable from community,
non-self-conscious, and intergenerational. In white Buddhism, it is common for an
individual to be the only family member who practices. In (white, contemplative,
lay) Zen Buddhist communities, it is unusual for both spouses to practice (Preston
1988). Children of white Buddhist practitioners are only occasionally and marginally
included in festivities and social activities of their parent’s practice communities. In
ethnic Buddhism, on the other hand, entire families practice together.
Nattier (1998) proposes three categories of American Buddhism: Elite Buddhism,
Evangelical Buddhism and Ethnic Buddhism. Defined by its class background, Elite
Buddhism is made up of individuals that are usually, but not exclusively, of European
ancestry, but have had the time, inclination, and educational and economic
opportunities to learn about and dedicate themselves to meditation training.
Evangelical Buddhists are attracted to Buddhism through proselytizing and tend to
148 KATHERINE V.MASÍS