Zen Practitioners in the West

Term Paper # 101770

Religion and Theology > Buddhism

An analysis of the challenges and opportunities that face Zen Buddhism as it is practiced in the West.

1,694 words () | 8 sources | MLA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at Zen practitioners and what challenges they face as they practice in the West. It particularly discusses the ignorance which seems to have sprung up over time with regards to the precise nature of Zen Buddhism and looks at how Zen practitioners must confront this ignorance by vigorously educating neophyte westerners interested in the religion and philosophy but who may be ill-informed about its origins and teachings. The paper also looks at the lingering specter of racism and the common misperception regarding Buddhist "retributive" or karmic suffering.

From the Paper:

"Lastly, Buddhism is diminished in the popular imaginings of many westerners because of its apparent tolerance for human suffering - a situation which, given its association with India, can lead it to being confused with the ugly caste system historically supported by its rival (and philosophical cousin), Hinduism. Zen Buddhism thus can become easily seen as the manifestation of a religion that takes a neglectful view of the degradation visited upon unfortunate groups within a society. What is rather ironic about all of this is that the harsh, retributive notion of "karma" is actually quite alien to canonical Buddhism (Jones, 66) but the notion that Buddhism encourages this sort of human misery is a popular article of faith among its critics (Crabtree, no.6)."

Sample of Sources Used:

Bielefeldt, Carl. Zen Wars III: Revenge of the West. Bielefeldt: Zen Wars. 1998. Stanford Center for Buddhist Studies. 18 Feb. 2007 <http://scbs.stanford.edu/resources/papers/bielefeldt/zen_wars.html>
Bois, J. Samuel. General semantics and Zen. ETC: A Review of General Semantics, 18.1 (1961): 34-46.
Bridges, Jessica. "Zen Buddhism and General Semantics." ETC: A Review of General Semantics, 63 (2006): 430+. Questia database. 18 Feb. 2007 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5018021962
Crabtree, Vexen. "Criticism of Buddhism." Bane of Monotheism. 14 Nov. 2004. Vexen Crabtree. 18 Feb. 2007 <http://www.vexen.co.uk/religion/buddhism_criticism.html#Theodicy>
Holmes, Stewart W. What is the Zen master talking about?" ECT: A Review of General Semantics, 50.2 (1993): 157-164.

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APA Citation:

Zen Practitioners in the West (2012, January 15). Retrieved February 13, 2012, from http://www.academon.com/Term-Paper-Zen-Practitioners-in-the-West/101770