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NGO workers in Cape Town, many of friends and teachers from a wide interviewees to name famous
whom were committed Christians, range of backgrounds, for helping Buddhists living in America, they
helped me appreciate how faith can me appreciate the value of being mentioned Richard Gere, Robert
sustain social justice work. This open about my relationship to Thurman, Joseph Goldstein, Jack
inspired me to embrace my own Buddhism rather than concealing it Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, and the
curiosity about, and affinity for, for fear of not fitting in. like. When I asked interviewees
Buddhism. to name famous Asian American
To return to your question, Buddhists, most people struggled to
American society is basically Buddhism has encouraged me to think of a single one.
Christian or secular. Growing up embrace adaptation as a necessity
as an Asian, did you as a Buddhist of life—everything is always Asian American Buddhists have
have to adapt in order to be changing. However, I wouldn’t say been in the US since the mid- to
accepted in society? the purpose of adaptation is to be late-1800s. As Dr. Duncan Ryuken
accepted in society. If anything, Williams compellingly argues in
Growing up Asian American in Buddhism has taught me how to his book American Sutra: A Story
majority-white cities and suburbs, resist being motivated solely by of Faith and Freedom in the Second
I felt more self-conscious about my societal acceptance. The worldly World War, race and religion have
ethnicity and race than I did about winds of praise and blame, success long been intertwined in the
my religious background. I was, and failure, pleasure and pain, fame perception that Asian Americans are
however, aware that my atheist and disrepute are fickle compasses. “perpetual foreigners”—consider
upbringing represented yet another Buddhism offers an alternative set the 19th-century slur “heathen
failure to assimilate to dominant of values by which to conduct our Chinee,” for instance. We can extend
(white Christian) culture. Sadly, it’s lives ethically, compassionately, and this argument more broadly to
not hard to find stories of Asian beautifully. understand that perceptions of
American Buddhists who have Buddhism cannot be divorced from
faced discrimination and bullying Is Buddhism still perceived stereotypes about race.
as religious and racial minorities. If as a strange Eastern religion
I had been Buddhist by upbringing, or a cult or has it reached the Buddhism and “Eastern spirituality”
I might have felt a strong pressure stage of being recognized as a more generally have had an outsize
to alter or even reject my faith—the mainstream religion in the US? influence on American popular
desire to fit in to the mainstream culture relative to the number of
can be so hard to shake, especially It depends on who you’re talking to. actual adherents. Dr. Jane Iwamura
in adolescence. has written brilliantly about some of
Buddhists are very much a the implications of this in her book
I interviewed 89 young adults minority in America. According to Virtual Orientalism: Asian Religions
(most of whom were in their 20s a 2012 Pew Forum estimate, only and American Popular Culture. Tools,
and 30s) for my master’s thesis on about 1% of the U.S. population products, and catchphrases derived
Asian American Buddhists (which identify as Buddhist. Of this 1%, from Buddhism seem to be growing
developed into my book, Be the however, over two-thirds are of in popularity. Companies that sell

Refuge). I was struck by how some Asian heritage. Many people I’ve meditation and mindfulness apps
of my interviewees, despite feeling spoken to are surprised to hear have seen their revenues skyrocket
pressured to hide or dismiss the this, especially when the English- during the pandemic. Zen and
faith they grew up with, eventually language Buddhist mediascape the Art of [Just About Anything]
reclaimed Buddhism on their own disproportionately features proliferates. A friend just texted me
terms. I’m indebted to the people white convert Buddhists. Perhaps a raft of images showing chocolates
I interviewed, and to Buddhist not surprisingly, when I asked in the shape of the Buddha’s head.