Stepping onto the hard wooden floors through a narrow hallway leading to a meditation room, Erica Tugaeff experiences immediate thoughts of serenity and relaxation. With the aroma of burning incense in the air, Tugaeff, a twenty-three-year-old student considering converting to Buddhism, takes her first trip to the San Francisco Zen Center.

Many people are noticing the increase in practicing Buddhists in the United States. More and more temples and Zen centers are popping up in all kinds of places across the United States. Buddhism is the fourth most practiced religion in America, and while the actual number of those who practice in America is difficult to come by, particularly because the United States Census Bureau does not ask for religion, the most recent conservative estimate in 2009 is over six million. While there is an apparent escalation in numbers, many disagree about why there has been such an explosion of the traditionally Asian religion.

Encountering Buddhism

The initial influence came to America with Asian immigrants, philosophers, and scholars, and along with the large interest in Asian culture following World War II and the Korean War. But while many more people are traveling to Buddhist countries such as Thailand, Carl Bielefeldt, the director of the Center for East Asian Studies at Stanford University, suspects that most Americans come across Buddhism first in books and other media and then go looking for it in the States. "Of the people I meet who express an interest in Buddhism, probably most have never been to a Buddhist country."

James Coleman, author of The New Buddhism: The Western Transformation of an Ancient Tradition, says, "Although some people encounter Buddhism abroad, it is a growing presence in the Western world." Judith Valentine, a twenty-three-year-old cashier at a new age bookstore, was first introduced to Buddhism a few times during her teenage years. She recalls doing a sixth grade social studies class project on religions, and watching an episode of the Simpsons where Lisa converts to Buddhism. Although Valentine had a brief encounter with the religion during adolescence, her first in-depth introduction came when her best friend began studying it in college.

Tugaeff's fascination with Buddhism began when her father started working overseas and talked about visiting Buddhist temples. Once her father decided to become a practicing Buddhist, Tugaeff decided to take an interest in learning more about it, and signed up for an Eastern religions class at college, where her interest began to expand.

American Buddhists or Buddhists In America

There are many types of Buddhism, which often make it difficult to determine what it exactly means to be a Buddhist. "I meet many people who call themselves Buddhist but don't belong to a Buddhist organization," says Bielefeldt. Differences in affiliations of Buddhist groups add to the already many questions scholars have when trying to determine the apparent rise of Buddhism in the United States.

Bielefeldt describes two basic types of American Buddhists, the first as "the 'heritage' Buddhism of those from families with an Asian Buddhist background," and second "the 'convert' Buddhism of those who become Buddhist by personal choice." Scholars often wonder how much of the growth of the religion in the United States is because of an increase in the population of Asian Buddhists, in contrast to the number of converts from non-Buddhists Americans. Valentine, a "convert" American Buddhist, was "looking to fuse Buddhism with [her] Wiccan practice, but it kind of took over."

Rise In Buddhism; Decline In Mainline Religions

"Zen has better PR," says Eric Burkett. Burkett, a Minister's Assistant at the Buddhist Church of San Francisco, jokes that Zen is somewhat sexy in America. Even with the two basic types of Buddhists, there are many different teachings throughout Buddhist churches. The Buddhist Church of San Francisco, whose structure was designed in an attempt to assimilate to Western culture even though the religion was different, teaches Jodo Shinshu.

Burkett, who converted from Christianity to Buddhism, says that this type of Buddhism may not appeal to many people who are seeking "the otherness" that makes Buddhism different from many religions.

Valentine, who converted from Catholicism, first to Wicca at the age of fourteen, then to Buddhism in college, says, "Everything just felt right, connected. I didn't have to work to make my beliefs match my practice, which is what led me to reject Catholicism and was making my Wicca practice difficult."

The numbers from the 2009 American Religious Identification Survey reflect a decline in traditional religions, as well as an increase in those who claim no religious affiliation at all, from eight to fifteen percent since 1990. The number of people who recognize themselves as Christians has dwindled from eighty-six percent to seventy-six percent since 1990.

Newsweek ran a poll on religion in America in 2009, which revealed that thirty percent of those who participated classified themselves as "spiritual" instead of "religious." This has influenced the increase in the number of Buddhists in America. "Lots of people engage in Buddhist practices without being aware that that's what they're doing," Valentine says.

Meditation

While the many types of Buddhism have differences in practicing the religion, meditation seems to be a large part of the attraction for interested Americans. Bielefeldt says that in general Buddhists of the first type (heritage) tend not to practice meditation, while Buddhists of the second type (convert) often seem attracted to meditation practice.

He also says that "one likely factor in the middle-class, educated, urban, white American interest in meditation: a cultural assumption that we're somehow supposed to be healthy and happy, and a consequent attraction to therapeutic techniques and practices offering promise of physical and mental health."

Valentine likes "to sit at least a couple mornings of the week for about twenty minutes or so" to meditate. "There's wisdom to Buddhist practice that can penetrate every aspect of life, and I like having an active spiritual practice," says Valentine. Tugaeff, who plans on making more visits to the San Francisco Zen Center, feels that "it's important to understand mindfulness and relaxation." [X]