Buddhism In America

1 Pages 261 Words

E Pluribus Unum, a phrase that we hear more and more ever since September 11th. By now we all know its meaning, “From Many, One”. This phrase applies more today than ever. Today our cultural differences are magnified with the new immigration. It’s not just Swedes and Italians, Lutherans and Catholics, but Russian and Iranian Jews, Pakistani and Bengali Muslims, Trinidadi and Gujarati Hindus, Punjabi Sikhs and Sindhi Jains. Creating the unum from the pluribus is now more challenging than ever” (Eck 29). Our country is a large melting pot consisting of many different cultures, religions, and ethnicities.
Buddhism, becoming popular in the 1950’s has been increasing its numbers and presence in America. “By 1997 more than a thousand Buddhist meditation and practice centers were listed in the new edition of The Complete Guide to Buddhist America” (Eck 149). Los Angeles holds many Buddhists, but Buddhism is spread across America. “Los Angeles has its fair share, to be sure, but there are also centers in Elk Rapids, Michigan, and Omaha, Nebraska. No part of the United States today is untouched bye the presence of this form of Buddhism based in meditation practice.” (Eck 149).
Even though Buddhism spans all across America today, not all Americans are as accepting of Buddhism as they should be. “The very idea of a religion with no God makes for a rocky start in the nation that now prints ‘In God We Trust’ on its coins and pledges ‘One nation, under God, indivisible…” (Eck 152)....