Abstract

Zen Buddhists take the bodhisattva vow to save all beings. At Clouds in Water Zen Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, this means engaging in specific activities geared towards eliminating social and systemic injustice while also work tirelessly to eliminate the causes and conditions of suffering within oneself. At Ryumonji Zen Monastery in Dorchester, Iowa, the bodhisattva vow to save all beings means to wholeheartedly engage in everyday activities, such as doing the dishes, without attachment or aversion; Ryumonji sees no need to engage specifically in socio-political activities. Clouds has a robust program of workshops and retreats on social engagement and participates locally in socio-political activism as part of its Buddhist practice. On the contrary, Ryumonji does not have a distinct program for social engagement but contextualizes every activity as already having a socio-political effect. Ryumonji Zen Monastery and Clouds in Water Zen Center are less than a hundred miles away in the American Midwest and both follow the same Sōtō Zen lineage of the Japanese priest Dainin Katagiri. Yet, they offer two different ways of responding to the world’s suffering. This study, based on nine months of immersive ethnographic fieldwork, analyzes how Ryumonji and Clouds interpret differently the central Buddhist teachings of interdependence, the bodhisattva vow, and the inseparability of individual and social liberation, leading to differing views and practices for social engagement. In addition, it draws insights and lessons from Clouds and Ryumonji for how we might, in our own lives, respond to suffering in the world.

Presenters

Bishal Karna
Assistant Professor, Religious Studies, Nazareth College, New York, United States

Details

Presentation Type

Paper Presentation in a Themed Session

Theme

Religious Commonalities and Differences

KEYWORDS

SUFFERING, AMERICAN BUDDHISM, ZEN, SOCIAL ACTIVISM, INTERDEPENDENCE, SOCIAL JUSTICE, MONASTIC

Digital Media

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