The popular caricature of American Buddhism is perhaps of a Zen master practicing in a remote locale in the rural highlands surrounding the Bay Area of California or of a Chinese immigrant with a golden Buddha adorning their shop in New York City.
But what about a factory worker from Louisiana named Butsu who used to go by “Bubba?”
In his new book Dixie Dharma: Inside a Buddhist Temple in the American South, Dr. Jeff Wilson seeks to paint a picture of an emerging Southern Buddhism. Instead of attempting to paint Buddhism in the U.S. in broad strokes, as is traditionally the tactic, Wilson suggests a regional approach.
“No one has applied regionalism to the study of Buddhism, everyone in the academy and media just talk about ‘American Buddhism,’” said Wilson. “While there are overall trends in Western and American Buddhism, there is great regional diversity.”
Although running into a Buddhist in San Francisco is like meeting a Catholic in Rome, Buddhism is still making its first inroads into the historically Protestant American South and is still greatly underrepresented in the total population.
Given its small numbers and presence in the hegemonic culture of America’s “Protestant bloc,” Buddhist practice and philosophy in the South can prove markedly different than that of other regions.
Wilson said, “in the South you have a homogenous Christian culture, real and perceived, and when a Buddhist temple comes along it confronts the community and its perception of what it means to live in the South.”
When Buddhism comes face-to-face with this commanding Christian culture it impacts both Buddhists and the community they find themselves in. As Buddhists seek to keep a low profile and minimize their public presence in a pre-emptive attempt to avoid public conflict with non-Buddhists, there is also a concommitant increase in knowledge of Buddhism and religious diversity in general in the wider community.
A frequent experience of Buddhists in the South is alienation and attempted evangelization from local Protestants. Interestingly enough, Buddhism, traditionally a missionary religion, becomes focused on a quiet and inward-oriented practice, “with, at best, an attitude of welcome toward those lucky enough to seek it out on their own initiative” said Wilson.
To be sure, the experiences of Buddhists in the South are multifarious. Notwithstanding general trends in “Southern Buddhism,” there are sub-regional trends and varied histories for immigrant Buddhists, imported Buddhists and southern Buddhist converts like “Bubba.”
Of particular note is the fact that Buddhism in the South typically takes hold in what Wilson calls “the Coastal South” and has strong centers of growth in places like Houston, Atlanta, New Orleans, Washington D.C. and Tampa. From these urban nuclei, Buddhism migrates to suburban and rural centers where it takes on new aspects and interacts with a whole new set of southerners.
Take for example Houston Buddhism. With perhaps 40 or so different communities practicing a wide range of types of Buddhism, Houston is an epicenter of Buddhist practice in the American South. While there are large groups of Chinese and Vietnamese-American Buddhists, there is a notably small presence of Japanese forms of Buddhism found in spades in other parts of the country.
Nonetheless, most of the major groups in American Buddhism are represented in Houston, such as Pure Land, Zen, Tibetan, and Theravada. The city also boasts less common traditions as well, such as one of the country’s only Nichiren Shu temples, run by the first African/Japanese-American Nichiren priestess and a Won Buddhist temple, a Korean tradition that is rare in the United States. Furthermore, the large American Bodhi Center demonstrates the flourishing presence of Buddhism in Houston.
As Wilson said, Houston “is one of the best places to be Buddhist in the American South.”
The experience of a Buddhist in Tyler or Texarkana would be decidedly different.
While many have not yet had the chance to read Wilson’s work, there is already a growing appreciation for his regional approach. Prof. Wakoh Shannon Hickey of Alfred University, a practicing Buddhist, said, “I think Dixie Dharma is a very important resource for thinking about Buddhism in the United States.”
She said, “I’ve seen it in California, North Carolina, Chicago, Western New York, and Central Pennsylvania; there are very different conditions in each place.”
In the end Wilson’s thesis is a validation of respected religious scholar Timothy Beal’s contention that all religion is, “first and foremost, local; that it lives and thrives in particular places, cultures and people.”
The best way to learn about Buddhism in the South, and in Houston, is perhaps to interact with a local Buddhist or visit a Buddhist temple. Not only will visitors find them welcoming said Wilson, but they will be surprised by the diversity they find within the temple walls.