Emily Dickinson's encounter with Victorian-American Buddhism

This paper examines Emily Dickinson's encounter with mid-to-late nineteenth century American Buddhism. Unlike her friend and "teacher," T.W. Higginson, she did not openly partake in the cultural conversation about Buddhism. In the 1870s, however, many articles and extracts were published about Buddhism in the periodicals subscribed to by the Dickinson household. I propose that any resemblances her writing could be said to have with the teachings of the Buddha and Buddhism in these periodicals is not coincidental. The phenomenon Dickinson calls "the law of Flood," has many similarities with James F. Clarke's descriptions of Nirvana and Buddhist impermanence. In addition, four of Dickinson's 1873 poems can be read in concurrence with the narrative, "A Buddhist Legend." However, it is the possession of Alfred Sinnett's Esoteric Buddhism, in 1885, that cements my argument on Dickinson's interests in Buddhism.