Japan's contribution to modern global Buddhism : the world's parliament of religions revisited

The importance of the introduction of Zen to the West should not be underestimated. It is a crucial part of the history of modern global Buddhism. Suzuki's work overcame the denigration and dismissal of Mahayana Buddhism prevalent in Western scholarship in the late nineteenth century. In establishing a wide following beyond Asia, it in turn created the space for the introduction and adoption of Tibetan Buddhism towards the end of the twentieth century. The focus on Shaku SÅen and the introduction of Zen has, however, overlooked much of the complexity of the encounter. I propose to revisit the parliament and consider what the "four sorios" presented within the context of the mission they defined. It was not Zen that they planned to introduce, but the more encompassing "Eastern Buddhism," the throroughly modern Mahayana Buddhism of Meiji-era (1868-1912) reform strategically repackaged for the occasion. Although the presentation had only a limited impact on Western understanding of Buddhism at the time, as will be discussed below, Eastern Buddhism offered much that resonates with key features of global Buddhism as we now know it. Two points of particular note are the ideal of Buddhist social action based on a sense of the interconnectedness of all things and the bodhisattva path of compassion. We know, however, that the connection is far from direct, and such ideas only circulated much later. My aim therefore is to look more closely at what the delegates offered in their gift to the West, in part to credit their perspicacity in identifying what would become features of a modern global religion, but also to reflect on the complexities of the transmission process.