Several students sit on the floor, round black cushions arranged in a semi-circle as they meditate in perfect silence for a half-hour in the Adams House Senior Common Room. While sounds of rehearsing choral groups waft up and into the calm room, each treasures the serene weekly moment of peace and semi-quiet.

The tranquility of the Harvard Buddhist Community's Sunday evening meditation, however, belies the startling fact that, despite Buddhism's centuries-old tradition in Asia, there are no Asian-students in the room.

There are no Asian groups at the College specifically devoted to practicing Buddhism, either.

According to Professor Christopher S. Queen, dean of students for continuing education and co-editor of a scholarly work on American Buddhists, "Buddhism in America," to be published in October, this fact is not surprising. Queen says the ethnic demographic at Harvard reflects "the two Buddhisms" of America in general.

"Sometimes we speak of ethnic Buddhists [who are born into Buddhism and are predominantly Asian] and convert Buddhists [who are predominantly white]," Queen says. "The two groups don't interact."

Although Asian Buddhists at Harvard may not participate in the campus group, which is predominantly non-Asian, there is an Asian Buddhist community at the College. In fact, according to Queen, the majority of the three to four million Buddhists practicing in America today are Asian-American.

Queen says Asian and non-Asian Buddhists have very different conceptions of spirituality. Asian-Americans and Asians in general tend to look up to monks and nuns as the living examples of Buddhism, whereas non-Asian converts "tend to want to be Buddhas themselves."

Reflecting differences in cultural background and religious needs, Queen says that the two groups "essentially practice two different religions."

Converts to the Faith

After their meditation session, most Buddhist Community members give intensely personal reasons for their religious practices. Although many grew up with exposure to other religions, they chose Buddhism, which can be practiced alongside other religions, as an unrestrictive and open-ended route to spiritual fulfillment.

Daniel C. Levi '99-'00, of Deerfield, III., the son of a rabbi, insists he is still Jewish, saying he first learned about Buddhism through books. Separating Buddhist practice from the spiritual experience of being Buddhist, Levi says meditation can be a good "psychological tool" for dealing with the stresses of daily life.

Levi says that for some years he believed "the real pulp" of Buddhist religious in America were the more Western versions "with their new take on religion." The thought of traditional meditation did not occur to him until he took a class on Buddhism.

A semester and summer abroad in Thailand and India last year made Levi more aware of the complexities of the different types of Buddhism in the world today. Levi says his experience abroad prompted him to probe the religious practices of other cultures and develop his own religious rituals.

"Now I meditate on and off, but it's more on than off," Levi says.

For Ross H. Fleischman '00, of Eugene, Ore., a Crimson editor, becoming a Zen Buddhist was one way to reconcile having the assurance of an established religion without having to rely on his Unitarian upbringing.