"When I was young, I was a devout atheist. I'd never been interested in Christianity because of [the conception of God]...Buddhism was a religion that didn't require that jump," Fleischman says.
Felicity Aulino '00, of Richmond, Va., whose extended family is Catholic, says she too was drawn to the flexibility of Buddhist belief. Aulino discovered Buddhism when she took a year off before college, visiting "spiritual" Savannah, Ga. with a friend to "find something."
"I knew I was coming to a very intense College and I wanted...[my] heart and mind to be of accord," Aulino says, adding that she is a neurobiology major who wishes to reconcile the scientific and the social interpretations of how the mind works.
"I like the spirit and the aura of the [Buddhist] community...I sense in them a serenity which I admire," she says.
Cultural Divide
Duncan Williams, a half-Japanese, ordained Buddhist monk who is co-editing "American Buddhists" with Queen, says Asian circumspection about Buddhism stems in part from the religion's traditional roots. He says some see it as an impediment to assimilating into "mainstream, Christian, American culture."
According to Williams, the Asian temples for Asians in America link religious identity with cultural identity. He points out that ethnic Buddhist temples often offer culture and language classes as well as services.
"Being a Buddhist in America is like being a hyphenated America...The question is, how does one be a Buddhist and a regular American?" Williams says. "Buddhism is a minority religion."
As for Asian-Buddhist students at the College, many say that they tend to take being Buddhist for granted as just another part of their heritage.
Andrew G. Chung '98, a Chinese-American, sums the situation up for many ethnic Buddhists when he talks about the role Buddhism plays in his life.
"I'm probably as Buddhist as you'd get, but I'm not that Buddhist," Chung says. "I have a Buddha [figure] around my neck...[but] no one knows [Buddhism] enough to know what exactly it is to say they're practicing."
Differences between Asian and non-Asian Buddhists say linguistic and ethnic divides can be a major deterrent to Asian and non-Asian Buddhist interactions.
Thu P. Ho '99, a Vietnamese-American Zen Buddhist who says she knows no non-Asian Buddhists at Harvard, says these are difficulties a non-Vietnamese might encounter at the Buddhist temple she goes to once a month, since services are conducted entirely in Vietnamese.
On the other hand, some practicing Asian Buddhists experience a sense of they perceive the Buddhist sects that they practice are not those popular with converts.
Kelly M. Yamanouchi '00, a Japanese-American and a Crimson editor, was raised an active member of the Buddhist Jodo Shinshu sect, but had trouble identifying with the rest of the Harvard Buddhist Community when she briefly attended a meeting last year.
"I came to Harvard looking for a [Buddhist] church to continue studying Yamanouchi now attends Buddhist services onlywhen she returns home to San Jose. In the interim,she practices by herself. Hope For Future Dialogue Dealing with the concern of practicingBuddhists at the University in general have notbeen addressed until recently. It is possible thatpart of the lack of interaction between Asian annon-Asian Buddhists is due to the fact that thecommunities have, to this point, been able tomaintain a parallel existence. This may soonchange. Looking into the future Charles A. Goodman '97,who helped found the undergraduate HarvardBuddhist Community two years ago, predicts thatthe two disparate communities present at Harvardwill eventually become one. "Immigrant Asian Buddhist communities will dieout, [due to assimilation] but the convertcommunities will become inclusive enough towelcome both Asian and non-Asian members," hesaid