미국의 禪 수행, 그 전개와 변용의 연구 = (An) investigation on the development and transformation of Zen practice in America

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Zen made its official debut in America during the World's Parliament of Religions in 1893. Americans began to practice Zen after the 1960s; before then, they usually obtained the knowledge of Zen through D. T. Suzuki's Zen books.
At present in America there are all types of Asia-derived Zen including those of Japan and Korea. These various lineages of Asian Zen continued to be under the constant influence of Protestantism and have assimilated to American culture and history while passing through the Hippie Counter Culture and Feminist Movements of the 60s. As American sex culture of freedom and license in the 60s and 70s changed to that of a conservative attitude in the 80s, a series of sex scandals involving Zen masters unfolded and brought major Buddhist meditation centers to a crisis. Such a crisis caused a strong opposition to master's abuses of authority; accordingly, major meditation centers started to undertake a series of reforms which limit the power and authority of their masters. Such reforms increasingly brought about the secularization of American Zen practice and a weakened sense of Zen purpose. In fact, American practitioners used to be faithful to their meditative purpose to reach liberation from suffering through spiritual enlightenment. Furthermore, Zen in America witnessed its expansion to everyday lives, spreading more deeply to the public in general.
European Americans usually participate in three types of Buddhist meditation such as Zen, Tibetan meditation, and Vipassana (Insight Meditation). They personally take part in these practices to find peace of mind, by and large. Asian immigrants, however, practice ethnic Buddhism to promote their communal spirit and religious faith. Despite differences in origin, these three types of Buddhist meditation share the same objective of seeking liberation from suffering in life. That is why many American practitioners have an eclectic approach to meditation and an active exchange together.
While Zen is unfolding in the American spiritual scene, a string of phenomena revealed themselves in prominence which include a predominance of lay practitioners, gender equality, social engagement, and an anti-authoritarian attitude. Concerning these factors, Zen in America is in stark contrast with their Asian counterparts.
As for the predominance of lay practitioners, Asian Buddhism's dualistic paradigm of monk and layman collapsed in America with laymen rising to the forefront. American lay Buddhists tend not to want to secure a better rebirth in later life by accumulating merits in this life. Instead, they aim at the ultimate objective of Buddhism, or liberation from suffering, through meditation.
Next, gender equality in the American Zen Buddhist scene resulted from a chain of reforms by women practitioners who had taken the initiative both in eliminating sexual discrimination and in taking part in practice on an equal basis with men. Thus, a new practice culture led by Zen women becomes powerful in America.
Thirdly, practitioners' social engagement is uniquely characteristic of Zen in America. Socially engaged practitioners seek to apply their Zen insight to actual social issues. Focusing on direct experiences but not on doctrinal matters on the basis of American pragmatism, Zen has become a foundation for practitioners' self-realization in society.
Fourthly and lastly, Zen in America shows an anti-authoritarian attitude which I thought is the most American way of thought. Traditional protestantism in America, or a resistant spirit against religious authority, produced friction with Zen master's authority as well as with the hierarchical structure of Zen practice system. Practitioners regarded authority and hierarchy in Zen practice as mere accumulations of Asian Confucian culture and thus initiated vigorous reforms to make their practice atmosphere more democratic.
The next topic for me to discuss is the prospect of Zen in America, which I investigated in three respects, such as the aim, sustainability, and non-sectarian trend of Zen practice.
I examined the aim of Zen practice by dealing with what Zen enlightenment stands for at first; how the aim of Zen practice is influenced by the American secular standard; and how everyday Zen was on the rise in its adaptation to the American religious scene.
As far as the sustainability of Zen practice is concerned, I think Zen has the capacity to cope with various problems in post-modern society so that it can be sustainable in contemporary society. Currently America witnesses Buddhism ranks as the third largest religion and those interested in Buddhism are mostly attracted by meditation. Buddhist meditators generally consider their practice to be of help in solving personal and social problems. In fact Buddhist meditations including Zen are thought to be more effective as a way of making life happy than any other religions or philosophies.
The existing non-sectarian trend in Zen practice will be further enhanced in America. A uniquely American disposition to experience and negotiate various practices freely without being restrained to sectarianism seems to allow Americans to have a pluralistic attitude towards other religions. As they have an open mind to other spiritual practice methods, they frequently include other practice methods, too.
In conclusion, I think the current situation of Zen practice in America has significance for modern man in the following manner.
First, Zen practice in America is being reshaped in a novel and de-traditionalized paradigm. Distinct from traditional forms of Zen in Asia which focus on the monastic community, Zen practice becomes lay-oriented and secularized in America. It will not be long before a new form of Zen appears in America.
Second, Zen practice in America aims at anti-authoritarianism, which results in the gradual establishment of a practice culture on an equal and horizontal relationship. Master's superior spiritual capacity is no more a rationale behind the vertical and hierarchical practice culture of Asia.
Third, Zen in America is unfolding around practice rather than the doctrine. Though Zen in America is derived from Asia, it does not follow the doctrinal and philosophical system of Asian Buddhism, but instead focuses on practice. In addition, American style Zen is noticeable in its pragmatic and secular aspects while it lacks in devotional aspects like karma, reincarnation, and merit-gathering. The pragmatic inclination prefers to verify the experience and efficacy of Zen practice.
Fourth, Zen in America is increasingly integrating with other forms of meditative traditions. Probably because almost all the world's Buddhist traditions are introduced into America, American Zen practice tends to be eclectic and mingling. As a result, the boundaries between various Buddhist traditions are collapsing while ecumenism between religious traditions are increasing. Such a phenomenon is not limited to the intra-Buddhist community but is happening between Buddhism and Christianity, Buddhism and Judaism, and so on. And such interreligious dialogues are based on the principle of religious pluralism.
Contemporary Zen practice developing in America has a significance for modern practitioners as it is actively experimenting with various approaches unprecedented in history. Traditional Asian Zen will be inevitably influenced by this novel style of Zen practice. After all, Asian Zen including that of Korea is in desperate need of something new to survive post-modern society's confusion in values.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• I. 서론 = 1
• 1. 연구의 목적 = 4
• 2. 연구의 방법 및 법위 = 5
• II. 禪의 전래와 전개 = 10
• 1. 19세기의 미국불교 = 10
• 가. 유럽계 미국인들의 불교 = 10
• 나. 아시아 이민의 민족불교 = 19
• 2. 근대화된 일본 선불교의 전래 = 22
• 가. 일본불교의 근대화 = 22
• 나. 시카고 종교의회와 샤쿠 소엔(？宗演) = 27
• 다. 스즈키 다이세츠(鈴木大拙)의 선 = 31
• 3. 禪의 붐(Boom) = 42
• 가. 비트세대와 반문화세대 = 42
• 나. 禪의 대유행 = 46
• 다. 앨런 와츠(Alan Watts)와 비트선 = 51
• 라. 선원의 건립 = 53
• 4. 禪 수행의 위기와 개혁 = 56
• 가. 불교명상 단체의 성추문 = 57
• 나. 성추문 현상의 원인 = 62
• 다. 수행문화의 개혁 = 65
• 5. 소결 = 68
• III. 禪 수행의 현황 = 71
• 1. 일본선 = 72
• 가. 임제선 = 74
• 나. 조동선 = 79
• 다. 삼보교단선 = 83
• 2. 한국선 = 89
• 가. 관음선종회 = 89
• 나. 북미 자혜불교회 = 96
• 3. 베트남선 = 101
• 4. 중국선 = 104
• 5. 소결 = 105
• IV. 禪 수행문화의 특징 = 130
• 1. 재가 수행자 중심 = 130
• 가. 승가와 재가의 비분리 = 130
• 나. 재가 선의 역사 = 134
• 다. 법사의 등장 = 138
• 2. 남성중심의 탈피 = 143
• 가. 성차별적 수행문화의 개혁 = 143
• 나. 양성평등의 선 수행 = 151
• 3. 사회참여 = 155
• 가. 전통 선불교의 사회참여 문제 = 155
• 나. 미국 참여불교의 원칙 = 158
• 다. 선 수행단체의 사회참여 = 167
• 4. 평등 = 171
• 5. 소결 = 178
• V. 禪 수행에 대한 전망 = 180
• 1. 수행의 지향성 = 180
• 가. 깨달음과 윤리 = 180
• 나. 수행문화의 재편 = 189
• 2. 지속가능성 = 194
• 가. 불교명상에 대한 관심 증가 = 194
• 나. 선 수행의 추세와 지속가능성 = 201
• 3. 비종파성 및 통합 경향 = 203
• 가. 비종파적 선 수행단체 = 208
• 나. 불교전통 간의 교류 및 종교적 다원주의 = 216
• 다. 혼합 수행의 확산 = 225
• 4. 소결 = 232
• VI. 결론 = 234
• 부록1: <미국선의 연표> = 243
• 부록2: <미국 조동선의 계보> = 256
• 부록3: <미국 삼보교단의 계보> = 259
• 참고문헌 = 261