Zen in Brazil: The Quest for Cosmopolitan Modernity

Series Editor’s Preface

Series Editor’s Preface The transformation of Buddhism into a Western religion has drawn the attention of many scholars, and the number of books on the subject has increased dramatically in recent years. The cultural focus of these studies has primarily centered on America, and American Buddhism is now a recognized feature of our religious landscape. What has not been recognized is the fact that Buddhism has found a home in South America as well. The South American story makes its debut with this volume. Cristina Rocha gives us a fascinating account of Zen in Brazil through analytical lenses such as creolization and cannibalization in addition to the more familiar categories of indigenization, accommodation, modernization, and globalization . Beginning with the introduction of Sōtō Zen through Japanese immigrants , Rocha traces the growth of Zen in Brazil and its encounter with Catholicism and Afro-Brazilian religions. The strands in the web of adaptation are many, and Rocha argues that the Brazilian elites embraced Zen in good measure because of its international reputation. Zen was desired for its overseas social status as much as its spiritual message. While many have noted that globalization takes place through localization, Rocha provides a unique counterpoint by showing that localization can also take place through globalization. Had Zen been available only in its Japanese immigrant form, it would not have appealed to non-Japanese Brazilians. Freed from its Japanese origins, Zen had become a sophisticated European and American religion, and that is why it also became Brazilian. George J. Tanabe, Jr. Series Editor ...