Buddhism--the religion of renunciation and "the middle way"--is
self-confident and robust in an America increasingly looking for
"enlightenment" and intrigued by the enigmatic smile of the Buddha.

Fueled by both a surge in Asian immigration in the past 30 years and
celebrity endorsements from the rich and famous (singer Tina Turner, actor
Richard Gere, Italian soccer star Baggio, the peripatetic Nobel
Prize-winning Dalai Lama, and Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson), this
worldwide religion of 565 million has successfully transplanted itself into
the United States.

In an attempt to discover the religion's appeal to growing numbers of
Americans, Terry Muck, associate professor of comparative religion at
Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Austin, Texas, interviewed Americans
who had converted. "The most common response I got was that it offered them
a peace and contentment through the meditative technique," says Muck,
author of Those Other Religions in Your Neighborhood. "The idea seemed to
be that American culture is so hectic and busy and stressful, and the
various kinds of Buddhist meditation techniques [are] an antidote they
hadn't found in . . . the Christianity that they had grown up with."

James Stephens, a former Buddhist who launched the evangelical Sonrise
Center for Buddhist Studies in Sierra Madre, California, six years ago to
develop information and training to evangelize Buddhists, estimates there
are 2 million in this country. Other research says there are only 558,000
active Buddhists in North America.

Diana Eck, professor of comparative religion at Harvard University, says
there are 1,500 Buddhist centers in the United States. The
102,000-square-foot, $25 million Hsi Lai ("Coming to the West") Temple in
Hacienda Heights, California, is the largest Buddhist structure in the
Western Hemisphere.

Such figures only begin to tell the story, however. Recent films, such as
What's Love Got to Do with It? based on the life of Tina Turner, and The
Little Buddha with Keanu Reeves, present Buddhism attractively to a culture
groping for spiritual understanding. Buddhism also benefits from the
popularity of the New Age movement and Hinduism, which Stephens says are
closely related to it. "People are looking for answers," says Stephens, who
was a Nichiren Shoshu (Soka Gakkai) Buddhist for 14 years before his
conversion to Christianity. "[People] are looking for a theology of
suffering. They're looking for meaning to their lives."

American Buddhists have used their wealth to finance Buddhist activities
and construction projects both here and in Asia. "Their influence is very
powerful," Stephens says. "Buddhists look at America as a mission field, as
a prime mission field."

                           GAPING EVANGELISM HOLE

While many in the West turn to the East for spiritual guidance, few
American Christians have taken on the challenge of Buddhism, either here or
overseas. Before he decided to start the Sonrise Center, Stephens
 discovered a "gaping hole in the efforts to evangelize Buddhist peoples."
Contrasting the comparatively high interest in other religions, such as
Islam, Stephens notes, "There's not anything from an evangelical point of
view, or a historically Christian accurate point of view, which addresses
the Buddhist faith and those who are lost in the darkness of Buddhism."

One reason for this neglect is because Buddhism, founded by Siddhartha
Gautama, a sixth-century B.C. prince from India, is fundamentally different
from the Judeo-Christian world-view. Buddhism asserts that all is
emptiness, illusion, and that the desire to "have" is what brings pain.
Buddha taught that suffering comes from ignorance. The religion holds to
endless cycles of reincarnation, which can only be broken when one becomes
enlightened.

For the Buddhist, "salvation" means extinction, release from the wearisome
cycle of birth and rebirth. This "nirvana" is attained through following
the eightfold path: right views, goals, speech, conduct, lifestyle,
efforts, awareness, and concentration.

There are three main schools: Theravada ("the Doctrine of the Elders,"
adhered to by 38 percent of all Buddhists), the form closest to that taught
by Gautama Buddha; Mahayana ("the Great Vehicle," 56 percent), which has
allowed the most innovations and adaptations in Buddhist doctrines; and
Tantrism or Vajranaya ("the Diamond Vehicle"), also known as Tibetan
Buddhism, which adds elements of Hinduism and the occult (6 percent).

The adaptability of Buddhism is one of its greatest strengths. "Buddhism is
a very flexible philosophy," Stephens says. "Because of its doctrine of
assimilation, it easily [changes] itself, much like a chameleon, to other
religious forms. You can be a 'Christian' practicing Buddhist because
[adherents say] 'Buddhism is just a philosophy.'" With a common interest in
techniques such as meditation, psychology is another arena in which
Buddhism has made itself at home.

"Some of the ideas that Buddhism espouses have already had something of an
impact on our culture in more of an indirect way," Muck says. "I think it's
largely in the area of 'finding oneself' on a spiritual path through
meditative techniques, slowly becoming more and more purified. That
dovetails very well with the American preoccupation with self-help
psychology. To some extent, Buddhism has tapped into that cultural
predisposition and injected religious meaning into it for some people."

Another plus in the American mind is that Buddhism can give one a feeling
of spirituality without demanding a lot in return. Citing the "clear rules
and guidance" of his former belief system (the Nichiren Shoshu sect),
Stephens says, "The whole system is very well oiled, and so people see that
and say, 'Oh, here's something that I can do. It doesn't have too many
moral, ethical codes that I have to follow and sets of rules. So I can do
something that doesn't cramp my style.'"

Adding to Buddhism's current appeal is the visibility of the Dalai Lama,
the telegenic "god-king" of Tibetan Buddhism. Pointing to the continuing
worldwide concern about the persecution of the Tibetan people by China,
Stephens notes, the Dalai Lama has been aided by public relations know-how.
"He talks about following 'a religion of kindness.' He doesn't say, 'I
follow the religion of Tibetan Buddhism.' Well, who doesn't want to
practice kindness?"

                           IN BUDDHA'S BACK YARD

Stephen Hishey is a citizen of India who used to be a Tibetan Buddhist.
Today, with the help of FEBA, Radio in the Seychelles northeast of
Madagascar, he produces Gaweylon (Good News), a daily, half-hour Christian
radio program geared to the millions of Tibetan Buddhists in Tibet, Nepal,
Bhutan, and India. Hishey says there are around 75,000 listeners to
Gaweylon, and many are open to the gospel. He tells of a letter from a
single monastery in India. It has 200 signatures beneath the words, "We are
behind you. We are listening."

But he makes clear that winning Tibetan Buddhists to Christ involves prayer
first and foremost. "There's a tremendous amount of spiritual warfare that
is involved in Tibetan religion," Hishey says. "This is basically shamanism
and occultism. To go with a so-called plan or strategy is not enough."

Stephens, who says he lost all his Buddhist friends when he converted,
believes Christians must engage Buddhists in true friendship evangelism.
"We must see our fellow travelers on planet Earth as our Lord Jesus Christ
sees them . . . made in the image of God."

PHOTO: Stephens

PHOTO: Teaching the culture: A scene from The Little Buddha.

PHOTO: Among friends: The Ddai Lama, center, chats with actor Richard Gere
and his wife, model Cindy Crawford, at a fundraising dinner for the
Himalayan Foundation.