Adapting to Organizational Challenges in American Zen Buddhist Communities

This paper presents the findings from part of a larger study on organizational changes in American Zen Buddhist communities. It focuses on varying responses to organizational challenges brought by declining number of students joining these religious orders. I examine the integral role played by clergy training in the operation of Zen communities through the detailed study of one Zen community. I then discuss how four Zen communities responded to declining interest among Zen students to enter priest training and the implications of their different strategies. These cases sheds light on the various paths through which the rise of lay ministry in spiritual communities takes place and the continued struggle by these communities to define the clergy’s role as Buddhism becomes more Americanized.