I know it’s very trendy these days to fret endlessly about racial diversity. But I don’t think that ought to be a major concern for teachers of Zen Buddhism. Our first and most overriding concern ought to be trying to correctly transmit what we have learned from our Asian predecessors. If we get too involved in trying to create racially diverse sanghas there is a chance we might lose sight of what we are really there to practice. I also remember that Reverend Jim Jones, of Jonestown fame, was a huge proponent of trying to bring races together. Which indicates to me that an interest in racial harmony doesn’t, in and of itself, necessarily indicate that all is well with a given spiritual gathering place.
Besides, when I go to another city and speak at a Zen center whose attendees are mostly white, I think maybe the other folks in the area are happy with their own churches, synagogues, mosques, and other spiritual centers. Or maybe they don’t care for religion at all. In any case, I’m not sure it would be nice for the Zen Buddhists to try to woo folks away from spiritual paths they’re already comfortable with.
So, in the end, yeah, I’d be happy to see a few more Latinos, black folks, middle easterners and so forth at our events in LA. We already have some long term attendees from those demographics, but I wouldn’t mind seeing more. I don’t lose any sleep over it, though. I figure that one of these days we’ll start seeing more non-whites at Buddhist centers in the USA and Europe. I’m content to wait for that to happen naturally.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/zen-so-white-25532507