come Westerners looking for guidance and eager to develop their own spiritual lives and transplant the flowering tree of enlightenment to their own lives."(Das, 29)
             The first westerners to begin to adopt Eastern principles were often people on the fringes of society or in the avant-garde of the arts, literature, and philosophy. The beatniks in the 50's, the Hippies in the 60's and 70's. Evidence of eastern thought in the writings of Jack Kerouac, Hippies – George Harrison and the Beatles studying with the Maharishi Mahesh Yoga. Richard Albert turned his name to Baba Ram Das.
             In our society today, it seems like everyone knows someone into Eastern religion. From businessmen to politicians to celebrities individuals are joining meditating groups while still maintaining ties to their traditional faiths to "wet their feet" in more satisfying and less materialistic lives. "At retreats you're likely to find yourself sitting next to a stockbroker or a therapist or a retired social worker who may or may not claim to be Buddhist."(Wood, 3) "Unlike the rush of mostly younger Americans to Buddhism that occurred in the 1950's and 1960's, the new ranks include a larger percentage of seekers over 50"(Wood, 2). Now in the West we see many variations of Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and Zen, such as Mahayana, Pali, and Vajpareena. Our new, multi-religious land that combines Eastern and Western religion can be described as "the scientific West arriving at something like the fusion of the Confucian cultivation of virtue through the bonds of family and community, Taoist laissez-faire and yearning for nature, and Buddhist compassion for man's need for Nirvana."(Layman, 80) We have adapted religions in many ways to fit our lives.
             "Buddhism in America is characterized by great diversity, with both conservative and liberal trends within the same sect a...