UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones 5-2011 The Whiter lotus: Asian religions and reform movements in America, 1836-1933 Edgar A. Weir Jr. University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations Part of the American Studies Commons, Cultural History Commons, Intellectual History Commons, Literature in English, North America Commons, Social History Commons, and the United States History Commons Repository Citation Weir, Edgar A. Jr., "The Whiter lotus: Asian religions and reform movements in America, 1836-1933" (2011). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 932. http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/2269038 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE WHITER LOTUS: ASIAN RELIGIONS AND REFORM MOVEMENTS IN AMERICA, 1836-1933 by Edgar A. Weir, Jr. Bachelor of Arts University of Nevada, Las Vegas 1999 Master of Arts University of Nevada, Las Vegas 2001 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy in History Department of History College of Liberal Arts Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas May 2011 Copyright by Edgar A. Weir, Jr. 2011 All Rights Reserved THE GRADUATE COLLEGE We recommend the dissertation prepared under our supervision by Edgar A. Weir, Jr. entitled The Whiter Lotus: Asian Religions and Reform Movements in America, 1836-1933 be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Department of History David Wrobel , Committee Chair Sue Fawn Chung , Committee Member David Holland , Committee Member Aya McDonald, Graduate Faculty Representative Ronald Smith, Ph. D., Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies and Dean of the Graduate College May 2011 ii ABSTRACT The Whiter Lotus: Asian Religions and Reform Movements in America, 1836-1933 by Edgar A. Weir, Jr. Dr. David Wrobel, Examination Committee Chair Professor of History University of Nevada, Las Vegas This study examines the influence of Asian religions and thought on various reform movements in America, including anti-slavery, labor rights, the alleviation of poverty, women’s rights, and the rights of immigrants. The interactions between these two forces will be uncovered and analyzed from 1836, the year Ralph Waldo Emerson’s ground-breaking work Nature was published, until 1933, the year that Dyer Daniel Lum, the last individual discussed in this work, passed away. Previous studies have demonstrated that those who incorporated Asian religions and thought into their own lives and worldviews also affixed great importance on affecting society in a positive manner. This study continues that analysis and looks deeper in to the question of how effective these individuals were in their respective projects of reform and how those projects interrelated with their new found ideas garnered from Asia. This history is as varied and diverse as the individuals that comprised it. Some used Asian religions and thought to support their views of the world and their philosophies, some turned their incorporation of Asian religions into “lifestyle enclaves,” while others transformed their experiences into another consumptive experience, and some took what they absorbed from Asia and made significant short-term and long-term contributions to American history and to the history of the world. However, these iii individuals were all effective in using Asian religions to challenge the dominant discourse of the times and thereby provide later generations with a larger frame of reference. Through their insightful explorations and analyses of Asian religions, cultures, and ideas they laid the crucial groundwork for those who came after them. This influence expanded beyond specific reform movements themselves and radiated into other areas including art, literature, poetry, and the very cultural vocabulary that runs through America to this day. To understand the general receptivity of American culture today to Asian religions, we need to understand the intellectual foundations laid by previous generations of American reformers who embraced Asian religions as an intellectual foundation for positive social change during periods when entertaining such ideas was far less accepted. The subjects of this study include Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Percival Lowell, William Sturgis Bigelow, Paul Carus, and Dyer Daniel Lum to name a few. The many connections between Asian religions and the various reform movements and activities in America are focused on these particular individuals and utilize them as case studies in order to make a larger argument. Ultimately, this dissertation contends that the interaction between Asian religions and American reform did not begin, for example, in the 1960s with anti-war protesters, but, in fact, there was an adherent to or a sympathizer with Asian religions on the front lines of most of the major reform movements in America leading back to the early nineteenth century. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Someone once said that knowledge, in the end, is really about acknowledgment. I wholeheartedly agree. It is about acknowledging that my skill and ability aren’t as much about what I know, but what others knew and helped me to learn….even when they might have been completely unaware of their assistance. Indeed, the writing of this dissertation has been a truly collaborative effort. First and foremost are the members of my examination committee: David Wrobel (chair), Sue Fawn Chung, David Holland, and Aya McDonald. Their guidance, continuing encouragement, and depth of experience are largely responsible for turning this rather large topic into a focused academic study. I wrote this dissertation primarily while employed by the Social Security Administration. Balancing work and academia was made much easier by the supportive environment created by my colleagues at the Las Vegas District Office. They are by far the most dedicated, hardworking, and compassionate group of professionals I have ever had the pleasure to work with. Major credit goes to my wife Sae and my son Edgar III who from the very beginning encouraged me to pursue and complete this project. They deserve my sincere and heartfelt thanks for their patience and encouragement. I am extremely fortunate to have these two special people in my life who have contributed so much to this project including endless time, support, and good humor. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………...iii ACKOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………………………v CHAPTER 1 ASIAN RELIGIONS IN A “NEW WORLD”………….………………….1 A “City Upon a Hill”?..............................................................................................2 Push and Pull…………………………………………………………………….11 Asian Religions and “Progressivism”…………..……………….……………….23 The Early History and Development of Asian Religions in America………..….31 Typologies………………………………………………………………………..39 CHAPTER 2 TRANSCENDING THE WORLD: TRANSCENDENTALISTS AND THEOSOPHISTS………………………………………………………….47 Ralph Waldo Emerson………………………………………...…………………56 Henry David Thoreau……………………………………………….………….. 66 Other Transcendentalists and Unitarianism……………………………………...77 Samuel Johnson and Lydia Maria Child…………………………………………81 Thomas Wentworth Higginson…………………………………………………..86 Moncure Conway……...…………………………………………………………99 The Theosophists……………………………………………………………….106 CHAPTER 3 FROM “TRANSCENDENCE” TO ENGAGEMENT: BOSTON AND BEYOND………………………………………………………………...124 Edward Sylvester Morse........…………………………………………………..125 Ernest Francisco Fenollosa………………………………..……………………128 William Sturgis Bigelow………………………………………………………..135 Percival Lowell…………………………………………………………………148 Dyer Daniel Lum……………………………………………………………….156 CHAPTER 4 “ONE WORLD AT A TIME”: THE PARLIAMENT OF RELIGIONS……………………………………………………………………170 Paul Carus and D. T. Suzuki……………………………………………………186 Canavarro, Foster, and Waterman…...…………………………………………208 Hinduism and the Vedanta Movement…………………………………………220 Irving Babbitt…………………………………………………………………...227 CHAPTER 5 LEGACIES.…………………...…………………………………………241 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………261 VITA……………………………………………………………………………………280 vi CHAPTER 1 ASIAN RELIGIONS IN A “NEW WORLD” At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Asian religions in America have become something of a cultural force. There are thousands of Buddhist temples, Transcendental Meditation groups, Zen centers, Hindu temples and Yoga studios throughout the United States. A quick search of almost any bookstore in America reveals extensive collections of books devoted to Asian thought and religions1 from the well known and oddly titled Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and The Tao of Pooh,2 to the Dalai Lama’s The Art of Happiness , to less well known and more academic works such as The Blue Cliff Record and Zen and the Brain . The signs and iconography