Putting a Price on Zen: The Business of Redefining Religion for Global Consumption
Over the past several decades, Zen has become a mark of global cosmopolitanism. Largely divorced from its religious context, the word “<em>zen</em>” appears in many languages with a remarkable diversity of accepted meanings and usages. In this paper, I outline the historical and cultural...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Society for the Study of Global Buddhism
2015-03-01
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| Series: | Journal of Global Buddhism |
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| Online Access: | http://www.globalbuddhism.org/jgb/index.php/jgb/article/view/147 |
| _version_ | 1811193656091082752 |
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| author | Joshua A. Irizarry |
| author_facet | Joshua A. Irizarry |
| author_sort | Joshua A. Irizarry |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Over the past several decades, Zen has become a mark of global cosmopolitanism. Largely divorced from its religious context, the word “<em>zen</em>” appears in many languages with a remarkable diversity of accepted meanings and usages. In this paper, I outline the historical and cultural factors which have contributed to the dramatic semiotic transformation of Zen in the popular imagination and international media over the past century. I demonstrate that ideas about Zen have evolved through strategic cultural and linguistic associations, and show how the resulting polysemy has led to Zen becoming an ideal marketing byword – one that is freely appropriated and commoditized in a manner that differentiates Zen from almost all other religious traditions. I further suggest that for the Japanese Zen sects, the global popularity and cosmopolitan appeal of Zen has come hand-in-hand with a decentralization of traditional authority and a challenge to the clergy’s role in shaping the future development of Zen. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T00:11:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b867daa48a10427b875e6337f89aeeca |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1527-6457 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T00:11:47Z |
| publishDate | 2015-03-01 |
| publisher | Society for the Study of Global Buddhism |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Global Buddhism |
| spelling | doaj.art-b867daa48a10427b875e6337f89aeeca2022-12-22T03:55:56ZengSociety for the Study of Global BuddhismJournal of Global Buddhism1527-64572015-03-011605169148Putting a Price on Zen: The Business of Redefining Religion for Global ConsumptionJoshua A. Irizarry0Bridgewater State UniversityOver the past several decades, Zen has become a mark of global cosmopolitanism. Largely divorced from its religious context, the word “<em>zen</em>” appears in many languages with a remarkable diversity of accepted meanings and usages. In this paper, I outline the historical and cultural factors which have contributed to the dramatic semiotic transformation of Zen in the popular imagination and international media over the past century. I demonstrate that ideas about Zen have evolved through strategic cultural and linguistic associations, and show how the resulting polysemy has led to Zen becoming an ideal marketing byword – one that is freely appropriated and commoditized in a manner that differentiates Zen from almost all other religious traditions. I further suggest that for the Japanese Zen sects, the global popularity and cosmopolitan appeal of Zen has come hand-in-hand with a decentralization of traditional authority and a challenge to the clergy’s role in shaping the future development of Zen.http://www.globalbuddhism.org/jgb/index.php/jgb/article/view/147Zenmarketingcommoditizationconsumptionsemiotics |
| spellingShingle | Joshua A. Irizarry Putting a Price on Zen: The Business of Redefining Religion for Global Consumption Journal of Global Buddhism Zen marketing commoditization consumption semiotics |
| title | Putting a Price on Zen: The Business of Redefining Religion for Global Consumption |
| title_full | Putting a Price on Zen: The Business of Redefining Religion for Global Consumption |
| title_fullStr | Putting a Price on Zen: The Business of Redefining Religion for Global Consumption |
| title_full_unstemmed | Putting a Price on Zen: The Business of Redefining Religion for Global Consumption |
| title_short | Putting a Price on Zen: The Business of Redefining Religion for Global Consumption |
| title_sort | putting a price on zen the business of redefining religion for global consumption |
| topic | Zen marketing commoditization consumption semiotics |
| url | http://www.globalbuddhism.org/jgb/index.php/jgb/article/view/147 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT joshuaairizarry puttingapriceonzenthebusinessofredefiningreligionforglobalconsumption |