"Chanting and meditation help individuals to realize inner centering through mental clarity, enhanced energy, and spiritual well-being" (Tanaka, 292). In addition, there is no prayer in Buddhism because there is no one to whom one can pray. Buddhists do show a commitment to the Buddha, the dharma, the sangha, and the four noble truths that underlie the practices. However, while Buddhists do follow the teachings of Siddhartha Guatama, often referred to as Buddha, he himself said that he was just a man that had reached complete clarity and understanding of life, and anyone who does the same can become a "Buddha" (Becoming the Buddha in L.A.). Many Americans who grew up with a Christian or Jewish background have chosen to later convert to Buddhism. They have found that Buddhism provides something more than other religions they have been exposed to during their childhood and upbringing. "We want something more than institutional religion - something more personal, more private, more narrowly focused on "me" and how I feel about myself - what might be called "I-dolatry"" (Bielefeldt). This is exactly what they find when they turn to Buddhism. .
While American Buddhism does tend to be very individualistic, individual enlightenment is grasped through the profound realization of the inseparability of the individual and their surroundings, and their ability to powerfully influence both. Interacting with other believers and working toward a similar goal is the key to individual enlightenment, thus connecting the American Buddhist individual to the American Buddhist community. The increase in popularity of Buddhism has succeeded in building a strong community within American society. This popularity has been brought both through import/export and baggage practices of Asian Buddhists (Frankenburg lecture), as well as the mass media attention focused on Buddhism. The Asian religion of Buddhism has been so fully blended into American culture that we may no longer be able to speak of it either as "Asian" or as "religion".
