Social aspects of zen buddhism in the USA

Zen Buddhism started extending in the territory of the USA at the end of the XIX century, first of all, due to Japanese teachers who arrived to America for service in communities of Japanese immigrants. Interest to Zen Buddhism among Americans considerably increased after World War II, as a result of contact with Asian cultures. The main wave of Zen spreading to the USA is connected to D. Suzuki and his books explaining Buddhist theory and practice in the terms clear to the American readers. Today Zen mostly is not a religion but the way of thinking and living style. Zen had an influence on American literature, art and philosophy.