Buddhism in Japan movement to eradicate Buddhism and bring Shinto to ascendancy arose throughout the country due to the strong connections of Buddhism to the Shōguns. During the Meiji period (1868–1912), after a coup in 1868, Japan abandoned its feudal system and opened up to Western modernism. Shinto became the state religion. Within the Buddhist establishment the Western world was seen as a threat as well as a challenge to stand up to. Buddhist institutions had a simple choice: adapt or perish. Rinzai and Soto Zen chose to adapt, trying to modernize Zen in accord with Western insights, while simultaneously maintaining a Japanese
Zen Center of Syracuse the Joshua Forman house, where programs are also conducted. The Zen Center of Syracuse began as a group of graduate students from Syracuse University, with Chayat eventually becoming the center's leader. In addition to Zen practice, the center also provides some instruction in Tibetan Buddhism. According to "The Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America", "The Syracuse Zen Center also leads meditation at Syracuse University, Syracuse area schools, recovery and justice system institutions, hospitals and corporations." The center also won two awards for their restoration of The Forman House from the Preservation Association of Central New York . This