The impact of Suzuki Daisetsu on American thought about Buddhism has been unequalled--up into the 1960's Japanese Zen was a synonym for Buddhism in the U.S. Later Theravada and Tibetan Buddhism also grew in America, especially after many Tibetans fled to the U.S. because of the destruction of their religion by the Chinese Communists after 1959.
鈴木大拙對美國佛教思想和觀念的影響，至今被認為無出其右者。六○年代之前，「禪宗」可以說就是美國佛教的代名詞。之後小乘佛教和西藏密宗也逐漸受美國人喜愛。尤其在一九五九年廟宇被中共大肆破壞的西藏密宗，有不少藏民和喇嘛流亡到美國來設立道場。