*Zen Buddhist Priest?

I'm beginning to see the terms "Zen Buddhist priest" and "Zen Buddhist nun" pop up every now and again. And it always tickles me. It's like saying...ninja cowboy or sushi hamburger - taking an eastern philosophy and one school of Buddhism and applying it within the schemes of western society, validating it by creating terms of legitimation so that, let's be honest, white people can practice and teach it with authority. So in a way, this practice may be a syncretism in the opposite direction. This usually is a term applied, with positive or negative connotation, to Christianity being adopted by another country/culture. For the terms above, we have the inverse.

My latest encounter is here: http://www.religiousstudiesproject.com/2012/11/19/podcast-brian-victoria-on-zen-buddhist-terrorism-and-holy-war/
 
"The interview proceeds in two sections. First of all, Professor Victoria delineates his understanding of Holy War, which are expanded upon more fully in his freely available article Holy War: Toward a Holistic Understanding. Discussion flows from Karl Jaspers’ idea of the Axial Age and a movement from ‘tribal’ to ‘universalistic’ religions,  through to the potential connections between religion, nationalism, and threat perception, with potentially controversial examples from contemporary conflicts in Iraq, Israel and Palestine being cited along the way. The interview shifts its focus to the specific example of violence associated with (Japanese) Zen Buddhism, providing a stark contrast to its (admittedly positive) stereotypical reputation. How could the precept ‘there is no self’ be connected to violent acts? And what about the widely known idea of karma? You’ll have to listen to find out…"

Now I don't doubt the wisdom and knowledge this man, Prof. Brian Victoria, possesses - I'm sure he is very knowledgeable and has many insightful things to say; he also sought out a tradition that he obviously feels an affinity with. I just find the terminology kinda funny: "a fully ordained Zen Buddhist priest."

*looks pretty cool: Cowboy Ninja Viking