Adoption Of Buddhism In The Western World
Introduction
Buddhism is a religion which encompasses a wide range of beliefs and cultural practices which are based on the teachings of Siddhartha Guatama. This gentleman was also referred to as the awakened one and all the activities of Buddhism are fundamentally built on his values. Buddhism is often categorized as an Indian philosophy aimed at helping human beings eliminate any form of suffering so that they are able to achieve nirvana and in the process they evade the vicious cycle of suffering.However, over the years, Buddhism has spread all over the world although at a lower pace. The first instance of Buddhism in Europe occurred when Alexander the Great captured central Asia and the religion spread towards Greece. In recent years, Buddhism is common in modern Europe as a result of increased academic interest in the religion. From central Asia, the religion filtered to the United States of America during the California Gold Rush which saw large numbers of Chinese moving to San Francisco. Today Buddhism has grown considerably in the United States to become the 4th most practiced religion in the world.
Discussion
Adoption of Buddhism in Europe
Immediately after Alexander the Great conquered central Asia, the practices of Buddhism spread for India to Europe and before long most scholars as well as philosophers such as Arthur Schopenhauer carried out intensive research in the religion. During the studies, traditional Buddhist practices were replaced by modern cultures which increased the overall reception of the religion by the Europeans. This led to declaration by Russia and Austria of Buddhism as an official religion which is highly recognized (Guruge, 1995)Consequently, Europe boasts of a substantial number of Buddhist temples scattered all over the continent. In the southern French town of Dordogne, a monastery as well as a practice center was put up in 1982 which is inhabited by the Order of Inter-Being. This group is fundamental to teaching the Five and Fourteen Mindfulness Training as well as “Engaged Buddhism”. These teachings form the basis of Buddhism especially to individuals who are converting to the religion (Baumann, 1995).
In 1976, His Holiness Gyalwa Karmapa gave instructions which were partly aimed at increasing the spread of Buddhism as well as improving the living conditions of practicing Buddhists. These included constructions of a center which would serve all members of the public, a library, university, monastic hermitage and a retreat center were par5t of the project. These infrastructures were aimed at preserving in addition to transmitting Buddha’s teachings from a centralized place. Similarly, the Samye Ling monastery was constructed in Scotland which is one of the largest Buddhist temples in Western Europe where the community of Holy Isle worship. The year 2005 saw the opening of the largest temple in Eastern Europe called the GoldenTemple in Kalmykia. All these Buddhist temples have been established to cater for the growing numbers of Buddhists which is a clear indication that Europe has embraced Buddhism as well as adopted the values and practices which were issued by Buddha (Sparham, 2005).
Adoption of Buddhism in America
Buddhism was first experienced America in the 19th century when substantial numbers of immigrants from the eastern part of Asia moved into the United States. An explosion of immigrants was observed when Chinese immigrants took part in the California Gold Rush in 1849. This led to establishment of the first Buddhist temple in America in San Francisco to cater for Chinese Buddhists. Although at first the natives regarded the temples as “joss houses” due to lack of sufficient information concerning Buddhism the influx of Asian Buddhists created a greater impact on the overall perception of the religion. Consequently, in 1898, Japanese Buddhist missionaries established the Young Men’s Buddhist Association in Hawaii as well as construction of the second Buddhist temple in Vancouver (U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, 2007). The first American to publicly convert to Buddhism was Henry Steel Olcott who had developed an intense interest in studying the occult which was largely influenced by Buddhist and Hindu teachings.
As the interest intensified, he took up pancasila vows to become a lay Buddhist and he later on became a staunch activist of Buddhist education (Public broadcasting service 2001).The early 20th century saw many great Buddhist teachers such as Soyen Shaku establish zendo’s as well as several meditation centers where they helped young learners understand the basics of Buddhism. These learners were mostly of Japanese or Asian origin who was immigrants or their descendants. Most of the immigrants adopted traditional Buddhism while the most of the Americans who converted to Buddhism preferred the elite Buddhism where they heed the meditation part only. The difference in levels of commitment and conversion is due to aspects of ethnicity which are visible in those who practice Buddhism (Kenneth, 2001).
References
Baumann, Martin, “Creating a European Path to Nirvaana: Historical and Contemporary Developments of Buddhism in Europe“, in: Journal of Contemporary Religion, 1, 1, 1995, pp. 55-70
Guruge, Ananda W. P., “Buddhism in Europe in the Twenty-first Century”, in: Buddhism into the Year 2000: International Conference Proceedings Bangkok: Dhammakaya Foundation 1995, pp. 211-118.
Kenneth, Tanaka, K. “American Buddhism’s racial divide: Buddhists in the united states are split into two camps: Asians Americans and “New Buddhists” can they be brought together?” January 2001. Retrieved on June 10, 2010 from: http://www.beliefnet.com/story/7/story_732_1.html.
Public broadcasting service (2001), tensions in American Buddhism. Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, Episode number 445
Sparham, Gareth. Tantric ethics: an explanation of the precepts for Buddhist Vajrayana practice. 2005. Somerville: Wisdom Publications. Inc
U.S. Religious Landscape Survey. religious composition of the U.S.: Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. 2007. Retrieved on June 10, 2010 from: http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/affiliations-all-traditions.pdf.
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