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Buddhism in the West

Buddhism in the West broadly encompasses the knowledge and practice of Buddhism outside of Asia. Occasional intersections between Western civilization and the Buddhist world have been occurring for thousands of years, but it was not until the era of European colonization of Buddhist countries in Asia during the 19th century that detailed knowledge of Buddhism became available to large numbers of people in the west as a result of accompanying scholarly endeavours. Increasing numbers of westerners began converting to Buddhism in the mid-20th century due to the wider availability of Buddhist texts and missionary efforts by eastern monks. Beyond direct converts, Buddhist thought has increasingly influenced Western popular culture and spiritual movements during that time. Alexander the Great's conquest of much of Central Asia set the stage for contacts between the civilizations of Greece and India and led directly to Greco-Buddhism. Buddhism is sometimes alleged to have influenced Gnosticism, a broad religious movement popular in the Middle East around the time of Jesus. However, according to the Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism (2004), this is speculation without historical foundation. In the latter half of the 19th century, Buddhism (along with many other religions and philosophies) came to the attention of Western intellectuals. The first English translation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead was published in 1927 and the reprint of 1935 carried a commentary from C.G. Jung. The book is said to have attracted many westerners to Tibetan Buddhism. T. Shakya, "Review of Prisoners of Shangri-la by Donald Lopez". The first Buddhists to arrive in the United States were Chinese and Japanese immigrants who established many temples mainly for their own purposes of worship. Immigrant monks soon began teaching to western audiences, as well. The broader New Age spirituality of the hippie movement proved very receptive to Buddhist themes. In 1959 Suzuki Roshi (a Japanese teacher) arrived in San Francisco. At the time of Suzuki's arrival, Zen had become a hot topic amongst some groups in the United States, especially beatniks. In 1965, monks from Sri Lanka established the Washington Buddhist Vihara in Washington, D.C., the first Theravada monastic community in the United States. Vietnamese Zen monk Nhat Hanh became well known in France and the United States. In the 1970s, interest in Tibetan Buddhism grew dramatically. Today, Buddhism is practiced by large numbers of people in the Americas, Europe and Oceania. Buddhism has become the fastest-growing religion in Australia and some other Western nations. Many Hollywood movies with Buddhist themes, such as Kundun, Little Buddha and Seven Years in Tibet, have had considerable commercial success. (more)

Genres: buddhism, religious

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