Buddhism in Europe
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Although there was regular contact between practising Buddhists and Europeans in antiquity the former had little direct impact. In the latter half of the 19th century, Buddhism came to the attention of Western intellectuals and during the course of the following century the number of adherents has grown. There are now between 1 and 4 million Buddhists in Europe, the majority in Italy, Germany, Hungary, France and the United Kingdom.[1]
Early history
Modern history
An interest in Buddhism had been circling among academic circles in modern Europe since the 1870s, with philosophers like Arthur Schopenhauer and Friedrich Nietzsche and esoteric-minded scholars such as Helena Blavatsky. Europe has in recent times been increasingly receptive to Modern Buddhism as an alternative to traditional Buddhist precepts.
Major Buddhist temples in Europe
Western Europe
In 1982
The Four Dhagpo in France: Since its simple beginnings at Dhagpo Kagyu Ling in 1976, the mandala of the Karma Kagyu lineage in Europe has expanded in accordance with specific instructions left behind by the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa. Placing Gendun Rinpoche in charge and appointing Jigme Rinpoche as his European representative, Gyalwa Karmapa said it was necessary to build a center open to the public, a library, a university, a monastic hermitage and a retreat centre, if an authentic transmission and long term preservation of the Dharma were to take place. Since then Dhagpo Kagyu Ling, Dhagpo Kundreul Ling, Dhagpo Dargye Ling, Dhagpo Dedreul Ling have the role of preserving and transmitting the Buddha's teachings. Together they form a unified whole in which each centre complements the activity of the three others.
Eastern and Central Europe
The largest temple in eastern Europe is the Golden Temple in Elista, the capital of Kalmykia, which was opened in December 2005.[8] Kalmykia is the only Buddhist majority region in Europe. The highest stupa in the area is the 30-meter-high stupa in Zalaszántó, Hungary.[9]
Northern Europe
The first stupa of Northern Europe was built by Vello Vaartnou and Estonian Buddhist Brotherhood (also Estonian Nyingma) in 1983 in Estonia. In 1984-85 three more stupas were built, and in 2009, the 5th stupa in Estonia (10 m high) was built by Vaartnou and Estonian Nyingma Buddhists.[citation needed]
Southern Europe
In Spain, Buddhism began to become visible in the late 1970s, brought from other parts of Europe, especially France.[11] In 2007, the Government of Spain recognized Buddhism as notorio arraigo ("notorious rooted" religion), obtaining official consideration. The first schools in the country were Zen (thanks to Maestro Antonio Shoten Orellana, who founded the first center, Dojo Zen in Seville, 1976, Dokushô Villalba, Denkō Mesa, and other monks) and Kagyu (from Akong Rinpoche's visit to Barcelona in 1977, invited by Lama Tsondru Zangmo). Currently, the Buddhist schools with the most presence in Spain are Tibetan Buddhism in first place (64,20%), and Zen in second place (23,30%).[12] In 2013 were estimated 40,000 assiduous practitioners of Buddhism in Spain.[11]
Also in 1977 there was the first visit to
There are several centers in all the big cities of the country. In the mountains of the Aragonese Pyrenees is Dag Shang Kagyü (DSK), a monastery founded by Kalu Rinpoche in 1984. Sakya Tashi Ling is a monastery located near Barcelona, founded in 1977. In 1998 the Samye Dechi Ling monastery was founded in the province of Girona. The O Sel Ling monastery is located on the southern slope of Sierra Nevada, Granada. In all of them it is allowed to practice the long term retreats.[11]
The first stupa to be built in Spain was the O Sel Ling stupa in 1990. With 33 m (108 feet) high, in 2003 the
The International Center for Buddhist Studies
In Italy there's a vast representation of Buddhist traditions: most of them are registered with the Unione Buddista Italiana.
See also
References
- ^ "Buddhism in Europe". www.e-b-u.org. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.governo.it. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Egyházügyi Nyilvántartás". egyhaz.emmi.gov.hu. Archived from the original on 24 August 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- ^ Shirbon, Estelle Dalai Lama hosts Bruni-Sarkozy at temple in France, Reuters, 22 August 2008
- ^ "Europe Center – an international project of Diamond Way Buddhism".
- ^ "Nydahl endowment fund - Official pages".
- ^ "Nydahl endowment fund - Official pages".
- ^ Europe's biggest Buddhist temple opens in Kalmykia Retrieved 24 June 2007.
- ^ "The Peace stupa" (in Hungarian). Zalaszantosztupa. Archived from the original on 8 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ In the Scottish Lowlands, Europe's first Buddhist monastery turns 40 Retrieved 24 June 2007.
- ^ ISBN 978-84-460-3679-1.
- ^ a b Álvarez Alonso, Catalina (2013). "Mapa del budismo tibetano en Barcelona" (PDF). Retrieved 9 January 2021.
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(help) - ^ The International Center for Buddhist Studies in Spain
- ^ "Home". buddhismo.it.
- ^ "Home". merigar.it.
- ^ "Home". centerforcontemplativeresearch.org.
- ^ Il Cerchio
Bibliography
- Baumann, Martin (2001). Global Buddhism: Developmental Periods, Regional Histories, and a New Analytical Perspective, Journal of Global Buddhism 2, 1-43
- Johnson, Todd M.; Grim, Brian J. (2013). The World's Religions in Figures: An Introduction to International Religious Demography (PDF). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 34–36. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
- Offermanns, J. (2005). Debates on atheism, quietism, and sodomy: the initial reception of Buddhism in Europe. Journal of Global Buddhism 6, 16-35
- Koné, A. (2001). Zen in Europe: a survey of the territory. Journal of Global Buddhism 2, 139-161
External links
- Baumann, Martin (2001). Buddhism in Europe, Annotated Bibliography
- Pew Research Center (18 December 2012). Religious Composition by Country 2010
- Das Buddhistische Haus ( Berlin Buddhist Vihara) in Berlin - Frohnau, Germany