Buddhism in the United Kingdom

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Buddhism in the United Kingdom has a small but growing number of adherents which, according to a Buddhist organisation, is mainly a result of conversion.[1][2] In the UK census for 2011, there were about 247,743 people who registered their religion as Buddhism, and about 174,000 who cited religions other than Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Jainism and Sikhism.[3][4] This latter figure is likely to include some people who follow the traditional Chinese folk religion which also includes some elements of Buddhism.

Statistics

At the 2011 Census, 178,453 people in England and Wales ticked the Buddhist box. Of these, the main places of birth were UK 66,522, Far East 59,931 and South Asia 9,847,[5] and the main ethnic groups were White 59,040, Chinese 34,354, Asian 13,919, Mixed 4,647, Black 1,507 and Other 34,036.[6] In Scotland, people were asked both their current religion and the one that they were brought up in. 6,830 people gave Buddhism as their current religion, and 4,704 said they were brought up in it, with an overlap of 3,146.[7] In Northern Ireland, the published report[8] which listed religions and philosophies in order of size reported 'Buddhist' at 533. For details of Buddhism in the individual countries of the United Kingdom, see:

According to the 2021 United Kingdom census, Buddhists in England & Wales enumerated 272,508, or 0.5% of the population.[9]

History

Relationship with the Buddhist World

Although the practice of Buddhism in the United Kingdom started in the 19th century, the UK have had relations with Buddhist countries for more than a millennia. Britain may have had relations through the rule of the Romans, though most of these were directly from Rome. The religion of Manichaeism, a former major religion which had Buddhist influences, was said to have spread throughout the empire as far as Britannia.[10] There wasn't much contact between the Buddhist world and Britain until the early modern age. Archaeological evidence found in Sutton Hoo suggested that Britain was part of an international culture and the garnets discovered, with dated back to the

Ceylon.[13][14][15] William Adams
was the first Englishman to reach Japan in 1600, at that time the country was also Buddhist.

History of Buddhism in the UK

Buddhism in the United Kingdom goes at least as far back as the 1810s. Adam Sri Munni Ratna, a Buddhist monk from Ceylon (Sri Lanka), travelled to England with his cousin (also a Buddhist monk) while accompanying

Sir Alexander Johnston in 1818. They were keen to learn Christianity as they were travelling to England. During their brief stay, the two monks were baptised and returned to Ceylon where they entered government service.[16]

As Buddhism expanded in the United Kingdom, several umbrella organisations have formed, such as

The Network of Buddhist Organisations
was established in 1993.

Theravada

See also: Theravada

In Britain, the earliest Buddhist influences came from the

Three refuges and Five precepts
, the formal conversion ceremony by which one traditionally accepted and becomes a Buddhist.

better source needed] There were also Chinese seamen who settled in the United Kingdom, establishing Chinatowns in Liverpool and London
.

The

Buddhist Society, London (originally known as the Buddhist Lodge) was founded in 1924 by Christmas Humphreys, another Theosophist who converted to Buddhism.[18] In 1925, the Sri Lankan Buddhist missionary Anagarika Dharmapala brought to England the Maha Bodhi Society,[19] which he had founded with the collaboration of the British journalist and poet Edwin Arnold.[20]

A slow trickle from United Kingdom travelled to Asia for deeper spiritual commitment via monastic ordination, mainly as Theravadin monks, like

Sāmaṇera ordination in 1949. Kapilavaddho Bhikkhu introduced the Dhammakaya tradition to the UK in 1954 in this way and founded the English Sangha Trust in 1955. Theosophical and Theravadin
influences continued throughout the early twentieth century.

A Theravada monastic order following the

Ajahn Jayasaro were ordained into this monastic order, become serious practitioners and dedicated Dhamma teachers. Ajahn Khemadhammo also began Buddhist prison chaplaincy work in 1977 and established "Angulimala, the Buddhist Prison Chaplaincy" in 1985.[21] A lay meditation tradition of Thai origin is represented by the Samatha Trust
, with its headquarters retreat centre in Wales.

Mahayana

See also: Mahayana

Thich Nhat Hanh (who currently resides in Plum Village, France), had about 90 sanghas meeting across the UK as of 2012.[22]
The Order of Interbeing (Tiep Hien) was founded within the Linji School of Dhyana Buddhism (Zen (Rinzai)).

There is a small

Shin Buddhism. The Amida Trust and Amida Order was founded in April 1996 by Buddhist psychotherapist David Brazier,[25] and in 2020 the Bright Earth Buddhist Temple in Malvern separated from the Amida Order and re-formed as an independent Pure Land Buddhist temple.[26][27]

Vajrayana

See also: Vajrayana

In 1966,

Buddhist nun in Bhutan.[29]

16th Karmapa assured Akong Rinpoche about the longer-term future of Buddhism in the West and at Samye Ling.[30] It is from this encounter that the Samye Project[31] was born. Samyé Ling now has established centres in more than 20 countries, including Belgium, Ireland, Poland, South Africa, Spain and Switzerland.[32]

Lama Shenpen Hookham, originally from Essex, travelled to India in the late 1960s on the instruction of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, became one of a group of early Western women to take ordination as a nun in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. She was taught by, and became a translator to many of Tibetan Buddhist masters, as was asked by 16th Karmapa to return to the West to teach. She was authorised to teach Mahamudra by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, who also encouraged her to return her monastic vows in order to teach Westerners. Lama Shenpen went on to establish the Awakened Heart Sangha and devised a unique, experiential training programme called Living the Awakened Heart, which presents the undiluted essence of Dzogchen and Mahamudra teachings and traditions, tailored especially for a Western audience. Lama Shenpen wrote about her time in India with her teachers and her path to becoming a lama in her autobiography Keeping the Dalai Lama Waiting & Other Stories - An English Woman's Journey to Becoming a Buddhist Lama, which has had many recommendations from other esteemed teachers, including Khandro Rinpoche.

Jamyang Buddhist Centre (JBC) in London is affiliated to the

Gelugpa Tibetan Buddhist centres. There is also a branch centre in Leeds and affiliated groups around across England. The resident teacher is Geshe Tashi Tsering.[33]

The

Sakya and Karma Kagyu traditions, founded by Lama Jampa Thaye and under the spiritual authority of Karma Thinley Rinpoche. 'Diamond Way Buddhism' is a network of lay Buddhist centres in the Karma Kagyu tradition, founded by Lama Ole Nydahl and under the spiritual authority of the Trinley Thaye Dorje
.

New Religious Movements

See also: Category:Buddhist new religious movements

Triratna Buddhist Community (Previously known as Friends of the Western Buddhist Order), founded by the British teacher and writer Sangharakshita (Dennis Lingwood) in 1967,[35] which has been associated with many allegations of abuse.[36] The New Kadampa Tradition was founded by the Tibetan monk (formerly a Gelugpa) Kelsang Gyatso in 1991 when it took over the Manjushri Institute (Conishead Priory);[35] its practices have sparked much controversy, including official rebukes by the Dalai Lama.[37] There is also a UK section of the Soka Gakkai International, a worldwide organization which promotes a disputed, modernized version of the ancient Japanese Nichiren school of Mahayana Buddhism.[38]

Secular Buddhism and Mindfulness

See also: Secular Buddhism and Mindfulness

Interest in

Indian religious beliefs in rebirth and karma), has developed from the writings of the British author and teacher Stephen Batchelor.[39][40]

Vidyamala Burch and her organization Breathworks have helped to popularize mindfulness-based pain management (MBPM), a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) providing applications for people suffering from chronic pain and illness.[41][42]

The British Association of Mindfulness-Based Approaches (BAMBA) is a network of 25 mindfulness teacher-training organizations that aims to support and develop good practice and integrity in the delivery of mindfulness-based approaches in the UK.[43]

See also

References

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  2. ^ "Buddhist Channel - Seed of Buddhism now growing in UK". Archived from the original on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2008.
  3. ^ "Home - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 12 March 2007.
  4. ^ "Buddhism and Ethnicity in Britain: The 2001 Census Data". Archived from the original on 17 July 2007. Retrieved 3 April 2008.
  5. ^ Census 2011: National Report for England and Wales, Office for National Statistics, London, TSO, 2003, page 184
  6. ^ Census 2011: National Report for England and Wales, part 2, Office for National Statistics, London, TSO, 2004, page 33
  7. ^ Scotland's Census 2001: the Registrar-General's Report to the Scottish Parliament, General Register Office for Scotland, 2003, page 31
  8. ^ Northern Ireland Census 2001: Standard Tables, National Statistics, 2003, page 43
  9. ^ "Religion, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  10. ^ "Manichaeism | Definition, Beliefs, History, & Facts | Britannica". Archived from the original on 8 May 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  11. ^ "Anglo-Saxons at Sutton Hoo | Suffolk | National Trust". Archived from the original on 2 January 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
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  13. ^ "Britain's Relationship with Thailand". Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  14. ^ "Ralph Fitch | biography - British explorer | Encyclopedia Britannica". Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  15. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. ^ "Adam Munni Ratna, a Buddhist monk in England in 1818". Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  17. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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  19. ISBN 978-0-19-515241-8. Archived
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  20. ISBN 978-0-226-05509-1. Archived
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  22. ^ Community of Interbeing > Groups Archived 2010-11-16 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 14 April 2012.
  23. ^ "2013 Foreign Minister's Commendation - Reverend Professor Kemmyo Taira Sato and Mr Keisaku Sano". Embassy of Japan in the UK. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  24. ^ "About Us – Three Wheels". 31 December 2023. Archived from the original on 31 December 2023.
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  26. ^ Barnett, Christian; Brinkworth, Alison (17 August 2021). "Buddhist temple colour row in beauty spot". Birmingham Live.
  27. ^ "History of the temple – Bright Earth". 25 September 2023. Archived from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  28. ^ "Nonfiction Book Review: The Revolutionary Life of Freda Bedi: British Feminist, Indian Nationalist, Buddhist Nun by Vicki Mackenzie. Shambhala, $16.95 trade paper (208p) ISBN 978-1-61180-425-6". Publishersweekly.com. 28 March 2017. Archived from the original on 16 October 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  29. ^ "Connecting People Through News". Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2017 – via PressReader.
  30. ^ Holmes,Ken, “Karmapa Urgyen Trinley Dorje” page 30
  31. ^ ”Akong Rinpoché Establishing Buddha-Dharma: The Samye Project, http://www.akong.eu/dharma_8.htm Archived 2021-04-17 at the Wayback Machine
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  33. ^ "Jamyang Buddhist Centre". Archived from the original on 22 October 2000. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
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  36. ^ Doward, Jamie (21 July 2019). "Buddhist, teacher, predator: dark secrets of the Triratna guru". The Observer. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019.
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  41. ^ Tracey, Emma (6 January 2015). "Managing pain with the power of the mind". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
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  43. ^ "Promoting and maintaining standards in mindfulness-based teaching and training: BAMBA". Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.

Bibliography

External links
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