Buddhism, Buddhism History, God of Buddhism, Buddhism life

Posted on July 28, 2007 in Buddhism History

Buddhism’s origin in the West can be traced back to the initial encounters between the Hellenesic and Buddhist art which eventually led to the emergence of the Greco-Buddhist art in Gandhara. However, the effusion of information on Buddhism was sporadic until the translation of the “Jataka Tales” into Syriac and Arabic during the 8th century, and the translation of an account of the Buddha’s life (titled Barlaam and Josaphat) to Greek by John of Damascus. John’s work is said to have become very popular by the 14th century.

Encounters with Buddhism

Although the Europeans encounter with Buddhism dates back to as early as the 13th century when a Fransciscan Frair, William, was sent as an envoy to the court of Mongke (Mongol ruler of Cailac or Qayaliq in present day Kazakhstan) by the French king Louis, major interest in Buddhism in the West is believed to have emerged only during the colonial expansion of the European powers. With the Japanese finally opening up to the West in the 1850s, considerable interest was generated in the Buddhist tradition and philosophy among the nineteenth and the early twentieth century scholars and colonialists from the West.

Landmarks in Buddhism

A major landmark in Western Buddhism was the ordination of Gordon Douglas in 1899 as the first Buddhist monk from the West. T. W. Rhys Davies’ establishment of the Pali Text Society; Edward Arnold’s poem “The Light of Asia”, the translation of a Buddhist sutra from French into English by German and American philosophers Schopenhauer and Henry David Thoreau, German writer Hermann Hesse’s “Siddharatha”, and the foundation of the Buddhist Lodge (the Buddhist Society) in 1924 by Christmas Humphreys were the other important Buddhist markers in the West. These efforts are considered to be instrumental in introducing the teachings of the Buddha to the Western audience in a wider scale.

Popularity of Buddhism

Buddhism’s popularity in the West seems to have been further boosted after the Second World War. With the chaos simultaneously following the war, Buddhism is said to have provided insights into personal self-realizations, and answered material and spiritual issues.

In this regard, the induction of Buddhism in the UK and the USA are especially interesting. In America, Buddhism which was initially confined to a small number of Chinese communities comprising largely of manual laborers, began to generate immense with the rapid cultural changes taking place in the 1950's and 1960's. It promised a natural path to self-realization and enlightenment. Buddhism in the UK was pioneered by the Theosophists in the 1880’s.

Buddhism in the West is characterized the representation of the distinctive features of the mode of transmission from one country to the other. While the influences of Zen and Tibetan Buddhism stands out prominently in America, Theravadin form of Buddhism commands huge followings in the UK.

Interestingly, Buddhism’s adaptability to the Western cultures without losing its central tenets, has contributed its popularity in the West. With the foundation of the Friends of Western Buddhism Order (1976) by a British monk, Sangharakshita (Dennis Lockwood), Buddhism has significantly established itself in the West.

Buddhism in the West

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