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Contemporary Buddhism in . . . California In this presentation I will focus on the rise of Buddhism in California and most specifically San Francisco. The first Buddhists arrived as Chinese immigrants moving to California during the gold rush in 1850, establishing the first Buddhist temple in San Francisco’s Chinatown in 1853. By 1875 there were eight Buddhist temples in San Francisco’s Chinatown and hundreds on the West Coast by 1900. Chinese Buddhism was on the rise in the West. Chinese Mahayana and Zen Buddhism was the most prominently practiced Buddhism in the early development period in the West. From 1900-1950 Chinese and Japanese Buddhism continued to develop. It wasn’t until after the 1950’s that Tibetan Buddhism began to spread into California. Although its arrival was much later than that of the Chinese and Japanese Buddhism Tibetan Monasteries and centers started to pop up across the states in the 1970’s with influential teachers popularizing the Dharma. Such teachers who made Tibetan Buddhism known in the West were the Dalai Lama, Chögyam Trungpa, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche to name some of them. Present day there are no less than 40 Tibetan Buddhist centers in California with more Tibetan teachers traveling to the West continuing to develop and spread the Dharma. The Zen movement: There are two Zen practitioners with substantial influence on the spread of Zen Buddhism to the West, Thich Nhat Hanh and Shunryu Suzuki. Shunryu Suzuki is known for his establishing the Zen center in San Francisco in 1962 as one of the largest Buddhist sanghas outside Asia. He also wrote one of the most popular books in Zen Buddhism, “Zen Mind, Beginners Mind”. Thich Nhat Hanh could also be accredited as one of the most widely known Zen Buddhists with books reaching notable popularity but in San Francisco specifically Suzuki’s has a strong presence in the establishment of Zen Buddhism. In conclusion Buddhism came to California in the 1850’s and developed at a moderate rate over the next century. After Tibetan Buddhism arrived in the U.S. Buddhism in general gained more of a voice. Present day the majority of Buddhism practiced in California and San Francisco is Tibetan Buddhism and Zen. References: 1. Timeline for Development of Buddhism in the United States: http://www.people.vcu.edu/~dbromley/undergraduate/spiritualCommunity/Buddhi smInAmericaTimeline.html 2. http://tenzinkhandro.com/50-states.html 1 Brazil The Buddhism arrived to Brazil by Japanese immigrants, at the beginning of the 20th century. In the 1970s, many Brazilians traveled to East in spiritual search. As result, a strong connection with Theravada and Tibetan Buddhism was established. Many Buddhist masters were invited to go to Brazil and some of them set up centers and communities. Among the kinds of Buddhism practiced in Brazil today there are: Tibetan Buddhist; Theravada; Zen Buddhism; Pure Land Buddhism; Nichiren and Chan. An important developmental trend of Buddhism in Brazil is the engagement in social, educational and environmental issues. There are many centers organized as lay communities, where the practitioners have their houses and live together with their families, holding Buddhist schools for children. These centers have intense involvement with and offer support to the surrounding poor communities, local prisons and places for juvenile offenders, including, support in process of restorative justice. Thus, I argue that these characteristics demonstrates that the Buddhism in Brazil is following to the direction of what is called “engaged Buddhism”1, as example of the practitioners of the Zen Peacemarkers and the master Thich Nhat Hanh2. Canada During the late 1800's the first Buddhists arrived in Canada. They were Japanese and Chinese workers who came to work on the railroads. In Vancouver of 1905 the Japanese Jodo Shinshu school established the first Buddhist temple in Canada. The Jodo Shinshu school eventually established temples and dojos in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec and became the largest Buddhist organization in Canada. During WWII anyone of Japanese ancestry was removed from BC to southern Alberta. Because Japanese Buddhism was the strongest Buddhist force in Canada at the time, this nearly eradicated all institutionalized Buddhism. After Japanese freedom was restored in 1949 and the Jodo Shinshu school was revived, Alberta became the academic birthplace for the study of Buddhism in all of North America. This then made Alberta significantly important in the role of Buddhism settling in North America.3 In 1978 the first Theravadin temple was established in Canada, the Toronto Mahavihara. According to Census Canada there was an 84% increase in self-identifying Buddhists between 1991 and 2001. In the 2001 Census it was calculated that approximately 1% of Canadians are Buddhist, 300,345 people.4 King, Sallie B., Socially Engaged Buddhism, University of Hawaii Press, 2009. Nhat Hanh. Interbeing: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism, Parallax Press, Berkeley, California, Revised edition 1993. 1 2Thich 3The Canadian Encyclopedia, http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/buddhism/ 4Statistics Canada, http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sumsom/l01/cst01/demo30a-eng.htm 2 During the 1970's and 1980's, following a decrease in exclusionary immigration policies which lead to the increase of immigration possibilities for Asians: Chinese; Japanese; Thai; Viatnamese; Bhurmese; Sri Lankan; and Korean temples were established throughout Canada. Concerning the connection of these growing Asian Buddhist communities and non-ethnic Canadians, a quote from the Canadian Encyclopedia states, "Some of these temples have attracted non- ethnic members but often the ethnic/cultural component acts as a barrier to expansion into greater Canadian society."5 The first Tibetan Lama to arrive in Canada was Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1970. Trungpa Rinpoche played a significant role in the transmission of Tibetan Buddhism not only to Canada but to North-America as a whole. He established Shambhala International which has many meditation centers throughout Canada, its headquarters are in Halifax. Canada was the second country after Switzerland to welcome settlements of Tibetan Refugees after China's invasion of Tibet in 1959. Regarding His Holiness the Dalai Lama the Canadian Encyclopedia says, "One of the most important symbols of the acceptance of Buddhism in Canada was the unanimous vote by Parliament to make His Holiness the Dalai Lama an honorary Canadian citizen in 2006, one of only 4 people to be honoured in this way"6 China I Buddhism was first introduced into China around the beginning of the Common Era and reached its peak during the Tang dynasty. After the high point, Chinese Buddhism experienced a decline. Since the twentieth century, the Buddhist community has tried to revive Chinese Buddhism through both conservative and radical approaches. There was the trend of Buddhist Modernism. Among all the reformers, Taixu is one of the most influential ones. He promoted Humanistic Buddhism (renjian fojiao), which remains influential today, especially in Taiwan. Humanistic Buddhism calls to bring Buddhist practice into everyday life in modern times. But under the new regime of the Chinese Communist government, due to the ideology of Marxist materialism, which discourages the public from religious belief and practice, Buddhism and all types of religions experienced gradual suppression and eventual destruction in the Cultural Revolution. In the late 1970s, however, the more open and relaxed political situation created conditions for the return of religious activities. The following decades have witnessed the revival of Chinese Buddhism with the rebuilding of monasteries, the reestablishing of the monastic order, the publication of Buddhist teachings and the increasing presence of Buddhism in the media. Presently, both Tibetan Buddhism and Chinese Buddhism are practiced in China, and there is a growing interest in Tibetan Buddhism among all segments of China, especially in the Sichuan and Qinghai Provinces, two of which are close to Tibet. Meanwhile, the Buddhism revival happens mainly among young people in urban areas, like Beijing and Shanghai, possibly due to the anxiety caused by the modern life. 5The Canadian Encyclopedia, http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/buddhism/ 6http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/buddhism/ 3 Bibliography Poceskil, Mario. “Contemporary Chinese Buddhist Traditions.” In The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism edited by Michael K. Jerryson. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016. China II Firstly I have to say, the title of this topic is too broad, because the characteristics of China after culture revolution are too complex, historically speaking, geographically, and also there is the isolated tendency of the Chinese sangha and a lack of a reliable record. Therefore, I would like to talk about this topic according to my own experience. The most prevalent sects within Chinese Buddhism are basically eight in number and are all Mahayana (The Mahayana Great Eight Sects大乘八宗). Historically, they were the most important. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, Buddhism started to become more influential within Chinese culture. The main sects were formed during this time period, from the 6th to the 10th centuries. But in contemporary times, especially after the devastating destruction during the time of cultural revolution, they are not as prevalent as before. At the same time, now in China, the materialist philosophy has soaked into the entire modern social fabric. Sometimes Buddhism is even regarded as a superstitious tradition. Also, due to the isolated tendency of the Chinese sangha, there is a vast distance between sangha and normal people. For example, if we see a monk on the street, we will feel really weird and sometime even gossip :”oh my! There is a monk on the street!” But the good thing is, now there are some monasteries starting to promote the Dharma by using modern techniques, for example, the internet. It works efficiently and indeed draws lots of people, even lots of young people. The two most influential monasteries these days are the Long Quan temple in Beijing, and Larung Gar in Serta, Sichuan. Long Quan temple uses various ways to spread the dharma, such as teaching through internet, publishing cute comics (to show people not only the dharma but also the daily life in a monastery, in the perspective of a baby monk, whose name is Xianer) and they even created the baby monk’s AI robot you can visit at the monastery. It is said that lots of the monks in this monastery are actually former students from the top two universities of China, Tsinghua and Peking university. The Chinese people even call this monastery "the religious backyard garden of Tsinghua and Peking university." It is exactly like a monastery full of monks who were students of Harvard and Yale. Another monastery is Larung gar. It’s a famous Nyingma monastery. They have built precise and complete systems for not only study but also practice through the internet, which the monastery uses to promote the dharma and help a vast amount of people from all around China. Including me. After listening to one of their online courses about the Mahāyāna-sūtrālamkāra kārikā, "The Adornment of Mahayana sutras"), I decided to become a Buddhist. The monastery even leads people to finish the preliminary practice of Longchen Nyingtik by internet, which is really amazing. The interesting thing is, last year the main khenpo there, Khenpo Sodargay, has started to teach the lotus sutra online. This Tibetan Buddhist lama emphasized that the eight sects of Chinese Buddhism need to be revived. Then this triggered lots of debates among the Chinese sangha, mainly due to the translation of the Lotus sutra that khenpo used. Because of this debate, lots of lamas or monks from Tiantai tradition, 4 which focuses on this sutra, became well known. This was first time for me to know that, the lineage of Tiantai is still alive in China! There are still Tiantai practitioners! It was quite surprise and amazing. In conclusion, more and more Chinese people are searching for a spiritual path, and so more and more poeple are finding the value of Buddhism. Based on this, the monasteries are promoting the Dharma considering the preferences of modern people. It’s good to see that Tibetan Buddhism is becoming influential in China because they provide a precise and clear path for lay practitioners. Sometimes Chinese Buddhist sects don’t pay enough attention to lay practitioners. The communication of the Chinese and Tibetan sanghas is very good because its helping the Dharma spread once again in China. Germany The first encounters of the German intellectuals and artists with Buddhism in the early 1800s happened through the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. The first Buddhist organization, called „Der Buddhistische Missionsverein in Deutschland“, was founded in 1903 by Dr. Karl Seidenstücker. At this time, Buddhism in Germany was a religion of the wealthy und educated people, and it was mainly looked at in a philosophical academic way. After the first world war, people started to put a higher emphasis on actually practicing the contents of Buddhism. During the second world war, the flourishing of Buddhism paused. However, Buddhists were not persecuted (except for jews that converted to Buddhism). During the first half of the 20th century, the pali tradition was the main vehicle of Buddhism in Germany. With the beginning of the second half, Mahayana Buddhism (mainly in the form of Zen) and Vajrayana Buddhism (Tibetan Buddhism) appeared in Germany. However, the Zen tradition was far more popular at this time - in 1975, half of the Buddhist groups in Germany belonged to the Zen tradition. In the 1960s, the focus within Buddhism shifted again towards meditation practices. In the 1980s, there was a „boom“ of Tibetan Buddhism (Baumann: 1998). Today, there are estimately 250,000 Buddhists in Germany, 120,000 of Asian origin and 130,000 of German origin (Deutsche Buddhistische Union e.V.: 2017). There is no information to be found about the percentage of certain Buddhist schools, since Buddhists in Germany are not officially registered anywhere. However, it can be said that Buddhism in Germany has many facets, and the interest in Buddhism is constantly growing among Germans. Bibliography Baumann, Dr. Martin, “Buddhismus in Deutschland. Gegenwart.” Tibet und Buddhismus 47 (1998): 22-28. Geschichte und Deutsche Buddhistische Union e.V. “Basic information in English.“ Accessed March 20, 2017. www.buddhismus-deutschland.de/basic-information-in-english/ 5 Indonesia Buddhism is one of the recognized religions in Indonesia.7 Buddhism in contemporary Indonesia is mainly followed by Chinese and some indigenous groups of Indonesia.8 Currently, there are various Buddhist schools in Indonesia, which are imported from Thai and Myanmar Theravāda, Chinese Māhayāna, and Tibetan Vajrayāna. In this presentation, I focus on Buddhayāna – the oldest Buddhist organization and a development trend in contemporary period. Buddhayāna was established by Ashin Jinarakkhita (1923-2002) – the first Indonesian monk.9 In 1953, he was ordained as a novice by Master Benqing – a Chinese Mahayana monk.10 And in 1954, he received his full ordination by Mahāsi Sayādaw – a Myanmar Theravada monk.11 In 1955, he formed the first Indonesian Buddhist lay organization, the Indonesian Buddhayāna Council (MBI).12 In 1960, he established the Mahā Saṅgha Indonesia (SAGIN), a community of Indonesian monastics from Theravada, Dharmaguptaka, and Mūlasarvāstivāda lineages.13 These two organizations of Buddhayāna promote inclusive Buddhism – accepting Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayāna teachings and practices.14 One of these practices is the syncretic chanting of Theravāda Paritta and Mahayana Dharāni.15 Moreover, Buddhayāna recognizes Sanghyang Ādibuddha – a concept of Divinity, God, legally accepted in contemporary Indonesian Buddhism.16Although Ashin Jinarakkhita has long passed away, his ideal of Buddhayana still survive in monasteries across Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Bali, Lombok, and Papua islands.17 Oregon Buddhism in Oregon generally follows along two different yet coexisting trends; Buddhism as presented traditionally through direct lineage contacts and Buddhism as reinterpreted through the lens of modern western society. Within the town of Ashland Oregon, for example, there are at least 3 traditional Buddhist temples, with small communities of practitioners situated around each. However, the town is also filled with Buddhist paraphernalia that may or may not have anything to do with traditional Buddhist practices. Such include, prayer flags, statues of Kwan Yin, Kalachakra images and Dalai Lama slogans. Traditional Buddhism in Oregon has generally arrived through the guises of Tibetan and Zen Buddhism, although there are also minor communities of Theravada and other sects as well. Tibetan Buddhism first started to truly establish a grip over the region at the hands of teachers such as Chagdud Tulku, Heinz Bechert, “The Buddhayāna of Indonesia: A Syncretic Form of Theravāda.” Journal of the Pali Text Society Volume IX (1981), 11 8 Ibid. 9 Bunki Kimura, “Present Situation of Indonesian Buddhism: In Memory of Bhikkhu Ashin Jinarakkhita Mahasthavira.” Nagoya studies in Indian culture and Buddhism - Saṃbhāṣā No. 23, 53-54 10 Ibid., 56 7 Ibid. Ibid., 57 13 Ibid., 58 14 Ibid., 59 15 Heinz, “The Buddhayāna,”15-17 16 Ibid., 14 17 Bunki, “Present Situation,” 71 11 12 6 Gyaltrul Rinpoche and Kalu Rinpoche. These teachers have helped in the construction of many important traditional temples throughout the region including Tashi Choling and Kagyu Sukha Choling in Southern Oregon. At the same time, Buddhism has also developed in a non-traditional and non institutionalized way as well. This alternative form involves the use of Buddhist notions such as mindfulness and meditation as well as praying to certain deities as an isolated religious form from general Buddhism. However, whether this can be counted as Buddhist or not is up to question. In conclusion, Buddhism in Oregon is very multifaceted with both traditional and modern adaptations. Netherlands The introduction of Buddhism in the Netherlands began in the 19th century with professor Hendrik Kern, who seated the chair of Sanskrit at the University of Leiden. He translated several texts, and wrote a Manual of Buddhism, and an important work called History of Buddhism in India. 18 In 1978 the BUN (Boeddhistische Unie van Nederland) came into being, which was meant to coordinate and bring together all separate Buddhist organizations. Through this agency emanated the ‘Boeddhistische Omroep’, a radio broadcasting that is active until this very day. After World War II, a Dutch Theosophical organization arose. This organization was initially called ‘Nederlandse Boeddhistische Vriendenkring’, but later changed it’s name to ‘Buddhist Society in the Netherlands’. Their aim was studying the principle Buddhist ideas and to encourage practitioners to actively apply these teachings. In Holland one can find several expressions of the teachings, such as Tibetan Buddhism, Zen, and Theravada. The largest Dutch Buddhist center is situated in Amsterdam and has it’s roots in Tibetan Buddhism. The founder, Han de Wit, is an authorized pupil of the Kargu lama Chogyarn Trungpa. References: http://www.jstor.org.proxy3.library.mcgill.ca/stable/pdf/25209372.pdf http://www.buddhachannel.tv/portail/spip.php?article3746 Portugal Buddhism first become apparent in Portugal in the 1970's. According to António Teixeira, the first Buddhist teacher who taught in Portugal was the Zen Soto master Taisen Deshimaru in 1971.19 He would teach again in 1972. In 1976, a Belgian man named Lama Kunzang Dorje was invited to go to Portugal to teach Buddhism. He was a disciple of the famous Nyingma master Kangyur Rinpoche, one of the first Tibetan lamas who went to Europe. In 1979, students of Lama Kunzang founded two Buddhist centers, one in Lisbon and another one in Porto, the two biggest cities in Portugal. For almost two decades, in the http://www.jstor.org.proxy3.library.mcgill.ca/stable/pdf/25209372.pdf António Teixeira, REVISTA LUSÓFONA DE CIÊNCIA DAS RELIGIÕES – Ano VI, 2007 / n. 11 – 225-244 18 19 7 80's and most of the 90's the Nyingma school was the only expression of Tibetan Buddhism in Portugal. As stated by Teixeira, in 1989 Geshe Lobsang Tsultrim, became the first Tibetan lama who taught in Portugal.20 In addition to Tibetan Buddhism, Japanese Zen and Chinese Chan were other traditions of Buddhism that began to have an impact in Portugal on the second half of the 90s. In 1997 the Portuguese Buddhist Union formed. Its goal is to represent all the different Buddhist traditions and groups and to promote Buddhism in Portugal. In 2001 His Holiness the Dalai Lama came to Portugal for the first time. His visit was a great success and attracted thousands of people. After his visit it was noticed a general increase of people interested in Buddhism in Portugal. He would return in 2007 and again it would be a great success. Nowadays it is estimated that there are fifteen thousand Buddhists and twenty five monks and nuns in Portugal. Today there are Buddhist centers all over the country. However, the main settings are Lisbon where are four temples and a monastery, Porto and Algarve where are three temples and a stupa.21 Theravada and Vietnamese Buddhism are also present in Portugal. Among all the Buddhist traditions it seems that currently Tibetan Buddhism is the one with greatest increase. Scandinavia Denmark The first Buddhist immigrants arrived in Denmark about 40 years ago. Since the number has increased rapidly. In 1992 there were only one Buddhist Centre. Now there are about 20.000 – 25.000 registered Buddhist in Denmark (religion.dk, 2013). 80% are immigrants from Asian countries. There are 11 Buddhist communities in the country with a total of 7200 members (religion.dk, 2013). Besides that there are about 40 Buddhist groups and around 20 Buddhist Temples spread over the country. Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana are represented in DK. Thais, Burmese and people from Sri Lanka represent the Theravada tradition. They have two temples in the capital, Copenhagen with 4700 member connected and one in Juelsminde in Jylland, where they have about 700 members (religion.dk, 2013). The biggest Buddhist group in Denmark is the Mahayana, which is most widely represented by the Vietnamese (religion.dk, 2013) There are very few Tibetan immigrants in Denmark, but the tradition is widely spread throughout the country with four registered spiritual communities and numerous centres and temples. It has to be said that it is very problematic to measure Buddhism in a land such as Denmark because it is only when the centre or the spiritual community choose to be registered or applies for public recognition that it is possible to put it in numbers. That taken into consideration there are probably a significant number among the population who would call themselves Buddhist. Norway 20 21 Ibid. www.uniaobudista.pt 8 There are about 14 Buddhist organisations and the biggest organisation, buddhistforbundet, which is also an umbrella organisation for all Buddhist organisations in Norway, has about 14.176 members (buddhistforbundet.no, 2015). Likewise, the majority of Buddhist in Norway are mostly immigrants from Asian countries. They make about 38000 in total divided among people from Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, China and so forth. There are no numbers on Buddhist with ethical Norwegian background, but Buddhistforbundet approximates that there probably are around 2000 or more. That means that are about 40.000 Buddhist in Norway, which make out about 0.8 % of the total population (buddhistforbundet.no) Sweden Buddhism has been practised in Sweden since approximately the 1970’s. That was also around the same time that Sweden had it first woman to become an ordained nun, Sister Amita Nisatta (Ingrid Wagner). In 2009 the number of Buddhist organisations were about 40 and in 2012 there number had amplified to about 70 Buddhist groups. In 2011 there number of Buddhist in Sweden was measured to be around 45000, which is about 0.5% of the total population. However, that makes Buddhism the third biggest religion in Sweden right after Christianity and Islam. Just as in the rest of Scandinavia the chief Buddhist group consist of people from Vietnam, Sri Lanka, China etc. (Fredricsson, 2016). Bibliography https://www.religion.dk/viden/buddhistiske-trossamfund-i-danmark http://buddhistforbundet.no/article/show/27/Buddhister-i-Norge http://www.sst.a.se/download/18.6e8d553514f5d72fdf7286f5/1440485848904/Uppva knandets+v%C3%A4gar_komplett.pdf Scandinavia Buddhism has existed in Scandinavia since the 19th century. Intellectuals, writers and scholars were some of the first to adhere to the Buddhist faith in the wake of the spread of eastern religions to the west during this period. - - In the 6th century a Buddhist statue was found outside of Stockholm and in the 19th century Kata Dalström, working class writer and agitator was among the first to openly define oneself as buddhist. During the middle 20th century, some Swedes got ordained in thailand or vietnam and brought the tradition with them to sweden, often adapting it to Western cultural values, downplaying the more “religious” aspects of the faith. In Sweden there is Theravada, Zen and Tibetan buddhism, and many organisations are members of the umbrella organisation “Swedish Buddhist Cooperation Council”. The majority of buddhists in sweden belong to theravada, a result of thai and vietnamese immigration to sweden. Buddhism has been in Norway since the 70s with arrival of immigrants and refugees from Vietnam and Thailand. The majority of Buddhists in Norway today are ethnic asians. 9 - In Denmark the first buddhist society was founded in 1921 and the number of buddhists have been growing ever since, as in sweden and Norway, the biggest buddhism is Thai. A common trend in Buddhism in Scandinavia is that the vast majority of practicing buddhists are ethnic asians who have come to scandinavia as immigrants, refugees or in a very classically scandinavian case; as wives of swedish,danish or norwegian men. In Sweden for example, the number of thai women is three times the size of the thai male population. Even though the number of Buddhists in Scandinavia is very small, there is still some public events and activities ; Losar is celebrated by both converts and Tibetans at the Ethnographic Museum in Stockholm, the Dalai Lama has visited Scandinavian countries a number of times and some Rinpoche´s go to Scandinavia frequently to give teachings,especially at Rangjung Yeshe Gomde, Denmark. In Stockholm there is also the House of Tibet, dedicated to help the Tibetans through construction of schools and hospitals in Tibet. Singapore Buddhism in Singapore originated with the mass arrival of Chinese immigrants in the nineteenth century (Hue 2013, 103). Early temples were syncretic Chinese institutions which incorporated the three Chinese religions of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism (Wee 1976). Through the efforts of modernist Sangha (Ong 2005, 36–42), exclusively Buddhist temples began to proliferate in the early twentieth century. Today, almost all extant Buddhist schools are represented and distributed widely in the city-state. The Chinese Mahāyāna tradition has the largest number of temples22 and the Chinese comprises 97.7% of Buddhists.23 The most prominent Buddhist organization is the Singapore Buddhist Federation (established in 1949) which often functions as a spokesperson for the Buddhist community but does not have jurisdiction over individual Buddhist centers. Faced with intense competition from proselytizing Christian movements and dwindling membership in the 1960s–80s (Tong 2007, 192), numerous Buddhist institutions revamped themselves through emphasizing lay doctrinal education, social welfare and institutional reforms (Kuah-Pearce 2009, 239). Correspondingly, Buddhists in Singapore nowadays not only partake in religious activities but are also involved with mainstream schools, youth organizations, arts and cultural centers, welfare charities, and humanitarian aid. Scholars have recently studied this new trend of Buddhism which they termed “Reformist Buddhism.” United States • When did Buddhism first become apparent in the country? Buddhism first became apparent in the United States in the 19th century as immigration grew from Asian countries. While Buddhism was first subject to discrimination and kept to local ethnic groups, it later found the opportunity to publicly display its belief system at the World’s Parliament of Religions. In 1893 In 22 There are no official statistics on the number of Buddhist centers in Singapore but Huang and Zhang (2005, 169-170, quoted in Bai 2008, 354) estimate that there are 150 Chinese Buddhist temples, more than 20 Theravāda temples, more than 10 lay organizations, and about 400 ordained persons. 23 Census of Population 2010, 156, Table 59. 10 Chicago the convention held the first formal discussion of Buddhism on American Soil. Following the event, Charles Strauss, a prominent American businessman became the first convert.24 Due to immigrant relocation patterns and the cultural conservatism of the region, the Midwest has lagged behind the West Coast in the numbers of Buddhist sympathizers, adherents and institutions. However, following the convention the Maha Bodhi Society opened in Chicago in the years following and D.T. Suzuki relocated to the Midwest to help translate for Buddhist publications after the recommendation from his master Soyen Shaku.25 • What kind of Buddhism is practised in the country and where? Buddhism in the Midwest focuses primarily on the Zen and Tibetan traditions26, although there are over 150 meditation centers27 of different doctrines throughout the region. With the Midwest’s agricultural landscape, Buddhism has tended to flourish mostly in the metropolitan cities. Some of the leading universities found in the Midwest also offer studies in Buddhism such as the University of Chicago, the University of Wisconsin, the Northwestern University and the University of Michigan. In addition, there are many local and international associations that have presence in the Midwest including the Buddhist Association of Southwest Michigan, the Buddhist Council of the Midwest and international associations such as the Council of Thai Bikkhus and the Association of Soto Zen Buddhists. • What are some of the developmental trends in the country? Buddhism continues to grow in the United States and in the Midwest with over 2 million adherents across the country. Since the rapid growth of Buddhism in the late 20th century during the psychedelic fuelled counterculture movement, Buddhism continues finds its following increasing in a population that is looking to empower themselves through a hands-on science of thought. A primary focus remains the cultivation of secular mindfulness practices for its application in managing the stress of everyday life.28 http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/176.html http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/176.html 26 The American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia edited by Andrew R. L. Cayton, Richard Sisson, Chris Zacher 27 http://www.gosit.org/Selections.asp?vReg=MW 28 Zig Zag Zen by Allen Badiner 24 25 11