Buddhism in the West

Part of a series on
Western Buddhism
Statue of the Buddha in the Japanese Tea Garden, San Francisco
Main articles Western Buddhism Buddhist modernism Buddhism in the United States Buddhism in Europe Historical Greco-Buddhism Buddhism and the Roman world Greco-Buddhist monasticism
Tibetan dissemination 14th Dalai Lama In the United States Chögyam Trungpa In England Geshe Kelsang Gyatso In Germany Lama Anagarika Govinda
Theravada dissemination Thai Forest Tradition Vipassana movement In England Anagarika Dharmapala Sangharakshita Ajahn Chah In Germany Nyanatiloka Nyanaponika Thera In the United States Thanissaro Bhikkhu Joseph Goldstein Jack Kornfield
Zen dissemination Zen in the United States Modern Chinese Chán Hsuan Hua Sheng-yen Hsing Yun Rinzai Zen D. T. Suzuki Sokei-an Soto Zen Shunryū Suzuki Sanbo Kyodan Haku'un Yasutani White Plum Asanga Taizan Maezumi Korean Seon Seung Sahn Vietnamese Thiền Thích Nhất Hạnh Listing of Zen Buddhists
Pure Land dissemination In the UK Three Wheels Temple In the USA Buddhist Churches of America Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii In Canada Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples of Canada
Exchange Buddhism and Christianity Buddhism and Gnosticism Buddhism and psychology Buddhism and Western Philosophy Buddhism and Pyrrhonism
General Buddhism Buddhism Outline of Buddhism Traditions Theravada Mahayana Vajrayana Navayana Asian countries Indian Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism Chinese Buddhism Japanese Buddhism Korean Buddhism Listing of Buddhist topics
v t e

Part of a series on
Buddhism
Glossary Index Outline
History Timeline The Buddha Pre-sectarian Buddhism Councils Silk Road transmission of Buddhism Decline in the Indian subcontinent Later Buddhists Buddhist modernism
Dharma Concepts Four Noble Truths Noble Eightfold Path Dharma wheel Five Aggregates Impermanence Suffering Not-self Dependent Origination Middle Way Emptiness Morality Karma Rebirth Saṃsāra Cosmology
Buddhist texts Buddhavacana Early Texts Tripiṭaka Mahayana Sutras Pāli Canon Sanskrit literature Tibetan canon Chinese canon Post-canon
Practices Three Jewels Buddhist Paths to liberation Five precepts Perfections Meditation Philosophical reasoning Devotional practices Merit making Recollections Mindfulness Wisdom Sublime abidings Aids to Enlightenment Monasticism Lay life Buddhist chant Pilgrimage Vegetarianism
Nirvāṇa Awakening Four Stages Arhat Pratyekabuddha Bodhisattva Buddha
Traditions Theravāda Pāli Mahāyāna Hinayana Chinese Vajrayāna Tibetan Navayana Newar
Buddhism by country Bhutan Brazil Cambodia China India Indonesia Japan Korea Laos Malaysia Mongolia Myanmar New Zealand Russia Singapore US Sri Lanka Taiwan Thailand Tibet Vietnam
Buddhism portal
v t e

Buddhism in the West (or more narrowly Western Buddhism) broadly encompasses the knowledge and practice of Buddhism outside of Asia, in the Western world. Occasional intersections between Western civilization and the Buddhist world have been occurring for thousands of years. Greek colonies existed in India during the Buddha's life, as early as the 6th century.^[1] The first Westerners to become Buddhists were Greeks who settled in Bactria and India during the Hellenistic period. They became influential figures during the reigns of the Indo-Greek kings, whose patronage of Buddhism led to the emergence of Greco-Buddhism and Greco-Buddhist art.

There was little contact between the Western and Asian cultures during most of the Middle Ages, but the early modern rise of global trade and mercantilism, improved navigation technology and the European colonization of Asian Buddhist countries led to increased knowledge of Buddhism among Westerners. This increased contact led to various responses from Buddhists and Westerners throughout the modern era. These include religious proselytism, religious polemics and debates (such as the Sri Lankan Panadura debate), Buddhist modernism, Western convert Buddhists and the rise of Buddhist studies in Western academia.

During the 20th century, there was growth in Western Buddhism due to various factors such as immigration, globalization, the decline of Christianity and increased interest among Westerners. The various schools of Buddhism are now established in all major Western countries making up a small minority in the United States (1% in 2017), Europe (0.2% in 2010), as well as in Australia (2.4% in 2016) and New Zealand (1.5% in 2013).^[2][3][4][5]