Buddhism worldwide
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It seems to me that the No. of buddhists worldwide are declining (Not incresing as much as other religions),. Is that true? Many of my friends have converted to Christianity.
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i have friends who converted from christianity to buddhism too.
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Oh issit ? why does many of my fren all comes to Buddhism and left christianity ?Originally posted by gohby:It seems to me that the No. of buddhists worldwide are declining (Not incresing as much as other religions),. Is that true? Many of my friends have converted to Christianity. -
Actually there have been some reports of decreasing number of Christians in US and Europe, increasing emphasis on sensitivity towards other faiths, especially for non Christians in Europe, US and even Australia
many reasons include frustrations with dogmas and doctrines of the churches, declining moral values of the younger generations
but, let me emphasise that, i think to measure a faith by its numbers of members is kinda shallow
inadvertently, one could stab himself in the foot by unconsciously implying a faith is popular, but lack in quality converts
What more important is how someone practise his faith, than how many of them are there
Jim Jones, a popular example of mine, led the biigest cult suicide when nearly 1000 members drink poisoned Kool-Aid
popular yes, but what is it all about?
here something to think abt...
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Both in Singapore and in the West, the numbers of Buddhists are increasing significantly. Statistically speaking, the number of Buddhists in 1980 is 27%, and in 1990 it is 31.2%, and in year 2000 it is 42.5%. Christianity increased from 10.1% in 1980 to 14.6% in year 2000. Only Buddhism and Christianity is significantly rising in Singapore. Other religions in Singapore are either decreasing or staying around the same.Originally posted by gohby:It seems to me that the No. of buddhists worldwide are declining (Not incresing as much as other religions),. Is that true? Many of my friends have converted to Christianity.
It is the Taoism (but commonly they are Folks Practitioners) that is declining sharply, from 30% in 1980 to 8.5% in year 2000. The reason is because they are often seen as superstitious and worshipping deities etc due to the influence of folks practises. The Singapore Taoist Federation is currently trying to change this perception of Taoism and help to spread the Taoist teachings.
So far I haven't seen any true Buddhists converting to Christianity. I guess there are some, but I have not seen any yet so far. Those 'ex-Buddhists' in Christianity that claimed so far are not Buddhists at all. They have completely mistaken Taoism/Folks practises (like worshipping deities and so on) to be Buddhism. To be considered a Buddhist at the very least, a person have to take refuge in the Three Treasures, Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. They have not. They have completely no understandings of Buddhism.
On the other hand, many many Buddhists I know were Ex-Christians. Most of them came into Buddhism because they liked the profound teachings of the Dharma.
Let's now look at the situation in the West. Buddhism is currently the fastest rising religion in many Western countries, like Australia, Canada, and several European nations. In other Western countries, if it's not the fastest rising, then it'll be the second fastest rising. Buddhism rising in the west is not due to increasing migrations from Asian nations, as most of the Buddhists in those western countries are not Chinese/etc, but Ang mohs (i.e the locals). There has been a growing interest in Buddhism among the Westerners. This is in accordance to the prophecy by Padmasambhava, the founder of Tibetan Buddhism, who made such a prophecy:
"When the iron bird flies and horses run on wheels, the people of Tibet will be scattered like ants across the world and the dharma will come to the land of the red man." - Guru Padmasambhava, Eighth century.
In this prophecy, a few things have been prophecised.
1) Tibetans will suffer persecution (i.e the Chinese) and they will flee into foreign lands like America.
2) The Buddhist teachings throughout the world.
3) This will come at a time of technology advancement, where people use aeroplanes and cars to travel.
As for Christianity in the West, there is a growing perception of Christianity in the West that is similar to the growing perception of Taoism in Singapore. Many of them are thus leaving Christianity. In the U.S for example, "The proportion of the [American] population that can be classified as Christian has declined from 86% in 1990 to 77% in 2001." ARIS Study.. In the European countries, the situation is worse or similar.
However all these things depend on the geographical location. You will find that in certain Asian and African countries, Christianity is rising quite rapidly due to missionaries and aid to the poorer people.
p.s my Buddhist master was an Ex-pastor, my Dharma teacher almost became a Christian - changed her mind on the day she was to be baptized. Both had interesting stories so if anyone wishes to know I can PM them. -
of course less ppl attending church...who wanna sit for hours listening to terribly boring aka broken radio sermons?
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buddhism is indeed increasing over the years especially in western countries.... more people have realised the wonders and benefit of buddhism that relates to life....
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I think I forgot something. Dranoel comes from USA? I remember you saying you were not local?Originally posted by dranoel maxwell:buddhism is indeed increasing over the years especially in western countries.... more people have realised the wonders and benefit of buddhism that relates to life.... -
originally posted by laurence82I think I forgot something. Dranoel comes from USA? I remember you saying you were not local?
nope, i'm a 100% pure Singaporean -
oh, then it must some other chap i sawOriginally posted by dranoel maxwell: nope, i'm a 100% pure Singaporean 
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Ok. Thank you very much for your insights. I am very grateful =)
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No probOriginally posted by gohby:Ok. Thank you very much for your insights. I am very grateful =)
It's good that you show interest to the Buddhist teachings. -
I was told that the fastest growing religion in US is Islam, next come Buddhism.
Buddhism is growing in UK (and other Europe countries), Australia and US.
It is interesting to note that the growth of Buddhism is more of a natural evolvement (riding along the flow of universal energy) and realisation. Quite different from the missionary work.
Amitabha. -
In U.S and U.K, Islam is fastest growing, second is Buddhism.Originally posted by concerned_man:I was told that the fastest growing religion in US is Islam, next come Buddhism.
Buddhism is growing in UK (and other Europe countries), Australia and US.
It is interesting to note that the growth of Buddhism is more of a natural evolvement (riding along the flow of universal energy) and realisation. Quite different from the missionary work.
Amitabha.
But in Australia, Buddhism is the fastest growing religion. -
Thats true in UK, where they fear Muslims would become the majority.Originally posted by concerned_man:I was told that the fastest growing religion in US is Islam, next come Buddhism.
Buddhism is growing in UK (and other Europe countries), Australia and US.
It is interesting to note that the growth of Buddhism is more of a natural evolvement (riding along the flow of universal energy) and realisation. Quite different from the missionary work.
Amitabha.
But thats the least of my concern. I am more afraid of growing penetration of Islamic terrorists within the Muslims.
There is this latest news abt the first Western female suicide bomber, and a Iranian refugee in UK, ironically, call for jihad agains the country that adopted him. -
If one has read about Kalachakra, this is a worrying sign... everything seems to be fulfilling its prophecy now.Originally posted by laurence82:Thats true in UK, where they fear Muslims would become the majority.
But thats the least of my concern. I am more afraid of growing penetration of Islamic terrorists within the Muslims.
There is this latest news abt the first Western female suicide bomber, and a Iranian refugee in UK, ironically, call for jihad agains the country that adopted him. -
There is an interesting link http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/index.shtml
enjoy.
(next time can use the URL button to make the link clickable) -
Thank you. Quite an informative website.Originally posted by concerned_man:There is an interesting link http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/index.shtml
enjoy.
However I must warn that certain traditions that the BBC website advertised were not orthodox, for example New Kadampa Tradition. For more information on unorthodox buddhist traditions/cults, pls visit
http://www.buddhistcouncil.org/cults.htm -
Interesting Article: Growth of Buddhism
Respected Venerables and Distinguished Guests,
It is an honour for me to be here today. I was born a Christian, was educated in Christian schools, and I even sang in the local church choir. But when I read my first book on Buddhism, at the age of 16, I immediately knew I was a Buddhist. I was moved by the compassion, the wisdom, and the freedom that shone more brilliantly in the Lord Buddha's Teachings than in anything else I had met before. Experiences similar to my own are being repeated hundreds of thousands of times, in the lives of the people of this 21st century. When ordinary people in non-Buddhist countries encounter the pure Teachings of Buddhism, presented in a clear and reliable manner, then they quickly recognize it as the most fragrant of all paths, the most precious of all truths, and the best of all religions. They only wonder why such liberating wisdom is not made more widely known.
In my own land, Australia, the number of Buddhists was insignificant in 1983, when I first arrived from Thailand. By 1991, the proportion of Buddhists grew to 0.8%. In 1996, that had increased to 1.1%. Recently, in the Australian Census of August 2001, the number of Buddhists had grown by 75% to 1.9% of the population. That is almost one in fifty Australians declaring themselves to be Buddhists. As the Christian religion declines in the West, Buddhism has become the fastest growing religion in Australia and many other developed countries.
That is good news and bad news. It is good news in that more Australians are benefiting from the world's most peaceful religion. It is bad news in that it means monks like me have to work so much harder with more disciples to look after!
I would now like to suggest why I think Buddhism is growing so well in the West. I will use the acronym PURE to summarize four key strategies that have helped extend the spread of Buddhism:
1. Presentation -- in ordinary language
2. User friendly -- inviting and accessible
3. Relevant -- concerned with everyday problems
4. Examples -- monks leading by example
1. Presentation
If we want the wonderful Teachings of Buddhism to reach our modern generation, then it needs to be presented in a modern way. It is not the essence of the Dharma that needs to be changed, it is the presentation that needs continual adjustment. The generations of tomorrow are not going to listen to boring monks droning on, giving irrelevant sermons.
We all know that the Lord Buddha said to teach the Dharma in ordinary language (e.g. Aranavibhanga Sutra). Let me give an example of what I think this means. Last century, Western priests and scholars dismissed Buddhism as pessimistic, saying that it only focuses on suffering. This was even repeated by Pope John Paul II in his controversial book on world religions. To avoid this misunderstanding one may rearrange the central Dharma Teaching of the Four Noble Truths as Happiness (Dukkhanirodho); the Cause of Happiness (the Eight-Fold Path); the Absence of Happiness (Dukkha); and the Cause for the Absence of Happiness (Craving). This shifts the focus onto happiness.
This is a simple re-packaging of the Dharma that retains the essence while being more attractive to modern audiences. It is justified by the Lord Buddha's statement that "Nirvana is the highest happiness" (Dhammapada 203, 204). When I present the Four Noble Truths in such a way, I find all generations listen and come back for more.
2. User Friendly
Presenting the Dharma in ordinary language is the first step to making Buddhism user friendly. However, I have found many cases of people, in the West and in the East, who want to learn about Buddhism but are too afraid to come into the temple or monastery because they are not familiar with the traditional customs, or even because they are scared of scowling monks! When Buddhist temples are more welcoming to their visitors, and more accommodating to newcomers, when the monks are more approachable, then the temple is user friendly.
In these modern times, though, people are so busy that they rarely have time to visit the temple. So the temple should go to the people with books, audio cassettes, CDs and, of course, the Internet. Our Buddhist Society of Western Australia has a large web-site that loads weekly spoken Dharma talks in English so that anyone, anywhere in the world can listen to Dharma in the comfort of their own homes at a time convenient to them. This has been highly successful with a large audience of regular disciples all over the world, with no need for expensive and extravagant buildings.
3. Relevant
Religions like Christianity are declining in the West because they are seen as irrelevant to most people's lives. Few are concerned about abstract philosophy, rituals with no apparent meaning, or with speculations that go against reason. However, they are very concerned about how to find more happiness amid the common problems of life.
I have found it easy to explain that keeping moral precepts raises one's average level of happiness, just as a rising tide lifts the average level of the sea. The result is that many of my audience keep the Five Precepts. It is also not difficult to illustrate that kindness to your colleagues, family and to yourself, brings much more comfort into your life. So my disciples become less angry and more forgiving. There is so much medical evidence to prove that traditional Buddhist meditation practices ease the stress of modern life and relieve so many other related problems. So the members of my temple are all keen meditators. These three central Buddhist trainings -- morality, kindness and meditation -- when framed in the context of personal growth in happiness, attract so many to Buddhism. They relate to what many people consider as important to them.
When we focus on what is relevant to ordinary people, then Buddhism becomes important to them. They might begin with interest in solving their worldly problems, but that soon leads to the Path that liberates one from all suffering.
4. Examples
All this means nothing to the modern generation without high quality leaders to provide the inspiration. The growth of Buddhism relies crucially on living examples of virtuous, compassionate, wise and peaceful monks. People of the 21st century are sceptical. They withhold their belief until they see some evidence that it will benefit them. Does Buddhism help? Does it really lead to virtue, compassion, contentment and freedom? They are looking at us monks for examples of where Buddhism leads, before they will follow. How can we expect to inspire the questioning modern generation when monks live in luxury, more wealthy that the common person, when we are slack in our precepts and know little of serenity? The Dharma is spread mostly by example, much more powerfully than by any sermon.
As one well educated Australian wrote in her recent book, before becoming a Buddhist she observed the monks in Perth for many months. When she saw that they were very frugal, kept their precepts, worked hard and were very happy, only then did she go for refuge and start calling herself a Buddhist. Actions speak louder than words.
So, for example, in Western Australia we have established monasteries for training Sangha leaders of both genders, what I call a 'monk factory' and a 'nun factory'. By putting many resources into training high quality Sangha leaders we will be ensuring the supply of high quality examples for the next generation.
These are some of the strategies that have worked in Australia to make Buddhism the fastest growing religion there. We do not need to change the message of the Lord Buddha, nor do we need to change the monastic rules. We may fulfil our duty to the Greatest Teacher, our Lord Buddha, and spread the delightful Dharma throughout all parts of our modern world, by making Buddhism PURE. That is Presented in ordinary language, User friendly, Relevant, and with us monks as the inspiring Examples.
Thank you.
Ajahn Brahmavamso
Bodhinyana Monastery
Western Australia.
September 2002 -
Yes Ajahn Brahmavamso was observant. I strongly believe Buddhism will grow rapidly in the west in times to come I too agree that Buddhism is not 'pessimistic' and deals solely on sufferings... as I have posted previously about my master's case of converting from being a Christian pastor to a Buddhist monk, the tathagathas told him to 'find bliss for humanity'. He too often says "Buddhism is the culture of Bliss'. With all those factors that Ajahn Brahmavamso said, Buddhism is very appealing to the Westerners now.
p.s I removed certain irrelevant parts in previous post which I typed out of error. -
I also interested in Buddhism but I dun understand Mandarin although I'm a Chinese... So I did like to understand more abt Buddhism in English...
Can you give me the website of the Western Australian Buddhism Society? -
Actually, there is no lack of resources and dharma centres/monasteries that teaches in English, in Singapore.Originally posted by Arena:I also interested in Buddhism but I dun understand Mandarin although I'm a Chinese... So I did like to understand more abt Buddhism in English...
Can you give me the website of the Western Australian Buddhism Society?
http://buddhism.sgforums.com/?action=post_display&post_id=3854327 - a number of 'useful links' to Buddhist materials.
and also as you requested: Buddhist Society of Western Australia - you may wish to check out their 'dhamma talk' section -
p.s my Buddhist master was an Ex-pastor, my Dharma teacher almost became a Christian - changed her mind on the day she was to be baptized. Both had interesting stories so if anyone wishes to know I can PM them.
Quoted from 'Curious - Any Christian-turned-Buddhist converts here?'My Master for instance used to be an ex-Christian Pastor himself. I may have mentioned this several times in different posts, whether briefly or more in details, but I will elaborate on that now.
My Buddhist Master (Shi Fu) first went into spirituality after an incident when he was 12 years old. He was returning from school and along the way on the mountain (in China), a blizzard struck and he sought to take cover in a cave. It was so cold that he was going to freeze to death. At that time, he witnessed a divine sign. Huge words in red appeared in the sky, telling him "Humanity's bliss awaits you to be found". From that point he had the strength and survived and thought it was a miracle from God.
So this is how he became a Christian pastor. He was quite an active pastor in preaching and also wrote Christian books (he passed one of his Christian books with his author name to some of the Christians in U.S who visited him before just to show that he really was a pastor). Then at times, he was aggressive in evangelising and went on to insult Buddhism and degrade Buddhism as a superstitious and demonic religion. That was during his university days if I'm not wrong. His university lecturer heard about his aggressive evangelism and spoke with him about it. The lecturer asked him why is he doing this? My master replied "because the other pastors did so, if I didn't do it, the other pastors will say that I do not know how to preach"... thus he followed them. His university lecturer then told him that it was not the right way - people disliked it, and it will even bring down the university name. He asked my master to study the Buddhist teachings, and from that, write a critique based on his understandings.
So this is the turning point... my master researched into all the Buddhist teachings and could not find anything to write in his critique. On contrary, he agreed on all of the teachings! This is the teachings that will truly bring bliss into humanity. (He always say that Buddhism is the Culture of Bliss.. my dharma centre website is www.humanbliss.com.sg) That is when he begin to truly regret and repent his earlier actions to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.... he turned into a Buddhist monk as a result. He often says "even blapshemy can become a 'yuan' for one to encounter Dharma". Sometimes inconceivable.
My dharma teacher also had inconceivable and 'divine intervention' stories that led her to turn into Buddhism just on that day she was going to be baptized! (her friends who brought her to baptize in the past are now in my dharma centre) From these we can see that the Tathagathas will really help to awaken past life practitioners to their bodhisattva vows
But enough stories for now -
so are u a Taoist priest or a church pastor?Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Both in Singapore and in the West, the numbers of Buddhists are increasing significantly. Statistically speaking, the number of Buddhists in 1980 is 27%, and in 1990 it is 31.2%, and in year 2000 it is 42.5%. Christianity increased from 10.1% in 1980 to 14.6% in year 2000. Only Buddhism and Christianity is significantly rising in Singapore. Other religions in Singapore are either decreasing or staying around the same.
It is the Taoism (but commonly they are Folks Practitioners) that is declining sharply, from 30% in 1980 to 8.5% in year 2000. The reason is because they are often seen as superstitious and worshipping deities etc due to the influence of folks practises. The Singapore Taoist Federation is currently trying to change this perception of Taoism and help to spread the Taoist teachings.
So far I haven't seen any true Buddhists converting to Christianity. I guess there are some, but I have not seen any yet so far. Those 'ex-Buddhists' in Christianity that claimed so far are not Buddhists at all. They have completely mistaken Taoism/Folks practises (like worshipping deities and so on) to be Buddhism. To be considered a Buddhist at the very least, a person have to take refuge in the Three Treasures, Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. They have not. They have completely no understandings of Buddhism.
On the other hand, many many Buddhists I know were Ex-Christians. Most of them came into Buddhism because they liked the profound teachings of the Dharma.
Let's now look at the situation in the West. Buddhism is currently the fastest rising religion in many Western countries, like Australia, Canada, and several European nations. In other Western countries, if it's not the fastest rising, then it'll be the second fastest rising. Buddhism rising in the west is not due to increasing migrations from Asian nations, as most of the Buddhists in those western countries are not Chinese/etc, but Ang mohs (i.e the locals). There has been a growing interest in Buddhism among the Westerners. This is in accordance to the prophecy by Padmasambhava, the founder of Tibetan Buddhism, who made such a prophecy:
"When the iron bird flies and horses run on wheels, the people of Tibet will be scattered like ants across the world and the dharma will come to the land of the red man." - Guru Padmasambhava, Eighth century.
In this prophecy, a few things have been prophecised.
1) Tibetans will suffer persecution (i.e the Chinese) and they will flee into foreign lands like America.
2) The Buddhist teachings throughout the world.
3) This will come at a time of technology advancement, where people use aeroplanes and cars to travel.
As for Christianity in the West, there is a growing perception of Christianity in the West that is similar to the growing perception of Taoism in Singapore. Many of them are thus leaving Christianity. In the U.S for example, "The proportion of the [American] population that can be classified as Christian has declined from 86% in 1990 to 77% in 2001." ARIS Study.. In the European countries, the situation is worse or similar.
However all these things depend on the geographical location. You will find that in certain Asian and African countries, Christianity is rising quite rapidly due to missionaries and aid to the poorer people.
p.s my Buddhist master was an Ex-pastor, my Dharma teacher almost became a Christian - changed her mind on the day she was to be baptized. Both had interesting stories so if anyone wishes to know I can PM them. -
Neither. I am just a novice Buddhist.Originally posted by yuko-ogura:so are u a Taoist priest or a church pastor?
btw, Taoism is not Buddhism.