Western Buddhism: Past, Present and Future

Although Buddhism spread throughout Asia it remained virtually unknown in the West until modern times. The early missions sent by the emperor Ashoka to the West did not bear fruit. Religious intolerance, cultural chauvinism and racism are among the reasons why people of European extraction remained contemptuous of things Asian and unwilling to explore Asian religious traditions. Major changes in attitudes have occurred only in the past fifty years or so. Knowledge of Buddhism has come through three main channels: Western scholars; the work of philosophers, writers and artists; and the arrival of Asian immigrants who have brought various forms of Buddhism with them to Europe, North America and Australia. The first graduate program in Buddhist Studies in the West was not offered until 1965, but many programs have followed since then. In recent years, Buddhologists have been called upon to help Western governments with foreign policy decisions and to train diplomats going to Asia, a role reminiscent of past imperialist practices. Buddhists believe that Buddhism itself can die out for eons only to be reborn in the distant future when the time and social conditions are right. Perhaps that is the case today. Communist suppression, Christian condemnation, and Capitalist materialism have taken their toll o