Countries in Which Buddhism is Followed
There are around 350 million Buddhists in the world today, mainly in East Asia.
Buddhism throughout the world
Buddhism is particularly common in Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Japan, Taiwan, Tibet, Mongolia, Bhutan, Nepal, Korea and Sri Lanka. It is also followed by many people in China and in some parts of India.
There are small proportions of Buddhists in many other countries throughout the world.
For more information, see:
www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/statistics.htm
A quick picture of which countries make up the ‘Buddhist World’ is the Buddhist pilgrimage town of Bodhgaya in India. Each Buddhist country has built a temple or monastery there in its own style of architecture.
Buddhism in Britain
In Britain there are probably around 700,000 Buddhists.
Some are people who were brought up as Buddhists in families which migrated from traditionally Buddhist countries like Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma) or Thailand.
Others grew up in non-Buddhist families in Britain but have converted to Buddhism.
There are now some Buddhist monasteries and many study centres in Britain. Often these were founded by Buddhist teachers from either Tibet or Thailand.
Buddhism from Tibet
Some monasteries were founded by Tibetan Buddhist teachers who had fled from Tibet in 1959 after the Chinese Communists seized power there, attacked religion and destroyed many Buddhist monasteries. There are now monasteries in Britain, which keep alive the Tibetan Buddhist teachings – likewise there are Tibetan monasteries in India, the United States and several other countries. Many monks and nuns at Tibetan monasteries in Britain are not Tibetans but local people who wish to learn from Tibetan Buddhist teachers.
Buddhism from Thailand
In the 1970s some Buddhist teachers in Thailand feared that Communists would take over their country and close down Buddhist monasteries, just like in Tibet. So they set up monasteries in Britain and elsewhere which could keep alive their way of teaching Buddhism. Thailand never in fact became Communist. But these Thai monasteries outside Thailand have prospered and have attracted many non-Thai people to become Buddhist monks and nuns.
Continue reading: Links between Buddhism and gardens.