In the 2,500 years since the death of its founder (Gautama Buddha 563–483 BC), Buddhism[1] has spread throughout much of the world. Southwards to Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Indo-China and other South East Asian countries; northwards into the Himalayan kingdoms (Sikkim, Bhutan, Nepal), Tibet, Mongolia and other parts of Central Asia, and also into China, Korea and Japan.. By the 19th century it was also popular in Europe and the Americas, and in the early 20th century had begun to attract the attention of some Western scholars and, a little later, colonial officers, who found themselves posted to Buddhist countries Under the influence of Muslims in 11th century, Buddhism was severely curtailed in its native India and then in the 20th century under communism it was curtailed in various other south Asian countries such as China, Vietnam, and Tibet. Today in Asia it is thriving in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Korea and Japan. Despite these facts Buddhism is not a proselytising religion in the sense that its adherents have to go out and seek converts.
Buddhists can follow one of three main traditions, Theravada (or Southern tradition), the Mahayana (Northern tradition), and those who adhere to the Vajrayana (Tibetan tradition). Modern scholars tend to divide the schools according to the language used. Mahayana schools are therefore Sanskrit based schools, and Theravada are Pali based. The different traditions give varying emphasis to different aspects of the teaching and practices.
With particular regard to Britain, Allan Bennett was the first Englishman to ordain as a monk in 1901, and he led the first mission from Burma to England in 1908. In 1924 Christmas Humphreys founded the Buddhist Lodge in London, which became The Buddhist Society in 1943. In 1926, Anagarika Dharmapala established the first Buddhist monastic institution in the West with monks from Sri Lanka. This now operates as the London Buddhist Vihara. Later in the 20th century, British soldiers were sent to fight wars in Asia and then Westerners began to travel there as tourists. At the same time, immigrants from countries like Sri Lanka continued to practise their religion after arriving in this country, and refugees from Tibet provided a further stimulus. All this has resulted during the last 30 or 40 years in a growing interest in Buddhism and a growth in the number of centres all over the country. Support comes from two sources: native-born Buddhists, who are mostly from immigrant families, and Westerners who have become adherents as adults.
There is no hierarchical organisation in Buddhism so its expansion has not been carefully planned. It has developed organically out of the interest shown by lay people to found their own groups, some of which have invited monks to come and live in this country. The Buddha directed his teaching generally to individual matters of personal development. He did talk occasionally about good forms of government and nation, but he seems to have taken the view that if each and every individual assumes responsibility for his own actions, then society and the nation must develop happily. Therefore, the Buddhist faith has no political agenda, although this does not preclude its followers from engaging in political activities (except for monks whose monastic rules forbid any political involvement). The only body which has any semblance of a national institution is the Network of Buddhist Organisations, which was established in order to co-ordinate better the response of Buddhists to all manner of social and political issues, and to encourage closer co-operation between the different groups in this country. However, membership is voluntary and it is constituted as a council of equals. Contemporary Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, China and Japan maintains temporal power through close associations between its own monastic teaching and ruling networks, or sangha, and political leaders. In the case of a significant Sri Lankan Buddhist movement, this has extended to campaigning for the creation of a ‘Buddhist State’ along the lines of those which existed in 10th century Goreo Korea and 11th century Xi Xia. However, the impact of this more politicised form of Buddhism is negligible in Britain. Here, Buddhists are more likely to stress that throughout his ministry, the Buddha his followers to live in harmony with the followers of the many other faiths which were prominent during his time.
[1] We are particularly indebted to Dr. Richard Jones of the London Buddhist Vihara for his contribution to the research for this section.
