How Did Buddhism Become Popular in the Western World?

Buddhism originated in what is now modern-day India in the 5th Century BCE and gradually spread throughout Asia over the next several hundred years. Despite the common perception of Buddhism as predominantly an Asian religion, it's essential to recognize that millions of Buddhists also reside in North America and Europe. 

While much of this can be attributed to a surge in popularity during the 20th century, Buddhism and the Western world first crossed paths more than 2,000 years ago. Let’s explore the fascinating history of how Buddhism entered Western consciousness. 

How the Ancient Greeks Were Introduced to Buddhism 

Ancient Greece was the first Western civilization to come into contact with Buddhism, when Alexander the Great invaded the Indian subcontinent in 326 BCE. Following the conquest, Greek colonizers built cities in India and nearby Bactria in Northern Iran, where Buddhism was a dominant religion. 

This cultural encounter ultimately gave rise to Greco-Buddhism, significantly influencing the art produced in the region under Greek rule. Classical Greek sculptors imparted their techniques to Indian sculptors, resulting in the distinctive Greco-Buddhist art style evident in stone and stucco works found at numerous Buddhist monasteries in the area. 

European Christians Encounter Buddhism 

In the early 16th century, European Christians encountered Buddhism while traveling to Asia as missionaries. Jesuit missionaries like St. Francis Xavier and Ippolito Desideri provided detailed accounts of the doctrines and practices of Buddhism upon returning to Europe.

During an extended stay in Tibet, Desideri immersed himself in Tibetan Buddhism. He would go on to produce comprehensive travel accounts and books that promoted Christianity and critiqued Buddhism. Influential Jesuit writers like Alessandro Valignano and Matteo Ricci also contributed significantly to introducing Buddhism to Europe during this era. 

Portugal’s colonization of Sri Lanka in the 16th and 17th centuries marked another one of the earliest substantial interactions between Buddhists and Westerners. By the late 17th century, European scholars acknowledged Buddhism as a distinct religion with its own texts, which raised concerns among Catholic missionaries who viewed it as a rival to Christianity. 

In the 18th century, European universities introduced Sanskrit studies, paving the way for Western Buddhist studies. Figures like Paulinus of St. Bartholomew, an Austrian missionary, made crucial observations that connected Sanskrit and the Pali language and discussed early translations of Buddhist texts, contributing to the emergence of Western interest in Buddhism. 

Buddhism Draws Interest of Western Intellectuals in the 19th Century 

In the 19th century, Western intellectuals were introduced to Buddhism through the work of missionaries, scholars, and civil servants. Many of these early accounts painted Buddhism in a negative light, depicting it as nihilistic and idolatrous. 

Sir Edwin Arnold’s The Light of Asia (1879) is one of the earliest sympathetic portrayals of Buddhism in the Western world. This book offered an alternative to the Christian-centric critical views of Buddhism in 19th-century Europe. 

Spiritualism and Theosophy sparked further interest in Buddhism among Europeans. Prominent Theosophists both formally embraced Buddhism in 1880. Olcott founded Buddhist Theosophical Societies and authored the popular Buddhist Catechism in 1881, which advocated for a rational view of Buddhism.  

Lafcadio Hearn, an Irish-Greek writer and translator renowned for introducing Japanese literature and culture to the West, was pivotal in bringing Buddhism to the Western world. 

In the academic world, Eugene Burnouf and Christian Lassen authored early studies that laid the groundwork for exploring Sanskrit Buddhist texts in an academic setting. The translations of Buddhist texts by the Pali Text Society and featured in Oxford’s Sacred Books of the East Series were studied in European universities. 

Influential Western philosophers like Arthur Schopenhauer and Friedrich Nietzsche recognized the philosophical depth of Buddhism. Schopenhauer hailed it as the “best of all possible religions.” Nietzsche, while critical, acknowledged its profound impact on human existence. 

Buddhism Arrives in North America 

The first Buddhists arrived in North America in the mid-19th century. Chinese immigrants who came during the Gold Rush of 1848 brought their religious practices to the West Coast of the United States. By 1875, San Francisco boasted eight temples that practiced a blend of Taoism and Buddhism.  

Japanese immigrants arrived in Hawaii and Central California during this era, introducing Jodo Shinshu Buddhism in 1893 and establishing the Buddhist Churches of America (BCA) in 1899. This became a vital institution for preserving Japanese culture and religion. 

Asian immigrants first arrived in British Columbia, Canada, in the 1850s. Another significant wave followed after the 1962 Immigration Act, and during the Vietnam War, refugees from Southeast Asia also sought refuge in the country.

The 1893 World Parliament of Religions in Chicago was pivotal in bringing Buddhism to the West. Japanese and Sri Lankan delegates introduced the religion to Western delegates. Sri Lanka’s Anagarika Dharmapala gave a passionate speech and subsequent lectures across the US, significantly influencing American intellectuals.  

Japanese Zen philosopher D. T. Suzuki arrived in the US in 1897 under the mentorship of German-American author and philosopher Paul Carus, beginning the popularization of Zen Buddhism and a fusion of Zen Buddhism with Western philosophy.