A new era for Buddhism in South Africa begins – the lama’s visit is a strong impulse to the already flourishing dharma activity of Buddhist centers in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Joseph Goldstein. The African countries and territories in the Indian Ocean also have significant Buddhist minorities. Some Africans were aware of Buddhism at a very early stage in history—indeed, some of the earliest evidence for Western knowledge of Buddhist traditions comes from Northeast Africa—yet today Africa is the least Buddhist of the inhabited continents. But after years spent living abroad and tireless commitment, in the course of which he survived an assassination attempt and received many strange looks at his robes, he became one of the first Africans to establish a Buddhist center on the continent. Should we reform the Buddhism we practice? Buddharakkhita Thera was born Steven Jemba Kabogozza, and raised a Catholic. “We have about 3,000 Buddhists in Africa. Buddhism, as a major world religion, is practiced in Africa.Though there have been some conversion amongst Africans, most of the Buddhists in Africa are of Asian, mostly Chinese, Vietnamese, Sri Lankan or Japanese descent.. South Africa holds the largest Buddhist population in the continent. When he tried to buy one parcel of land for his center, the neighbors refused to talk to him, suspecting he was a wizard. (1999): This page was last edited on 2 January 2021, at 06:14. Founder and abbot of the Uganda Buddhist Centre and temple, and author of Planting Dhamma Seeds: The Emergence of Buddhism in Africa, Ven. Over the years Bhante Buddharakkhita has refined his teaching style, and today he highlights the similarities between African culture and Buddhism. The lack of a spiritual community led him abroad again, first to South America, then to a three-month retreat at Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, where he met his teacher, the Theravada monk Bhante Henepola Gunaratana. First of all, the hair style is of African decent, which is called Bantu knots that originated in South Africa. Lasting Stephen Batchelor Buddhism, as a major world religion, is practiced in Africa. However, by that time, it had spread to Sri Lanka. Though he shrugs off most of these cultural misunderstandings with a laugh, on one occasion he was attacked at his center and narrowly escaped a bullet at close range. BIBLIOGRAPHY ON BUDDHISM IN SOUTH AFRICA, INCLUDING SOUTH AFRICAN WORKS ON BUDDHISM By Michel Clasquin 1st version, August 2002 Introduction If this bibliography contained only publications specifically about Buddhism in South Africa, it would be a short one indeed. Though there have been some conversion amongst Africans, most of the Buddhists in Africa are of Asian, mostly Chinese, Vietnamese, Sri Lankan or Japanese descent. His relatives were expecting to welcome a prosperous businessman. The capital greets us with 3 days of pouring rain, which was an unknown phenomena here at this time of the year for the last 100 years. Far from being a maritime Bhante has also started a number of development projects that benefit the local community. Buddhism is the main religion in several East Asian countries. It was influenced by Buddhist architecture of the Indian subcontinent. In spite of this, there has been some increase in interest in Buddhism in recent years on the African continent. Buddhism and Africa, 40; the lower estimate is my own. Thank you for subscribing to Tricycle! Temples, centres and groups are common in the metropolitan areas and the country is thought to comprise the largest … However, the number of practicing Buddhists is only about 0.4,[6] and Madagascar is also home of about 20 thousand Buddhists[7] (or about 0.1%[8] of the total population). Related: Buddhism By The Numbers: African Great Lakes Region, With Stephen Batchelor, Sharon Salzberg, Andrew Olendzki, and more. It is estimated that about 0.02% of Africans are Buddhist, currently the lowest percentage of … Though there have been some conversion amongst Africans, most of the Buddhists in Africa, are of Asian, mostly Chinese, Vietnamese, Sri Lankan or Japanese descent. Explore timeless teachings through modern methods. He emphasizes, for instance, the similarity between the South African concept of ubuntu [“You are because I am, I am because you are”] and dependent origination, and he begins his talks on karma with a popular Ugandan proverb about cause and effect: “When you eat a mushroom with a maggot in it, it will eat you when you’re in the grave.” He sums up his work this way: “You can’t bring a bucket of sand and drop it there and say, ‘OK, here’s Buddhism.’ You cultivate the soil [with African wisdom] and make sure that it’s very fertile, and then bring the dharma seed and plant it.” The result, he hopes, will be a thriving and uniquely African version of Buddhism. To alleviate a shortage of clean water, the Uganda Buddhist Center drilled a new well on their grounds to share with their neighbors; they also plant trees and run a women’s economic empowerment program in addition to a “Peace School,” a Buddhist version of Sunday school. All rights reserved. 17th Karmapa Thaye Dorje. Tricycle is a nonprofit that depends on reader support. Le isole Mauritius hanno la più alta percentuale di buddhisti - tra l'1,5% e il 2% della … – Dr Upul Wijayawardhana; The former Sinhalese in Serendib are great (සෙරන්ඩිබ් වල හිටපු සිංහලයා ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨයි) – Mr Jackson Anthony (ජැක්සන් ඇන්තනි මහතා) After eight years abroad, Kaboggoza returned to Uganda in 1998. Please try again. To understand Buddhism in Ghana let me give you some background. See More “When I saw the monks, I felt a connection,” he said. But he was immediately drawn to two Thai monks who were his classmates. Buddhism in Africa Magazine Buddhism By The Numbers: African Great Lakes Region. CONTENTS Buddhism in Africa: some strategic issues Kobus Krüger 1 The Buddha of suburbia: a nineteenth-century South African imagining Darrel Wratten 13 Buddhism in South Africa: its past history, present status and likely future Louis Van Loon 31 Bhante Buddharakkhita’s sister is raising her children Buddhist, and Bhante has ordained three new monks, men who found their way to the center from Uganda, Rwanda, and Egypt. Buddhism Takes Root in Africa. He decided that he would start the first, but he had a long way to go before making his dream a reality. Would you like to sign up for our other mailing lists? Bhante Buddharakkhita, one of the first African Buddhist monks, is melding Buddhism with traditional African wisdom in Uganda. Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism is in Africa opened just in time for the new millennium. South Africa holds the largest Buddhist population in the continent. "Global Religious Landscape - Religious Composition by Country", "Religious Adherents, 2010 – South Africa", "Religious Adherents, 2010 – Mauritius (0.2% Buddhist + 1.3% Chinese Folk Religion)", "Resident population by religion and sex", "List of Buddhist centers in Cote d'Ivoire", Buddhist Study Exams Held in Zambia, Korea and the USA, http://www.metro.co.uk/showbiz/interviews/19172-60-seconds-adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje, Most Buddhist Nations (2010) | QuickLists | The Association of Religion Data Archives, Most Chinese Universist Nations (2010) | QuickLists | The Association of Religion Data Archives, "List of Buddhist centers in Burkina Faso", SGI members in Sierra Leone Organize Buddhist Seminars, Basic points unifying Theravāda and Mahāyāna, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Buddhism_in_Africa&oldid=997785311, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. 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