Although there was regular contact between practising Buddhists and Europeans in antiquity the former had little direct impact. In the latter half of the 19th century, Buddhism came to the attention of Western intellectuals and during the course of the following century the number of adherents has grown. There are now between 1 and 4 million Buddhists in Europe, the majority in Italy, Germany, Hungary, France and the United Kingdom.
Early history
European contact with Buddhism first began after Alexander the Great's conquest of northwestern India in the 3rd century BC. Greek colonists in the region adopted Indian Buddhism and syncretized it with aspects of their own culture to make Greco-Buddhism, which developed between the 4th century BC and the 5th century AD in Bactria and the Indian subcontinent. Emperor Ashoka The Great sent Buddhist missionaries to the Hellenistic world, where they established centers in places such as Alexandria on the Caucasus, creating a noted presence in the region.
Modern history
An interest in Buddhism had been circling among academic circles in modern Europe since the 1870s, with philosophers like Arthur Schopenhauer and Friedrich Nietzsche and esoteric-minded scholars such as Helena Blavatsky. Europe has in recent times been increasingly receptive to Modern Buddhism as an alternative to traditional Buddhist precepts.
Russia, Austria and Italy are the only three European states today that recognize Buddhism as an "official", though not necessarily "state religion" in their respective countries. Hungary also recognizes Buddhism. There are five state-recognized Buddhist churches and one of Europe's largest stupa. On top of that, Russia also recognizes it, along with Islam, Judaism, and Orthodox Christianity, as native to Russian soil in the 1993 Constitution of the Russian Federation. Apart from Siberian Buddhist nations, the Kalmyk people's 17th century migration into Europe has made them today's only traditionally Buddhist nation west of the Ural. They now live in the Republic of Kalmykia, a Russian Republic.
Major Buddhist temples in Europe
Western Europe
Das Buddhistische Haus (engl.: the Buddhist house) is a Theravada Buddhist temple complex (Vihara) in Frohnau, Berlin, Germany. It is considered to be the oldest and largest Theravada Buddhist center in Europe and has been declared a National Heritage site. The main building of Das Buddhistische Haus was designed by the architect Max Meyer for Dr. Paul Dahlke, a German physician who had undertaken a number of trips to Ceylon prior to World War I and became a Buddhist. It incorporates elements of Buddhist culture from several Buddhist traditions and was completed in 1924.[2] Under Dahlke's direction it became a center of Buddhism in Germany. After the war Asoka Weeraratna, founder of the German Dharmaduta Society, became aware of its existence. In December 1957 he bought the building converted it into a Buddhist Vihara. Missionary Buddhist (Dhammaduta) monks, primarily from Sri Lanka, have come to stay at the Haus since 1957. It has now become an important center for spreading the teachings of the Buddha in Western Europe.[4]
In 1982 Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh and his colleague Sister Chân Không founded Plum Village Monastery (Làng Mai), a monastery and Practice Center in the Dordogne in the south of France. Since the mid 60s he has headed a monastic and lay group, the Order of Inter-Being, teaching the Five and Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings and "Engaged Buddhism." The Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism (formerly known as the Unified Buddhist Church) is the legally recognized governing body for Plum Village (Làng Mai) in France.
The Four Dhagpo in France: Since its simple beginnings at Dhagpo Kagyu Ling in 1976, the mandala of the Karma Kagyu lineage in Europe has expanded in accordance with specific instructions left behind by the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa. Placing Gendun Rinpoche in charge and appointing Jigme Rinpoche as his European representative, Gyalwa Karmapa said it was necessary to build a center open to the public, a library, a university, a monastic hermitage and a retreat centre, if an authentic transmission and long term preservation of the Dharma were to take place. Since then Dhagpo Kagyu Ling, Dhagpo Kundreul Ling, Dhagpo Dargye Ling, Dhagpo Dedreul Ling have the role of preserving and transmitting the Buddha's teachings. Together they form a unified whole in which each centre complements the activity of the three others.