Buddhism in France is the fourth largest religion following Christianity , Islam, and Judaism . According to Le Monde [1] , in France, 5 million people sympathize with Buddhism , about 600,000 people practice this religion.
The Buddhist Congregation of France is represented by the Buddhist Union of France , founded in 1986.
Most Buddhists in France come from Asia, primarily Vietnam and China. Of these, 65% practice Zen Buddhism , and this concept includes both Japanese Zen and Chinese Chan Buddhism, and especially its Vietnamese version of thien .
A significant role in the development of Buddhism is played by the French Buddhists themselves. The most famous French Buddhist is the traveler and writer Alexandra David-Neel . The modern Buddhists of France also receive significant attention from the media, including those of Asian origin, such as Dudjom Rinpoche , Kalu Rinpoche , Thich Nyat Han , and the French proper, as the monk of the Tibetan tradition, the writer Mathieu Rikar or Shenpen Rinpoche , the French tulku of the Tibetan master.
In addition to the historical roots of Buddhism represented by A. David-Neel, Buddhism in France, according to the press, has the characteristics of a missionary religion [2] and has more than 300 French monks (according to only Tibetan Buddhism in the country). [3]
Tibetan Buddhism
Already Alexandra David-Neel turned her home in France into a club of Buddhism lovers.
The first permanent official centers of Tibetan Buddhism in France were organized in the early 1970s. So, in 1973 he founded his monastery E Vam Pende Ling, a high-ranking head of the Ngor school of Sakya tradition, Pende Kenchen, who settled in France. [4] The public interest in Buddhism was attracted by the same visits to France by the Karmapa in 1973 and the Dalai Lama in 1974. In 1975, the high llamas of the Nyingma tradition, Dujom Rinpoche , Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and Pema Wangyal Rinpoche (the son of one of the first Nyingmap teachers in France, Kangyur Rinpoche) founded retreat centers in Dordogne. Kalu Rinpoche, one of the highest lamas of the Kagyu tradition, began his first three-year retreat here in 1976.
At the end of the 1990s, there were more than 140 meditation centers of Tibetan Buddhism. Of these, about 60% belonged to the Kagyu tradition. [2]
Approximately 20 retreat centers and a number of urban Buddhist centers, led by prominent craftsmen, represent all the basic traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. [five]
Buddhist Tibetan Centers in France
- Near the community of Lisieux is located Vajradhara-ling ( fr. Vajradhara-Ling ) - the Tibetan Buddhist center of the Karma Kagyu tradition.
Notes
- ↑ Catholic World News. Le bouddhisme tibétain, la quatrième religion en France (Link unavailable) (2008). Archived August 15, 2008.
- ↑ 1 2 Obadia, Lionel. "Tibetan Buddhism in France: A Missionary Religion?" Journal of Global Buddhism. Archived on September 24, 2015.
- ↑ “Buddhism in France is booming,” World Wide Religion Network . Archived on April 7, 2012.
- ↑ HE Phendé Khenchen
- ↑ Lerab Ling profile of Tibetan Buddhism in France . Archived on April 7, 2012.