Buddhism

===Buddhism in the West===
{{main|Buddhism in the West}}
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 | image1 = 1893parliament.jpg
 | caption1 = 1893 [[World Parliament of Religions]] in [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], United States
 | image2 = Buddharama Nukari.jpg
 | caption2 = Interior of the Thai Buddhist wat in [[Nukari]], [[Nurmijärvi]], Finland
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While there were some encounters of Western travellers or missionaries such as St. [[Francis Xavier]] and [[Ippolito Desideri]] with Buddhist cultures, it was not until the 19th century that Buddhism began to be studied by Western scholars. It was the work of pioneering scholars such as [[Eugène Burnouf]], [[Max Müller]], [[Hermann Oldenberg]] and [[Thomas William Rhys Davids]] that paved the way for modern [[Buddhist studies]] in the West. The English words such as Buddhism, "Boudhist", "Bauddhist" and Buddhist were coined in the early 19th-century in the West,<ref>[https://www.etymonline.com/word/buddhism Buddhism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205003348/https://www.etymonline.com/word/buddhism |date=5 December 2018 }}, [https://www.etymonline.com/word/buddhist Buddhist] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205003346/https://www.etymonline.com/word/buddhist |date=5 December 2018 }}, Etymology, Douglas Harper</ref> while in 1881, Rhys Davids founded the [[Pali Text Society]] – an influential Western resource of Buddhist literature in the Pali language and one of the earliest publisher of a journal on [[Buddhist studies]].<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pali-Text-Society Pali Text Society] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204195700/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pali-Text-Society |date=4 December 2018 }}, Encyclopaedia Britannica</ref> It was also during the 19th century that Asian Buddhist immigrants (mainly from China and Japan) began to arrive in Western countries such as the United States and Canada, bringing with them their Buddhist religion. This period also saw the first Westerners to formally convert to Buddhism, such as [[Helena Blavatsky]] and [[Henry Steel Olcott]].<ref name=":10">Prothero, ''The White Buddhist,'' 175. Olcott's approach to Buddhism and the terminology of Protestant Buddhism and "creolization" (Prothero) is extensively discussed in K.A. McMahan," 'Creolization' in American Religious History. The Metaphysical Nature of Henry Steel Olcott, PhD dissertation, unpublished manuscript (Ann Arbor 2008).</ref> An important event in the introduction of Buddhism to the West was the 1893 [[World Parliament of Religions]], which for the first time saw well-publicized speeches by major Buddhist leaders alongside other religious leaders.

The 20th century saw a prolific growth of new Buddhist institutions in Western countries, including the [[Buddhist Society, London]] (1924), [[Das Buddhistische Haus]] (1924) and [[Datsan Gunzechoinei]] in [[Saint Petersburg|St Petersburg]]. The publication and translations of Buddhist literature in Western languages thereafter accelerated. After the [[World War II|second world war]], further immigration from Asia, globalisation, the [[secularisation]] on Western culture as well a renewed interest in Buddhism among the 60s [[counterculture]] led to further growth in Buddhist institutions.<ref>Coleman, James William, ''The New Buddhism: The Western Transformation of an Ancient Tradition'', Oxford University Press, pp. 203–204.</ref> Influential figures on post-war [[Buddhism in the West|Western Buddhism]] include [[Shunryu Suzuki]], [[Jack Kerouac]], [[Alan Watts]], [[Thích Nhất Hạnh]], and the [[14th Dalai Lama]]. While Buddhist institutions have grown, some of the central premises of Buddhism such as the cycles of rebirth and [[Four Noble Truths]] have been problematic in the West.{{sfnp|Konik|2009|p=ix}}{{sfnp|Hayes|2013|p=172}}{{sfnp|Lamb|2001|p=258}} In contrast, states Christopher Gowans, for "most ordinary [Asian] Buddhists, today as well as in the past, their basic moral orientation is governed by belief in karma and rebirth".{{sfnp|Gowans|2014|pp=18–23, 76–88}} Most Asian Buddhist laypersons, states Kevin Trainor, have historically pursued Buddhist rituals and practices seeking better rebirth,{{sfnp|Keown|2009|pp=60–63, 74–85, 185–187}} not nirvana or freedom from rebirth.{{sfnp|Fowler|1999|p=65}}

{{multiple image
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 | footer = [[Buddhas of Bamiyan]], Afghanistan in 1896 (top) and after destruction in 2001 by the [[Taliban]] Islamists.<ref>{{cite book|author=Jan Goldman |title=The War on Terror Encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bjeaBAAAQBAJ | year= 2014|publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-511-4|pages=360–362}}</ref>
 | image1 = Nouvelle géographie universelle - la terre et les hommes (1876) (14592652167).jpg
 | alt1 = Buddha statue in 1896, Bamiyan
 | image2 = Destroyed Statue, July 17, 2005 at 15-53.jpg
 | alt2 = After statue destroyed by Islamist Taliban in 2001
 }}
Buddhism has spread across the world,{{sfnp|Henderson|2002|p=42}}{{sfnp|Tamney |1998|p=68}} and Buddhist texts are increasingly translated into local languages. While [[Buddhism in the West]] is often seen as exotic and progressive, in the East it is regarded as familiar and traditional. In countries such as [[Cambodia]] and [[Bhutan]], it is recognised as the [[state religion]] and receives government support.