What is African Buddhism?Engaged Buddhists discussion (2/21/08)And what is African Pureland Buddhism? These two questions tackle a delicate subject that cannot be answered straightforwardly. So it remains much of an open question. What we ask viewers and participants is to give their opinion/position/critique on:
What is African Buddhism?
What is African Pureland?
Is there, or should there be, such a thing as African Buddhism?
What would it entail?
Who decides what African Buddhism is?
It is important to keep ethical principles in mind. Buddhism should not be propagated as a power structure seeking converts. The Dharma is shared as a mutual means of guidance to help end suffering. Share your ideas and suggestions on the topic for the benefit of the African socio-spiritual-cultural Continent at:
Bhante Buddharakkhita (Uganda), a Theravada Buddhist monk born in Uganda, East Africa. He became interested in Buddhism while he was a student in India in 1990. He was ordained by the late
Sayadaw U
Silananda. In 2005, he founded the Uganda Buddhist Centre in Kampala, Uganda, the first Buddhist Center in Uganda. He is the author of
Planting Dhamma Seeds: The emerging Buddhism in Africa. He is also a resident monk in West Virginia (USA) at the
Bhavana Society Forest monastery.
Venerable Buddharakkhita's Vipassana Foundation profile can be found
here (scroll down to the end).
Buddhism has been gaining ground in South Africa. The country now comprises the largest Buddhist community in Africa. South Africa is also the base for organizations aiming to spread Buddhism in Africa, such as the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism.
History
Apart from various Buddhist groups brought to the Cape Colony from Southeast Asia during the 1680s, and the many indentured laborers brought to Natal from India during the latter part of the 19th Century (some of whom were Buddhist, and some of whom were Hindu who later converted to Buddhism once in South Africa), most Buddhists in South Africa are non-Asian converts.
Nan Hua Temple Complex, near Johannesburg, South AfricaVarious Buddhist groups grew up in the major cities since the 1970s. There has been a proliferation of distinct Buddhist traditions since the mid-1980s. These include
Theravada,
Zen,
Nichiren, and
Tibetan schools. The
Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order has erected Nan
Hua Temple (pictured above), the largest Buddhist temple and monastery in Africa, in the town of
Bronkhorstspruit near Pretoria.
Another notable Buddhist center in the country is the Buddhist Retreat Centre in
Ixopo,
KwaZulu-Natal. The Nichiren Buddhist lay group
Soka Gakkai International also has a community center in
Parkwood, Johannesburg.
A 2003 study estimated that in the late 1990s there were a total of 6,000 Buddhists in South Africa (3,000 of Asian ancestry) out of a total population of 42 million (or 0.01% of the total population). [Ref]
Notable South African Buddhists & Organizations
Johannesburg – The gold miners gather in front of the old Crown Gold Mines and begin a peculiarly South African form of protest. They dance, hoot horns, wave knob-kerry sticks, and generally appear to be having a fabulous time. But the joyous mood hides a serious problem. These workers are striking for a 13 percent salary increase. Food prices here are skyrocketing, and gold prices are hovering at more than $1,000 an ounce. More>> 
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