Buddhism in Ireland then and now (audio)

Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; Mike Mac Rae (voice), Jimmy Dore (jimmydorecomedy.com); Wikipedia edit; The Dharma Bum: A Documentary (Facebook)

The Dharma Bum documentary

Early Irish religion? Celtic Pagan. Post-colonial? Catholic. Modern? Buddhist and more. The population of Buddhists in Ireland is thought to be 9,358 (0.2%).

Irish Buddhists -- such as the first Westerner to ordain as a Burmese Theravada Buddhist monk, "The Dharma Bum" U Dhammaloka (a.k.a. Laurence Carroll, Laurence O'Rourke, Lawrence Carroll, William Colvin, and the nom de plume "Captain Daylight") -- are recorded from the late 19th century on, with numbers growing particularly in the 21st century.

That boy's a free thinker!

Beyond formal membership in Theravada Buddhism, Mahayana, Vajrayana, and Western Buddhist groups, there is increasing syncretism, with self-identified Christians and others using Buddhist meditation techniques, mindfulness practices, Buddha images, texts by figures such as the 14th Dalai Lama, and so on.

Reputed links between Buddhism and Celtic religion have long played a role in Irish literature. The first Irish Buddhist Union was formed in 2018, with representatives of five Buddhist schools coming together.

• VIDEO: First Western Buddhist monk was Irish