Buddhism in Belgium
Encyclopedia
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
(about 0.29% of the total population)
Buddhism in Belgium before official recognition
Belgium has been comparatively slow in the absorption of Buddhism compared with other countries in Europe because there were no Buddhist countries amongst the territories colonized by Belgium. Alexandra David-NéelAlexandra David-Néel
Alexandra David-Néel born Louise Eugénie Alexandrine Marie David was a Belgian-French explorer, spiritualist, Buddhist and writer, most known for her visit to Lhasa, Tibet, in 1924, when it was forbidden to foreigners...
introduced the Maha Bodhi Society
Maha Bodhi Society
The Maha Bodhi Society is a South Asian Buddhist society founded by the Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala. The organization's self-stated initial efforts were for the resuscitation of Buddhism in India, and restoring the ancient Buddhist shrines at Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and...
to the Congress of Free Thinkers in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
as early as 1910. There was reportedly a group of those interested in Buddhism who met in Brussels in the period between the Wars. Buddhism came to the attention of Belgians academically in 1944 through the translations of Indologist Étienne Lamotte
Étienne Lamotte
Étienne Paul Marie Lamotte was a Belgian priest and Professor of Greek at the Catholic University of Louvain, but was better known as an Indologist and the greatest authority on Buddhism in the West in his time...
at the Catholic University of Leuven
Catholic University of Leuven
The Catholic University of Leuven, or of Louvain, was the largest, oldest and most prominent university in Belgium. The university was founded in 1425 as the University of Leuven by John IV, Duke of Brabant and approved by a Papal bull by Pope Martin V.During France's occupation of Belgium in the...
.
Belgium has remained wary of new religions (even though in many cases they are historically much older than Christianity) and the general attitude has been illustrated by the Government publication of a blacklist of 189 organizations (including two Buddhist ones) in its ‘witchhunt’ for sects of 1997 and in the ongoing attitudes especially in the French-speaking community of Belgium . Nonetheless, in 1999 there were about thirty active Buddhist organizations and centres in Belgium, representing all traditions of Buddhism. A Buddhist Union of Belgium was set up in 1997 bringing together the various centres of Buddhism in Belgium that had been established through charitable and private organizations. The 2001 census estimated that there were 10,000 Buddhists of Belgian nationality - however the numbers of Buddhists, even in the immigrant population exceeded 20,000.
Buddhism in Belgium since official recognition
The government was first approached on 10 June 2005 to grant official recognition for Buddhism - a process which is expected to be completed in 2008 Independent sources now estimate the numbers of Buddhists in Belgium at 29,467.Institutes
- Tibetaans Instituut, SchotenSchotenSchoten is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Schoten proper. On January 1, 2006 Schoten had a total population of 33,160. The total area is which gives a population density of 1,122 inhabitants per km². Schoten abuts the...
- Naropa Instituut, CadzandCadzandCadzand is a town in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is located in the municipality of Sluis, about 8 km northwest of Oostburg. The village contains 804 inhabitants . Better known to many visitors is the nearby beach at Cadzand-Bad....
- Nalanda Instituut, BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
- Yeunten LingYeunten LingYeunten Ling is a Tibetan Buddhist institute in Huy in the province of Liège in Belgium. It is one of the largest Buddhist Dharma centres in Europe. The centre is part of the Tibetan Institute....
, HuyHuyHuy is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liege. Huy lies along the river Meuse, at the mouth of the small river Hoyoux. It is in the sillon industriel, the former industrial backbone of Wallonia, home to about two-thirds of the Walloon population...
- Naropa Instituut, Cadzand
Literature
- Bouddhismes en Belgique by Bernard De Backer. Courrier hebdomadaire, n°1768-1769, CRISP, Bruxelles, 2002, pp. 5–70