How Did Buddhism Spread To The Western World

Buddhism is one of the oldest religions practiced in modern day. Though missionary movements were not widely established in Buddhism, nevertheless, Buddha’s teachings, which originated from northern India, were spread all over Asia. As Buddhism spread to different countries with varying cultures, the Buddhist practices and religious beliefs were adapted to fit the local culture, without compromising the fundamental teachings involving compassion, wisdom, et cetera. Buddhism was widely spread throughout Asia, but was remained practically foreign in the West till modern times.
About twenty decades ago, there were no Buddhists in the West, thus Buddhism remained rather foreign in most Western countries, and people had little understanding of it.
In the early 20th century, Buddhist societies were formed in many Western, but only minority of Western followers were attracted. Over a century ago, people from Great Britain, the Netherlands, France, as well as other European countries began to travel in the Far East, and many of these travelers returned to their homelands with Eastern ideas including the various teachings of Buddha, and gradually, more and more Europeans learnt about Buddhism and Buddha’s teachings.
More recently, Buddhists have migrated to various Western countries, many of which were refugees from conflict. Especially in America, Zen Buddhism became more and more popular after the Second World War, the Japanese Occupation and the Vietnam War. Due to the Chinese takeover in 1950, Tibetan monks left Tibet, some of which migrated to America and set up learning centres there.After returning from years of study in India, Westerners had set up Therevada centres in their home countries as well. Additionally, after the wars in Indochina in the 1950s and 1960s, the Vietnamese migrated to Western countries like America, Australia and Europe, while Buddhists originating from other countries like Thailand have set up their businesses in bigger Western cities. Consequently, their Buddhist practices and beliefs have been brought and spread to their new homes, and they have helped to establish Buddhist centres and encourage the spread of Buddhism in the
Firstly, I believe that the presentation of the wonderful Teachings of Buddhism in ordinary language is one of the key factors. Presenting the Dharma in ordinary language has made the teachings of Buddhism user friendly, which is another factor for the rapid growth of Buddhism in the West. Furthermore, technology has promoted the spread of Buddhism. In modern day, people are so caught up with work or school that they rarely have time to visit temples. However, in Australia, a web-site has been set up by the Buddhist Society of Western Australia, where weekly spoken Dharma talks in English are uploaded for the greater convenience of the public – anyone across the globe can listen to Dharma anytime they wish