Buddhism, the Second Largest Religion in the World?
Reincarnation forms the basis of Buddhism. It is the pillar of belief which gives rise to the cause-and-effect way of living, or karma. Karma explains the differences and disparities, the good and the bad within the community, city, country… even between universes and dimensions. Karma explains it all, perfectly, clearly and concisely.
Buddhism encompasses all sentient beings, humans and non-humans… every single person on the planet, and beyond. That is the vastness in Buddhist philosophy. No one is left out and everyone is covered. It is a gentle philosophy of truth, and those who believe in karma as the driving force behind their life will take responsibility for their lives.
To me, the number of Buddhists in the world is not important. I do not need to know that Buddhism is practiced by many people to feel secure about my belief because I know that the Dharma is the path for me… It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I believe in enlightenment, karma and reincarnation. I trust my Gurus, and I trust the Dharma. The Buddha’s teachings has been proven over the centuries, that it has the capability of guiding me towards achieving enlightenment.
Buddhism has never been a religion that encourages others to convert, or even take to the streets to pro-actively encourage others to accept the Dharma. So when I read the article below that Buddhism may have possibly grown to now be the 2nd largest spiritual path in the world with 1.6 billion practitioners, I was quite surprised. A research done by Dr. Daya Hewapathirane also found that a majority of Buddhists practice the Mahayana tradition.
All major religions in this world teaches their practitioners to develop wisdom, love and compassion. Without being defined by a religious label, if we all practiced and developed these qualities, the world would be a better place. Wisdom is wisdom, kindness is kindness.
Tsem Rinpoche
Buddhism Could Now Be the 2nd Largest Spiritual Path with 1.6 Billion or 22% of the World’s Population According to Some Recent Studies
Buddhism has never been a “propagation” spirituality. Actively seeking out “converts” is discouraged for the most part. Individual spirituality is emphasized more than group activities. Some people don’t even think of Buddhism as a “religion”—certainly not an organized religion with dogma. So, it is with sense of optimism—without pride or attachment?—that we report the latest estimates of Buddhist population worldwide at over 1.6 billion, now closing in on a quarter of the population.
Why optimism? Because, it’s remarkable that a spirituality and philosophy with no central authority, no rigid dogma and no mission to proselytize, can never-the-less quietly grow. It’s not a matter of pride, but one of inspiration and hope.
This may be an optimistic number, given 2010 estimates around 500 million, and I’m the first to doubt this number. I believe the real number is somewhere between the low estimates of 500 million or so (in 2010), and the 1.6 Billion being floated today. Nevertheless, with China’s sudden re-embracing of Buddhism, and considering their population, the number is feasible.
The Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai
China Officially Supports Buddhism
Clearly, the return of active spirituality in China accounts for the surge in estimates from 7% or 488 million Buddhists [1], only a few years ago, to today’s estimates of 1.6 billion or 22% of the world’s people. China, only a few years ago, was attributed a mostly non-spiritual status. Now, with freedoms returning, there are over 28,000 Buddhist monasteries, 16,000 temples and 240,000 Buddhist monks and nuns. 80% of the Chinese population, just over 1 billion, now—according to some estimates—call themselves lay Buddhists.
If you believe the majority of Chinese are Buddhist—considering Buddhism is now officially supported in China and their active program to rebuild temples—then the 1.6 billion estimate seems at least possible. Previous studies, prior to official support, estimated China’s Buddhist population at only 244,130,000. [3]
A typical ceremony with Chinese Buddhist monks
Numbers Just Another Label
So which is it? The conservative estimate indicated in 2010 studies at just about half a billion, or the 1.6 Billion, now estimated by some studies in 2014? It doesn’t really matter, of course. Numbers are just a label of another kind. The number is just a matter of curiosity or interest, nothing more.
Russia Embraces Buddhism?
A Buddhist temple is now being constructed in Moscow, the Russian capital, for the first time, signaling the countries openness to diverse spiritualities. The temple is scheduled to be completed by 2017. The temple will have it’s own library, a cinema, a five meter statue of the Buddha and will have a clinic for Tibetan Buddhist medicine. [4]
Russia and China’s sudden re-embracing of Buddhism is a hopeful sign of peaceful, organic growth of Buddhism in all its forms worldwide.
Russia will complete construction on an elaborate Buddhist Temple, complete with Tibetan Buddhist Medical clinic, by 2017. This will be the first Buddhist temple in Russia, according to World Religion News
How do we know?
How do we know this is a reliable estimate? There’s no worldwide census to rely on, but this data is reasonably extrapolated by Dr. Daya Hewapathirane, based on studies published in 2010 and 2013. The shift in numbers (from 6% to 22%) is largely due to the willingness of the Chinese population to now identify with Buddhism. Prior to the mid-1990s , religious affiliations in China may not have been openly declared. Between 1966 and 1976, in particular, religion was discouraged.
Now, China is actually encouraging the promotion of Buddhism, and not just Shaolin monk world tours and tourism. China affirmed its status as the most populous Buddhist nation and “declared its commitment to spearhead and support international initiatives to protect Buddhism and Buddhist culture,” according to Dr. Hewapathirane.
Korea has always been a nation with a large Buddhist population. Today, estimates place the Buddhist population in South Korea a 50%. Pictured: a temple on Jejudo
Around the World
In addition, Buddhist populations have grown in other countries. Remarkably, over 14 countries have Buddhist populations at more than 50% of citizens. Seven of these countries indicate Buddhism is practiced by 90% of their populations.
The 14 countries with higher than 50% Buddhist populations are:
- Cambodia: 97%
- Japan: 96%
- Thailand: 95%
- Taiwan: 93%
- Mongolia: 93%
- Myanmar: 90%
- Hong Kong: 90%
- Bhutan: 84%
- China: 80%
- Vietnam: 75%
- Sri Lanka: 70%
- Laos: 67%
- Singapore: 51%
- South Korea: 50%
NOTES
[1] Low estimate according to Adherents.com
[2] “World’s Buddhist Population” Dr. Daya Hewapathirane. Also, information extrapolated from CIA’s World Fact Book
[3] Pew Research 2010
[4] “Moscow’s First Buddhist Temple” World Religion News
[Source: http://www.buddhaweekly.com/buddhism-now-2nd-largest-spiritual-path-1-6-billion-22-worlds-population-according-recent-studies/]
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Thank you so much for the sharing of good news, I am as a buddhist lay person pride of it and hope the world will be peaceful and loving place rather than war and conflict.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing these interesting article about Buddhism in China.With the growth of Buddhism being the second largest religion in the world is in many ways something I rejoice being a Buddhist.
Buddhist philosophy offers us a method to become happier , more peaceful people and helps us to take greater charge of our lives.
Wikipedia and other religious serve shows very less number of Buddhists or 500 million.
This data should be upload on wikepedia and other religious sources.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing these interesting article about Buddhism in China..It would be amazing and wonderful if Buddhism can be the second largest religion in the world.Buddhism has never been a religion that encourages others to convert.The majority of Chinese are Buddhist and the population is growing day by day More people are practicing Buddhism and it will benefit more people in the future..If all religions in this world teaches the same …to develop love and compassion it will be peaceful world to live in without war then.
Thanks again
It is so interesting to know so many people in China and around the world who are comfortable to be called and labeled Buddhist. Buddhism had been part and parcel of Chinese history and culture, for the Chinese to embrace Buddhism once again after a long sojourn is indeed refreshing.
That’s great news knowing Buddhism could be the 2nd largest religion in the world because it means more and more people are beginning to realise they can be Buddhas too!
Yes it is amazing because Buddhism, the only “religion” that does not subscribe to the belief in the One and only one creator – God – where we must fear, bow and do everything for him to be pleased with us so that we may get a place in heaven. Sorry this theory does not make sense to a lot of people these days. Yes this means people are becoming more pragmatic when it comes to their spirituality.
The world has changed. We are now living in a world where information is power, so just faith alone is not going to cut it any more. You can forget about “miracles”, they’ll lock the saint up for either experiments or for illegal occult crimes before anything could be prophesied. Let’s face it people are no longer farming and ploughing the fields, instead they are youtubing, faceboking and tweeting… so when they are going to “hell” theory for the sins they’ve done is just not going pass.
People are becoming more logical, brave in questioning and sceptical and they are not going to just believe in whatever is fed to them because there are just to many corrupt and fraudulent schemes to get people to part with their hard earn money for the kingdom of heaven. And also because there are so many spiritual leaders, priests, yogis and Gurus who don’t walk the talk but walk in Prada. So it is fair to say, we’re even lucky that people are still seeking truth, spirituality and trying to find some sanity in this huge chaos we call samsara. I was one of these people…. and only Buddhism/dharma could answer my questions.
So yes I am glad people still have not lost their faith entirely and at least trying to find a logical solutions to help them find true peace, and perhaps some happiness from the delusional world we live in. Many many choose to just label themselves for the sake of just having a label to just shut people up, without a single clue of the practice until they hit rock bottom then maybe they’ll think about the spiritual path. Hopefully it will not be too late then.
I like numbers and I believe in mathematics but in this case I don’t think whether there is 1 Buddhist or 1 billion Buddhist matters to me personally. However I do acknowledge human behavior do gravitate towards numbers. If we walk past two restaurants, in one there is only one customer and the other is packed, our automatic assumption is the food at the packed restaurant must be good. That’s common human behavior. We let the numbers make the decisions for us because it is more convenient.
Regardless whether the actual numbers is half a billion or 1.6 billions, there seems to be a growth in number of Buddhists around the world. The return of active spirituality in China would no doubt be a big factor. Simply because of the sheer number of population in China. Buddhism has a strong connection with China since the days of Lama Tsongkhapa.
The foundation of Buddhism is appealing and I think more so in this modern era where information is easily available, everything happens at a fast pace and the world is ever evolving.
As Einstein was said to have quoted “The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend personal God and avoid dogma and theology. Covering both the natural and the spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things natural and spiritual as a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description. If there is any religion that could cope with modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism.”
Rinpoche jolted my thoughts when Rinpoche said: Buddha was not a Buddhist. I am so used to labels, structures, definition and equations that I automatically assumed that Buddha, the source of the Dharma was a Buddhist.
Buddhism was not disseminated to create Buddhists but to lead sentient beings to happiness, harmony and sustainability in living. I have always found Buddhism very appealing because it was more a way of life than religion that is very suitable in this age of information.
Thank you Rinpoche and the blog team for sharing this good news that more people are subscribing to a set of teachings that will bring peace.
This is indeed rejoicing news, that many people have come across the flower of humanity, Buddha Shakyamuni. Buddha’s teachings do not say there is an all power force to liberate and set you free. He says check out my teachings and you figure and test it, if it works apply it.
这篇有关Dr. Daya Hewapathirane的调查于佛教的兴盛与增长是值得鼓舞的一件事。这代表越来越多人相信佛法，越来越多人想要实践佛法对待身边每个人，以致每个人可以生活得更融洽与和平相处。
佛陀的其中之一教诲都是要我们相信因果。万物在世，缘起缘灭，因果循环。无人可逃离这娑婆世界，必须面对生生世世的轮回，唯有达到证悟才能脱离娑婆世界的苦海。
每个人都有他自己的选择。选择自己认为可以带给快乐与幸福予自己以及身边的人。而我很感恩的，因为选择了相信上师尊贵的詹杜固仁波切，选择相信佛法与实践佛法，学习找出根本来解决问题，尝试的放下执着。并且要记得慈悲与智慧是要并肩的面对每件事情。
感谢仁波切的分享。
As Rinpoche says, practice should never be a numbers game. In fact, I find it even more precious that not it’s not something the masses can accept because what’s in greater abundance, sand or diamonds? 😉
But the fact it could now be the second largest religion in the world tells you that there’s a deficiency in the human spirit and mind. Buddhism focuses on the mind as a source of happiness. Despite the fact people are becoming wealthier and they are living longer and they are more educated, the fact so many seek a method to develop happiness, tells you that these external aspects are not the real sources and measurements for happiness.
It tells you that even though the market for self-help, New Age spirituality talking about mindfulness meditation, etc continues to thrive, these methods still do not provide the ultimate path to happiness that Buddhism lays out for them. And that educated people know Buddhism can benefit their life somehow.
As emerging markets with huge populations, China and Russia re-embracing Buddhism is the best gift their people can receive. Dharma will help them to navigate and deal with the increasing afflictions that arise as their countries and people progress financially. And the fact such powerful and vast nations (together they make up nearly half the earth’s land mass!) allow Buddhism will mean the resources and institutional support necessary for the corpus of Buddhist teachings to survive…in places where Buddhism is or was strong, the teachings were propagated throughout the lands thanks to the patronage of the rulers and/or government.
Dear Rinpoche,
I like what Rinpoche said about Buddhism has never been a religion that encourages others to convert, or even take to the streets to pro-actively encourage others to accept the Dharma. For many, to have religion and spirituality forced unto us is highly unappealing and a huge turn off.
The pull factor of Buddhism for me is the gentleness of Buddhism that covers ALL sentient beings and the fact that all of us have the choice to determine our own life – this and future lives. Karma applies to everyone, even those who reject karma.
Another good read to start my week. Thank you for this post, Rinpoche.
Thank you the veiwind of the page.I am really interested and would love to learn more ,any way you could support me would be very much appreciated.
With the growth of Buddhism being the second largest religion in the world is in many ways something I rejoice being a Buddhist.
The growth from 500 million to 1.6 billion Buddhist world wide is definitely contributed by China embracing Buddhism and also from Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Could it also be that there are also growing numbers of Buddhists in India itself, since the Tibetans have adopted India as their home and built many temples there. There are now a great number of Tibetan monks in India.
Buddhist is a religion of logic and science as it deals with the mind and how we can control our Karma from achieving the control of our mind which governs our action and speech. In this modern day and age, Buddhism seem like a religion most appealing and complimentary to our development.
Although Buddhism may have grown to be the second largest religion in the world, however it will also be the fact that more people are now acceptable towards Buddhism.
They understand the meaning behind some of the actions and why things are done with the explanation behind it.
With questions being answered by practitioners, it attracts more to know and start practicing Dharma. With that, the number increases.
Many of the scientific research finds out more details on the concept of Buddhism and it proves that what is being taught by Buddha thousands of years ago are correct and shows the logic behind it as well. Buddhism is not only a practice, but a way of life. Allowing us to understand and then transform our minds allowing us to be happier people. From the transformation, we will understand what our true purpose in life is and we will be able to break free from samsara and the fake happiness that we think we have through materialism.
It is great news that more and more people are practicing Buddhism and many temples are being built around the world that will benefit more people in the future.
The possibility of Buddhism being the second largest spiritual path is probably due to China’s sudden re-embracing of Buddhism, however, the number of Buddhists have also grown in other countries.
While the appeal certainly includes those who have converted to Buddhism as a faith , the more unique and far-reaching impact of Buddhism, as a psychology or way of life, has taken place globally.
Buddhism offers a vision of humanity and the spiritual life that is not dependent on a deity or a creator God. It lays out a path of self-transformation, and the idea of being in control and taking responsibility for their lives seems in line with the current self-help culture. There are non-Buddhists who have adopted Buddhist practices/ methods/ philosophy in their lives.
Western clinical psychologists, theorists and researchers have incorporated Buddhist practices in widespread formalised psychotherapies. Buddhist mindfulness practices have been explicitly incorporated into a variety of psychological treatments. Companies like Google, Ford etc. and more and more schools now conduct meditation classes.
Buddhism has a lot to say about the mind and perhaps it is because of this “science of the mind” with practical ways of developing wisdom and compassion that is so attractive as society begin to emphasize more on the importance of mental states and mental health in all aspects of our lives.
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for sharing this post. Buddhism is definitely a growing religion. Buddha’s teaching on Karma is the truth that applies to everyone with no exception. This means that anyone can embrace those teachings to change their life to a better one.
People nowadays have much more problems because we are in the degenerated age. We are constantly unhappy and unsatisfied. We keep finding ways to make ourself happy and Dharma on the other hand is the solution to gain happiness. This is why more and more people took on the teachings of the Buddha.
Chris
If Buddhism has become the second largest “Religion” in the World today, it is not a big surprise. As Rinpoche has said in this Blog that, “Buddhism encompasses all sentient beings, humans and non-humans……every single person on the planet and beyond. That is the vastness in Buddhisr philosophy.” With a philosophy of such inclusiveness, it reaches out to a great range of people and groups, – to a real dialouque with other faiths too. Buddhism collectively would I believe move beyond a reconciliation of unity in diversity with other faiths, so as to create a deeper understanding of how we can all together live in peace and harmony with each other on Earth and the Universe. Om mani Padme Hung.
Perhaps, the reason why Buddhism shot up to the top to become the second largest religion in the world , is that China (and even Russia)has started to re-embrace Buddhism. China is one of the most populous countries in the world and it is the Government who is spearheading the drive to re embrace Buddhism.
It is remarkable that these two countries (China and Russia)that had embraced Communism earlier and had rejected religion consequently because Karl Marx had said that “religion is the opiate of the masses” should now give their people the freedom of pursuing their religion. it is a hallmark of an advanced country that its people will start to turn more and more to spirituality because they have the leisure and the mental aptitude to do so.
Having said that, within Buddhism’s basic philosophy and tenet,lies the reason why more and more people are turning to it. Karma, the law of cause and effect, which is a basic principle, in the Buddha dharma , is not some principle that makes a believer feel fatalistic or that they have no control of their own future and future rebirths.
Rather it empowers an individual to take responsibility for his actions, knowing that what he is experiencing now -good or bad – is the result of his previous actions. If he wishes less suffering or even to completely eradicate his suffering , he can do so. Just follow the Buddha’s teachings, the way the Buddha taght – the dharma.
Even if we don’t wish to become a Buddhist, Buddhist philosophy offers us a method to become happier , more peaceful people and helps us to take greater charge of our lives.
Several points which makes Buddhism popular are
1) There is no need to convert as per se. The teachings of Lord Buddha can be adopted by even those who are from other religions. Hence people do not feel a sense of force when they start to embark on learning Buddhism.
2) Buddhism relates to our way of life; it touches on every aspect of our daily lives. This makes it relevant.
3) Buddhism is actually closely related to logic and science. A major part of Buddhism relates to the workings of the MIND. Every emotion or feeling comes from the MIND. If we understand how the mind ticks, we can control to a large extent how we want to feel and also how we make others feel. This is powerful if used with the correct intention.
In these degenerate times, Buddhism provides the methods to deal with many of the challenges that are a result of how humans have destroyed the environment and degraded hardcore ethics and values of life.When the teachings are applied correctly a reversal of the negative habituations starts to take place and people become more responsible for their thought and actions, thus making a positive change to things gone wrong. This sort of matrix of life is desperately needed in the current times !
I LOVE LORD BUDDHA THE GREATEST REFORMIST IN THIS EARTH.A PRINCE TO A SEARCHER, NOBODY HAS DONE THIS .THE GREATEST TEACHER EVER BORN & THE WORLD WILL FOLLOW HIS PATH, MY WISH IS MAY NEPAL BECOME A BUDDHIST COUNTRY IN THE FUTURE..