Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

is a minority religion in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. According to the 2000 census, 21,305 Swiss residents (0.29% of the total population) self-identified as Buddhists. About a third of them were born in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

History

Interest in Buddhism in Switzerland emerged at the beginning of the 20th century, sparked by allusions to the religion by

Theosophy Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...

and some philosophical schools. An early Buddhist center was established in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

, around 1910, by the German monk

Nyanatiloka Ven. Nyanatiloka Mahathera (19 February 1878, Wiesbaden, Germany – 28 May 1957, Colombo, Ceylon), born as Anton Walther Florus Gueth, was one of the earliest Westerners in modern times to become a Bhikkhu, a fully ordained Buddhist monk. Ea ...

. In the 1920s and 1930s, a number of groups were formed in the regions around Zurich and Lausanne. A Buddhist group in Zurich, founded in 1942, published for many years the Buddhist journal ''Die Einsicht''. In the 1970s, a group in French-speaking Switzerland was formed in Lausanne by Georges Bex, who had been ordained a monk in Thailand. During the same period, various

Buddhist schools The schools of Buddhism are the various institutional and doctrinal divisions of Buddhism that have existed from ancient times up to the present. The classification and nature of various doctrinal, philosophical or cultural facets of the schools ...

were established in Switzerland, notably

Pure Land Buddhism Pure Land Buddhism (; ja, 浄土仏教, translit=Jōdo bukkyō; , also referred to as Amidism in English,) is a broad branch of Mahayana Buddhism focused on achieving rebirth in a Buddha's Buddha-field or Pure Land. It is one of the most wid ...

, in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

and

Yverdon Yverdon-les-Bains () (called Eburodunum and Ebredunum during the Roman era) is a municipality in the district of Jura-Nord vaudois of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is the seat of the district. The population of Yverdon-les-Bains, , was ...

, and in 1978 the Swiss Buddhist Union (''Schweizerische Buddhistische Union'' / ''Union bouddhiste suisse '' / ''Unione Buddhista Svizzera'') was founded. Immigration from Asian countries, mostly from

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

resulted in the multiplication of Buddhist centers in Switzerland. Tibetan

Geshe Rabten Geshe Rabten (1921–1986) was a Tibetan Geshe born in Tibet in 1921. He was a student at Sera Monastery in Lhasa, and achieved Geshe status before leaving Tibet in 1959. He became known as a debater, scholar, and meditation master. Lama Yeshe and ...

founded in 1977, in

Mont Pèlerin Mont Pèlerin (; ; ) is a mountain of the Swiss Plateau, overlooking Lake Geneva in the canton of Vaud. It lies north of Chardonne, over Vevey, the border with the canton of Fribourg running at the eastern foot of the mountain. The Vevey–Cha ...

, a Buddhist monastery and study centre for European monks, nuns and lay people as well. Switzerland also has Tibetan-Buddhist and Zen monasteries, among them the

Tibet Institute Rikon The Tibet Institute Rikon is a Tibetan monastery located in Zell-Rikon im Tösstal in the Töss Valley in Switzerland. It was established as a non-profit foundation because Swiss laws resulting from the 19th century secularization movement di ...

located in Zell-

Rikon im Tösstal Rikon im Tösstal is a village within the Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality of Zell, Zurich, Zell in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Zurich, Zurich in Switzerland. Geography Rikon is located in Winterthur (district), ...

in the

Töss Valley The Töss Valley (German: ''Tösstal'') is a valley and a region of the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. Geography The valley embraces parts of the Zürcher Oberland including the districts of Hinwil, Pfäffikon and Winterthur, in addition ...

in the canton of Zürich. In 2003 the

Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

temple

Wat Srinagarindravararam Wat Srinagarindravararam (Thai: วัดศรีนครินทรวราราม) is a Theravada Buddhist temple in Gretzenbach, Switzerland. History The relationship between Switzerland and the Thai royal house go back to the time be ...

Gretzenbach Gretzenbach is a municipality in the district of Olten in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. History Gretzenbach is first mentioned in 778 as ''Grezzinbach'' though this comes from a 10th Century copy of the older original. In 1265 it was ...

was dedicated by Princess

Galyani Vadhana Galyani Vadhana, Princess of Naradhiwas ( th, กัลยาณิวัฒนา; ; 6 May 1923 – 2 January 2008) was a princess of Thailand and the elder sister of King Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII) and King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX). She w ...

, the daughter of the Princess Mother

Srinagarindra Princess Srinagarindra ( th, ศรีนครินทรา; ; 21 October 1900 – 18 July 1995) née Sangwan Talapat ( th, สังวาลย์ ตะละภัฏ; ) was a member of the Royal Thai Family and the House of Mahidol, whi ...

, after whom the temple was named. In earlier censuses, Buddhism figured together with other non-Abrahamic traditions (mainly

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

) as "other churches and communities". These accounted for 0.12% in 1970, 0.19% in 1980, 0.42% in 1990 and 0.78% in 2000 (0.38% Hinduism, 0.29% Buddhism, 0.11% other).

References

2000 census results
(Swiss federal statistics office)

External links

Schweizerische Buddhistische Union

{{switzerland-stub

Buddhism in Europe Religion in Switzerland

History

References

Further reading

See also

External links