European Buddhist Union

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The European Buddhist Union (EBU) was founded in Paris in 1975 as an umbrella organization for national Buddhist organizations, and later also for other Buddhist organizations, centers and groups in Europe . According to its statute, it is open to Buddhists of all schools and traditions. Its principal aim is to enable friendly cooperation between Buddhist organizations in Europe and to promote meetings and contacts between members. Thus the EBU tries to promote the natural growth process of Buddhism in Europe .

Ganden Chökhor, venue 2012

The German Buddhist Union , the Austrian Buddhist Religious Society and the Swiss Buddhist Union are among the almost 50 member organizations from 16 countries .

According to Baumann, organizations representing Buddhist immigrants in Europe are not members of the EBU. Although some Buddhist migrant organizations are members of Buddhist umbrella organizations at the national level, Baumann concludes that the EBU almost exclusively represents converted Buddhists.

The EBU's Annual General Meeting usually brings together delegates from 15–20 European countries to exchange ideas, learn from the experiences of others, promote cooperation between Buddhist groups in Europe and launch special projects .

The EBU represents the European Buddhists in relation to other Buddhist and non-Buddhist organizations such as the Council of Europe (there status of an NGO), the European Parliament and organizations of interreligious dialogue .

Annual meeting 2006, plenary

Annual meetings and congresses

In addition to the annual meetings, the organization organizes international congresses at longer intervals (Paris 1979, Turin 1984, Paris 1988, Berlin 1992, Paris 2000). The 1992 congress in Berlin under the title “Unity in Diversity” was the largest European conference of Buddhists to date. More than 2000 visitors came.

Annual meeting 2006, working group

Like every third year, a new management committee was elected in Hamburg in 2014. The Briton Jamie Cresswell was re-elected as President of the EBU.

literature

  • Martin Baumann : European Buddhist Union. In: Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices. ABC-CLIO, 2010, pp. 1016-1017.
  • Martin Baumann: Buddhism in Europe: Past, Present, Prospects. In: Westwards Dharma: Buddhism beyond Asia. University of California Press, 2002.
  • Georg Schmid, Georg Otto Schmid (ed.): Churches sects religions. Theological Verlag, Zurich 2003 (7th edition), p. 376.

Web links

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  1. ↑ Monica Schreiber: Church and Europe. Protestant ecclesiology on the horizon of European civil society. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 2012, p. 72.
  2. ↑ a b c d Martin Baumann: European Buddhist Union. In: Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices. ABC-CLIO, 2010, p. 1017.
  3. ↑ Annual General Meeting (AGM).
  4. ^ Martin Baumann: Fourth International Congress of the European Buddhist Union. In: Internationales Asian Forum (International Quarterly for Asian Studies). 24, nos. 1-2 (1993), pp. 187-195.
  5. ↑ Whalen Lai, Michael von Brück: Christianity and Buddhism: A Multi-Cultural History of Their Dialogue. , Orbis, p. 168.