Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

is a small minority

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, but it has shown rapid growth in recent years. As of the 2006 estimate, 170,000 Dutch people identified their religion as Buddhist (about 1% of the total population).

Early history

The first awareness of Buddhism in the Netherlands can be traced back to early books, with references to Buddhism reappearing in 1651, 1843 and 1878, with the first book on Buddhism being written in the

Dutch language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-Europea ...

in 1879. The turn of the century saw more popular books on Buddhism published in Dutch.

Academic study of Buddhism in the Netherlands

The scientific study of Buddhism began in the Netherlands with the appointment of Hendrik Kern as the first professor for the chair for Sanskrit at Leiden University. He published two histories and a manual of Buddhism. Kern, like Émile Senart, portrayed the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

as a legendary being or a hero representing the sun. Kern was succeeded by Jacob Speyer (1849–1913), who translated several

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...

texts and the Jatakamala for the series ‘The Sacred Books of the Buddhists’. The subsequent chair,

Jean Philippe Vogel Jean Philippe Vogel (9 January 1871 in The Hague – 10 April 1958 in Oegstgeest), popularly known by his initials J. Ph. Vogel, was a Dutch Sanskritist and epigraphist who worked with the Archaeological Survey of India from 1901 to 1914 and late ...

(1871–1958), became famous as an archaeologist by proving that Kasia in India must have been

Kusinara Kushinagar ( Hindustani: or ; Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is a town in the Kushinagar district in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is an important and popular Buddhist pilgrimage site, where Buddhists believe Gautama Buddha attained ''parinirvana''. Etymo ...

, the place of the

Parinirvana In Buddhism, ''parinirvana'' (Sanskrit: '; Pali: ') is commonly used to refer to nirvana-after-death, which occurs upon the death of someone who has attained ''nirvana'' during their lifetime. It implies a release from '' '', karma and rebirth a ...

of the Buddha. He also conducted investigations on the

Borobudur Borobudur, also transcribed Barabudur ( id, Candi Borobudur, jv, ꦕꦤ꧀ꦝꦶꦧꦫꦧꦸꦝꦸꦂ, Candhi Barabudhur) is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple in Magelang Regency, not far from the town of Muntilan, in Central Java, Indone ...

, the great Buddhist monument on the Isle of

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

Postwar Buddhism

After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, a strong ally for Buddhism came in the form of the

Theosophists 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 ...

. The Dutch secretary of the

Theosophical Society Adyar The Theosophy Society was founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and others in 1875. The designation 'Adyar' is sometimes added to the name to make it clear that this is the Theosophical Society headquartered there, after the American section ...

, Mrs. Spruitenburg, returned from India and started ‘gatherings’ in her home in

Huizen Huizen () is a municipality and a village in the province of North Holland, the Netherlands. The name "Huizen" is Dutch for "houses" and this usage has been linked to the belief that the first stone houses, instead of the more common sod houses ...

that attracted dozens of people from all over the country. Among them was Ernst Verwaal, who founded the ‘Buddhistische Vriendenkring Den Haag’ (Circle of Friends of Buddhism The Hague), later renamed as ‘Nederlandse Buddhistische Vriendenkring’ (Dutch Circle of Friends of Buddhism). He issued a simple journal. The centre of the ‘Circle’ was in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

, where in 1966 the wife of the Thai Ambassador, Mrs. Bhakdi, started receiving on Saturdays its members in the Thai Embassy. Later the group was presided by Ronald Poelmeijer, also being influenced by Peter van der Beek, who in 1953 became a member of The Western Buddhist Order, represented in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Buddhist Jack Austin.

National Buddhist Organisation

In 1966 the Dutch Circle of Friends of Buddhism Circle changed its name to the ‘Buddhist Society in the Netherlands’. The new Society held activities that were calculated liberal to all the schools of Buddhism. This ecumenical policy led to some dissension, and later the organization was revamped as the ‘Stichting Nederlands Buddhistisch Centrum’ (Dutch Buddhist Centre Foundation) on 8 November 1967, with the aim ‘to study of the principles of Buddhism in all its diversity and to encourage the practical application of these principles. From 1968 to the present, the Centre has issued a journal. Originally it was called ‘Saddharma’ and early in the 21st century it was rechristened as ‘Vorm en Leegte’ and published together with a commercial Buddhist publisher. The centre changed its name in 1978 to ‘Stichting Vrienden van het Boeddhisme’ (Friends of Buddhism Foundation). In the same year the ‘Boeddhistische Unie van Nederland’ (Buddhist Union of the Netherlands) was founded, consisting only of representatives of Buddhist groups, with Tony Kurpershoek-Scherft as its first President. It was this second organization which became the Dutch member of the

European Buddhist Union The European Buddhist Union (EBU) is the umbrella organization of Buddhist communities and national Buddhist unions in Europe. The EBU is open to all schools and traditions of Buddhism in Europe wishing to unite on the basis of Buddhist teachings an ...

. Early 21st century however it dropped its membership of the EBU for a number of reasons; a main one being that the EBU had, and currently still has, both national umbrella organisations amongst its members as well as 'traditions on European level' like FPMT, Triratna Buddhist Community etc. making it in the BUN's eyes a too confused platform. From 1978 onwards, the history of Buddhism in the Netherlands is mostly the story of individual Buddhist traditions. With however the BUN still acting on their behalf towards government and NGOs, leading to e.g. the BOS 'Boeddhistische Omroep Stichting' (Buddhist Broadcasting Channel) and the formal Buddhist Prisoner Chaplainship which gets equal recognition as other religions. And the SVB still being relevant as an ecumenical entry-level organisation, and as publisher of the only generic Buddhist (quarterly) magazine available in Dutch kiosks.

Zen/Chán Buddhism

In 1968 Leo Boer and Janwillem van de Wetering founded a

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

group, and through two books made Zen popular in the Netherlands. The guidance of the group was taken over by Erik Bruijn who is still in charge of a flourishing community. There are several Zen organisations in the Netherlands: * The Kanzeon Sangha of Genpo Roshi – having its roots in the

White Plum Asanga White Plum Asanga, sometimes termed White Plum Sangha, is a Zen school in the Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi lineage, created by Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi. It consists of Maezumi's Dharma heirs and subsequent successors and students. A diverse organization ...

Taizan Maezumi Hakuyū Taizan Maezumi ( Maezumi Hakuyū, February 24, 1931 – May 15, 1995) was a Japanese Zen Buddhist teacher and rōshi, and lineage holder in the Sōtō, Rinzai, and Sanbo Kyodan traditions of Zen. He combined the Rinzai use of '' kōan ...

Roshi – consists of several organisations: ** Niko Tydeman Sensei leads the ''Zen Centrum Amsterdam'', which has a relatively large zendo in the centre of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

. ** Tenkei Coppens Roshi leads the ''Zen River'' Buddhist monastery in

Uithuizen Uithuizen () is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Het Hogeland. It had a population of 4,885 in January 2017. The Uithuizen railway station is located on the Sauwerd–Roodeschool railway. Histor ...

. * Ton Lathouwers is the informal "leader" of ''Maha Karuna Ch’an'', an ''… informal and fundamentally open sangha of laypersons …''. Ton studied under several teachers, beginning with

Masao Abe was a Japanese Buddhist philosopher and religious studies scholar who was emeritus professor at Nara University. He is best known for his work in comparative religion, developing a Buddhist-Christian interfaith dialogue which later also inc ...

. He received dharma transmission from the Indonesian

Chán Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning " meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and ...

teacher Teh Cheng. Ton's teachings are characterised by an emphasises on karuna. * Another group consists of the ''Zen.nl'' organisation from Rients Ritskes, a student of Hirata Roshi of

Tenryū-ji , formally known as , is the head temple of the Tenryū-ji branch of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism, located in Susukinobaba-chō, Ukyō Ward, Kyoto, Japan. The temple was founded by Ashikaga Takauji in 1339, primarily to venerate Gautama Budd ...

in Kyoto. He studied in Kyoto in 1986/87, and claimed to be "officially authorised" by Sokun Tsushimoto Roshi in 1999. * Many other groups are also represented in the Netherlands, like the ''Order of Buddhist Contemplatives'' in Apeldoorn, the

Thich Nhat Hanh Thích is a name that Vietnamese monks and nuns take as their Buddhist surname to show affinity with the Buddha. Notable Vietnamese monks with the name include: * Thích Huyền Quang (1919–2008), dissident and activist * Thích Quảng Độ ( ...

''Order of Interbeing'' and the ''International Zen Institute Noorderpoort'' monastery/retreat centre in Drenthe, led by Jiun Hogen Roshi. * Chinese Buddhists developed an own centre: it is a famous landmark in the Chinatown district of Amsterdam, called the He Hua temple. It's manned primarily by monks and nuns linked to the BLIA of Ven.

Hsing Yun Hsing Yun () (born 19 August 1927) is a Chinese Buddhist monk. He is the founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order as well as the affiliated Buddha's Light International Association in Taiwan. Hsing Yun is considered to be one of the most ...

from Taiwan.

Theravada Buddhism

In 1971 the Dutch merchant Monshouwer gathered some people in order to discuss the possibility of founding a

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 with the support of Thai ambassador Sompong Sucharitkul. In 1973 the temple was officially founded in

Waalwijk Waalwijk () is a municipality and a city in the southern Netherlands. It had a population of in and is located near the motorways A59 and N261. The villages of Capelle, Vrijhoeve-Capelle, Sprang (the former municipality of Sprang-Capelle) and ...

. Originally the temple was named Wat Dhammasucaritanucharee, but two years later renamed as Buddharama Temple with its own supporting foundation called ‘Young Buddhists Netherlands’. This foundation had its own journal. Later the founding abbot Ven. Mettavihari moved to Amsterdam and started a separate community of vipassana practitioners there. The foundation supporting the Thai temple in Waalwijk was renamed the ‘Nederlandse Buddha Dhamma Stichting’ (Dutch Buddha Dhamma Foundation) and now aims mainly for Thai immigrants. In 2015 it became known that Mettavihari had sexually abused various of his followers in Waalwijk and elsewhere. At least 21 victims had accused him of abuse by June 2015. After the passing away of Ven. Mettavihari, there still is the Sangha Metta Buddhist templ

in Amsterdam centre; next to this two countrywide organisations being the general Vipassana-oriented SI

and the Burmese-oriented Sagya U Bha Khi

Also more regional organisations exist e.g. around Groningen and Drenthe in the north of the country.

Tibetan Buddhism

In 1977 Han de Wit, an authorized pupil of the Kagyu lama Chogyam Trungpa, founded a centre in Amsterda

which is engaged in teaching the Dharma (Buddhism), Dharma and meditation according to

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, Taman ...

an tradition. There is a smaller centre in

Oegstgeest Oegstgeest () is a town and municipality in the province of South Holland in the western Netherlands. Its population was in . Etymology The portion ''geest'' in the name refers to the geest lands, which were excavated in the seventeenth cen ...

, also founded by de Wit, and groups in two other towns (Utrecht and Nijmegen). Other

Karma Kagyu Karma Kagyu (), or Kamtsang Kagyu (), is a widely practiced and probably the second-largest lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, ...

centres from different lineages have also sprung up, e.g. Naropa Institute in Cadzand, the locally famous Stupa temple in Hantu

and Diamond Way Buddhism (Ole Nydahl). The Tibetan Nyingma tradition is represented by several groups. They have a centre (Nyingma Centrum, Nederland) and a bookshop in Amsterdam. These groups belong to the organization of

Tarthang Tulku Tarthang Tulku () (born 1934) is a Tibetan teacher ( lama) who introduced the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism into the United States, where he works to preserve the art and culture of Tibet. He oversees various projects including Dharma P ...

who resides in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The Gelugpa tradition (FPMT) is organized in the Maitreya Institute and owns a retreat centre in Loenen, Apeldoorn and a city centre in

. The Maitreya Institute centres here are based on the initiative of Paula Koolkin in 1976. In August 1979 lama Thubten Yeshe and lama Zopa Rinpoche came to teach. By 2013 lama Geshe Sonam Gyaltsen and lama Sonam Ngodrup are the teachers in permanent residence. The Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism took a foothold in 1976 as Geshe Lama Sherab Gyaltsen Amipa established the ‘Sakya Thegchen Ling’ in The Hague. Next to these four main schools there are also representations of more ecumenic and split-off Tibetan Groups. E.g. Rigpa from Sogyal Rinpoche, Dzogchen community from Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, the

New Kadampa Tradition The New Kadampa Tradition – International Kadampa Buddhist Union (NKT—IKBU) is a global Buddhist new religious movement founded by Kelsang Gyatso in England in 1991. In 2003 the words "International Kadampa Buddhist Union" (IKBU) were a ...

and the Jewel Heart affiliated with Gelek Rinpoche.

Other groups

Finally two more ecumenic groups should be mentioned. In the first place the

Triratna Buddhist Community The Triratna Buddhist Community (formerly the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO)) is an international fellowship of Buddhists and others who aspire to its path of mindfulness. It was founded by Sangharakshita (born Dennis Philip Edward ...

(TBC, formerly FWBO

connected with the large movement of Ven.

Sangharakshita Sangharakshita (born Dennis Philip Edward Lingwood; 26 August 192530 October 2018) was a British spiritual teacher and writer, and the founder of the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order, which in 2010 was renamed the ''Triratna Buddhist Commun ...

in the UK. It is growing at a regular speed, with centres in Amsterdam and Arnhem and a retreat centre in Hengstdijk, in the southern

Zeelandic Flanders Zeelandic Flanders ( ; zea, Zeêuws-Vlaonderen; vls, Zêeuws-Vloandern)''Vlaanderen'' in isolation: . is the southernmost region of the province of Zeeland in the south-western Netherlands. It lies south of the Western Scheldt that separates ...

region. The centre in

, 'Boeddhistisch Centrum Haaglanden', follows roughly the same teaching but separated from the movement. Secondly there is the

Arya Maitreya Mandala Arya Maitreya Mandala is a tantric and Buddhist order founded 1933 by Lama Anagarika Govinda. History Lama Anagarika Govinda founded the Arya Maitreya Mandala order on 14 October 1933 and made fourteen Indian scholars members. The order's acti ...

, a group of pupils of

Lama Anagarika Govinda Anagarika Govinda (born Ernst Lothar Hoffmann, 17 May 1898 – 14 January 1985) was the founder of the order of the Arya Maitreya Mandala and an expositor of Tibetan Buddhism, Abhidharma, and Buddhist meditation as well as other aspects of B ...

. This group had separated itself from the larger group in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

after the death of Lama Govinda.

Present situation

In 1971 there were 900 Buddhists in the Netherlands. Since 1971 the number of Buddhists has increased considerably, probably in connection with the rise of ‘alternative’ views in society and the decline of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. The increased interest in Buddhism is evident from the growth in number of Buddhist centres. In 1990 total there were forty-two groups., in 2010 between eighty and one hundred including groups associated with a larger national centre. A Buddhist broadcasting channel (Boeddhistische Omroep Stichtin

offers programming on the national network. In 2004 there were 170,000 Buddhists in the Netherlands - about 1% of the population.2004 data drawn fro
2008 SCP report
/ref> Also the Buddhist Prison Chaplainshi

'Boeddhistische Zendende Instantie', is formally recognised by the government, gets equal subsidy as the other main religions and is busy setting up a professional training in cooperation with the Free University of Amsterdam.