Buddhism in the United States

Buddhism in the United States refers to the diverse Buddhist communities, traditions, and practices found in the United States. Buddhism was first established in the country through Asian immigrant communities in the 19th century, especially Chinese and Japanese immigrants, and later expanded through additional immigration from Buddhist-majority countries in East, Southeast, and South Asia. Since the late 19th and 20th centuries, Buddhism has also attracted non-Asian American converts and practitioners through interest in meditation, philosophy, Zen, Tibetan Buddhism, Theravada, and other traditions.

American Buddhism includes immigrant and heritage Buddhist communities, convert Buddhist communities, and organizations with origins in Asia that actively expanded in the United States. Major traditions represented in the country include Japanese Pure Land, Nichiren, Zen, Tibetan Buddhism, Theravada, Chinese Buddhism, Korean Seon, Vietnamese Thiền. Scholars have noted that these categories can overlap and that Buddhist identity in the United States is complicated: some people identify culturally or religiously as Buddhist, while others participate in meditation or Buddhist communities without adopting the label “Buddhist.”