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January/March 1991 Editorial Comment
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BUDDHIST KINGDOMS in a SHRINKING WORLD --James C. Stephens The once distant and mysterious Buddhist kingdoms are so no longer. Strange sounding terms such as "sacred Crystal Mountain, magic snow lions, the Temple of Dawn, the Silk Road, golden temple spires" now take on new meaning as our neighbors move in next door. Buddhism in History Buddhism's historical divisions center in three areas of the world: 1) Southern and Southeast Asia (Theravada); 2) North Asia, China, Korea and Japan (Mahayana); 3) Tibet (Lamaistic school) These divisions are not clear cut since Buddhists embrace congruent local religious forms within their philosophy. For example, the missionary movement of Buddhism into China via commercial routes like the Silk Road brought it into contact with the philosophies of Lao Tse and Confucius. So it was not unusual for new converts to worship local deities and wholeheartedly embrace the cardinal doctrines of their new faith. It may be of help to break down Buddhism further into missiological divisions each containing a particular worldview: 1) Buddhist animism; 2) Syncretistic Buddhism; 3) Individualistic Buddhism; 4) Neo-Buddhism. Buddhist Populations Estimates of the unreached populations of Buddhists range from 275 to 325 million within approximately 1,000 groups, according to the U.S. Center for World Mission. Their sizes range from 300 individuals in such peoples as the Chaobon in central Thailand, to the 20 million member Soka Gakkai, a militant Japanese sect. The difficulties of designing serious mission strategy are apparent. In the U.S. for instance Asians accounted for only 5% of legal immigrants from 1931- 60. But after 1965 the number grew to 34% and by 1984 had sky- rocketed to 48%. These changing patterns must bring into question our way of thinking about missions as exclusively overseas. The Buddhist Impact The Nichiren Shoshu Academy, a branch of the Japanese Soka Gakkai, claims over 300,000 members in the USA, according to the Los Angeles Times. It has followed its parent organization in Japan politically and has its members praying for the success of the Komeito political party in Japan. Additionally they have built a university in La Jolla, California and plan to build another near Los Angeles. All of these are designed to pave the way for the advancement of Buddhism in America. Buddhism wages an international and interactive battle. Over 100 years ago in Sri Lanka, Christian missions were beginning to take hold. This gain was turned to a loss as a strong Buddhist apologetics movement (started by an American Buddhist reformer, Colonel Olcott) overwhelmed the growing Christian cause. Today Sri Lanka continues to be a bastion of the Buddhist faith and is very involved in its missionary thrust. Implications for Missions In Korea, phenomenal Christian growth has claimed upwards of 30% of a former predominantly Buddhist country. More work needs to be done in this area of documenting how Buddhism has historically grown, how it is growing and how it is affecting the Christian movement. Finally, we need to effectively mobilize the world Christian movement to reach out to these people. Albertus Pieters, a missionary who served in Japan for 30 years, wrote: "I think sometimes that I made a mistake, as a missionary, in not paying more attention to Buddhism and never preaching about it. If it were a mistake, it is one shared by almost all missionaries and by Japanese preachers as well, for you seldom heard a word from them about of Buddhism and never an address about it intended for Buddhist believers." Percent Buddhism BUDDHISM
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