Buddhism in Spain

Buddhism in Spain

Flag of Spain
Dag Shang Kagyu
Total population
300,000 (2.1%)
Regions with significant populations
Throughout Spain
Religions
Buddhism (Tibetan ,Zen,Theravada)
Languages
Spanish and other languages

Buddhism (Spanish: Budismo) is the one of the largest religion in Spain. The presence of Buddhism in Spain began in the late 1970s, brought from other parts of Europe, especially France. Despite its short history in the country, Buddhism was recognized as a deep-rooted religious confession in 2007, under official consideration. This recognition implies its comparison with most established religions for legal, political and administrative purposes.

Most of the Buddhist tradition, established in Madrid in 1991, is presented to the state by the Buddhist Union of Spain, the Federation of Buddhist Organizations of Spain (UBE-FEBE).The first schools in the country were Zen (of Mahayana Buddhism) and Kagyu (lineage of Tibetan Buddhism), and they are the ones with the largest presence in the country.

According to an estimation from 2018, there are around 90,000 followers of Buddhism in Spain and a total number of around 300,000 adherents if sympathizers are included. There are also almost 300 centers for Buddhist practice in the country. However, some of its teachings, like reincarnation or karma, have partially syncretized with the cultural mainstream via New Age-style movements.

History

The Spanish came into contact with Japanese Buddhists in the 16th century when some Jesuit missionaries settled in Japan and China. At that time St. Francis Xavier and a little later the superior of the mission in Japan, Cosme de Torres, wrote some reports describing the newly discovered religion and its monks, nuns. They say it indicates how diabolically difficult it was to "mainstream religion" and some of its features, such as the long meditations of Zen monks and "their arguments".

Buddhism calls its followers "'Dharma students'" or simply ""Students"" and its meeting place is "Study Center". In Spain, the first study center was opened in Barcelona in 1977 and belongs to the Karma Kagyu, a Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, propagated by Master Akong Rinpoche. In the spring of 1977, Zen Buddhist monk Reizan Shoten (Antonio Sánchez Orellana), disciple of Taisen Deshimaru, the first Buddhist monk to come to Spain and since then dean of Zen, began practical Buddhism by opening the first Doyo Zen. In Seville and also in Spain, (see the book Buddhism in Spain, representing Buddhism in the Ministry of Justice during the creation of Article 16 of the Constitution on religious freedom, including the word "and community", later he Spain Jane created missions that still exist today. In 1977, Lama Thubten Yeshe also came to Ibiza, zen., promoted the creation of centers of important traditions such as Theravada or Tibetan Buddhism and Granada, among others Later, monasteries, temples, and retreat centers were built in selected locations, usually far from the big cities, for the sake of remembrance, such as Dag Shang Kagyu, one of the most important in Spain and on which more than ten centers founded in the province in 1984 depend from Huesca. Among the most important Spanish Zen masters, Dokusho Villalba (founder of the Soto Zen Buddhist community in Spain and Luz Serena Temple) and Denko Mesa (spiritual president of the Soto Zen Canarian Buddhist community and the first layman to be recognized as a master of Zen Buddhism in Europe) stand out.)Currently, the Buddhist schools with the most presence in Spain are Tibetan Buddhism in first place (64,20%), and Zen in second place (23,30%). In 2013 were estimated 40,000 assiduous practitioners of Buddhism in Spain.

Also in 1977 there was the first visit to Ibiza by the lamas Thubten Yeshé and Zopa Rinpoche, promoters of the network of Tibetan centers of the Gelugpa school, who took the name of Nagarjuna.

There are several centers in all the big cities of the country. In the mountains of the Aragonese Pyrenees is Dag Shang Kagyü (DSK), a monastery founded by Kalu Rinpoche in 1984. Sakya Tashi Ling is a monastery located near Barcelona, founded in 1977. In 1998 the Samye Dechi Ling monastery was founded in the province of Girona. The O Sel Ling monastery is located on the southern slope of Sierra Nevada, Granada. In all of them it is allowed to practice the long term retreats.

The first stupa to be built in Spain was the O Sel Ling stupa in 1990. With 33 m (108 feet) high, in 2003 the Enlightenment Stupa was built as the final project of Teacher Lopon Tsechu Rinpoche. Both stupas are located in Andalusia.

The International Center for Buddhist Studies near Pedreguer in the Alicante region of Spain, built in 2006, is a Sakya Buddhist monastery. It is managed by the Sakya Foundation and led by the Sakya Trizin. The resident teacher at the monastery is Ngawang Lekshe Rinchen Gyaltsen. It is worth highlighting Ediciones Dharma, the main Buddhist publishing house in Spain.

Demography

Schools of Buddhism in Spain

  Tibetan (54%)

  Zen (23%)

  Others (23%)

It is estimated that in Spain there are about 100,000 Buddhists registered in study centers, about 200,000 converted and adding those who sympathize with Buddhism, their number reached 300,000.

Monasteries and Buddhist centers in Spain

• Sakya Buddhist Center, Pedreguer, Alicante
• Sakya Drogon Ling Buddhist Center, Denia, Alicante
  • Vajrayana Buddhist Center of Tibetan tradition and founded in 1996
• Sakya Tashi Ling Buddhist Monastery, Sitges, Barcelona
• Samye Dzong Buddhist Center Barcelona, Barcelona
• Casa Virupa Meditation Center, Tavertet next to the Sau reservoir, Barcelona
• El Olivar del Buda Monastery, Sierra de Gata, Cáceres
• Sakya Tashi Ling Buddhist Monastery of Castellón, Vall d'Alba, Castellón
  • It is a brother of the Sitges monastery in Barcelona
• Samye Dechi Ling Monastery, Santa Coloma de Farners, Gerona
• Tushita Meditation Center, Arbúcies, Gerona
• O Sel Ling Buddhist Center, Granada Alpujarra, Granada
• Dag Shang Kagyu Buddhist Center, Graus, Huesca
  • Circle Niguma
• Chökhorling Center, Murcia
• Chup Sup Tsang University Monastery, Ventoselo (San Amaro), Orense
• Seikyuji Zen Temple, Morón de la Frontera, Seville
• Zen Temple Luz Serena, Casas Del Río, Valencia
• KMC Madrid ─ Kadampa Meditation Center. La Sierra, El Boalo, Com. Madrid
  • It is the brother of Kadampa Meditation Center, Malasaña, Madrid
• Tibetan Buddhism Thubten Dhargye Ling, Madrid
• Camino del Diamante Buddhist Center, Madrid
• Vajrayana Buddhist Center, Madrid
• Kadampa Meditation Center, Malasaña, Madrid
• Camino Del Diamante Buddhist Center, Las Palmas de Gran Cañarías, Cabildo Insular de Gran Canaria
• Kagyu Shedrub Chöling Buddhist Center, Las Palmas de Gran Cañarías, Island Council of Gran Canaria
• Ghe Pel Ling Canarias, Adeje, Island Council of Tenerife
• Diamond way Buddhist Center Mallorca, Palma de Mallorca
• Kadampa Meditation Mallorca, Palma de Mallorca * Lama Tsongkhapa Center, Palma de Mallorca
• Zen Center,Palma, Palma de Mallorca
• El Jardin Del Dharma, Palma de Mallorca
• Rigpa Mallorca, Palma de Mallorca
• Centro Buddhist De San Lorenzo, Sant Joan de Labritja
• Ganden Choeling Menorca Tibetan Buddhist Center, Mahón
• Ganden Choeling Menorca Buddhist Center, Mahón

Bibliography

• Baumann, Martin (2001). Global Buddhism: Developmental Periods, Regional Histories, and a New Analytical Perspective, Journal of Global Buddhism 2, 1-43
• Johnson, Todd M.; Grim, Brian J. (2013). The World's Religions in Figures: An Introduction to International Religious Demography (PDF). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 34–36. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013. Search this book on
• Offermanns, J. (2005). Debates on atheism, quietism, and sodomy: the initial reception of Buddhism in Europe. Journal of Global Buddhism 6, 16-35
• Koné, A. (2001). Zen in Europe: a survey of the territory. Journal of Global Buddhism 2, 139-161

See also

• Buddhism in Europe
• Buddhism and Science
• Religion in Spain
• Buddhism in Andorra
• Buddhism in Greece
• Buddhism in Hungary
• Buddhism in the West

External Links

• Official page of the Buddhist Union of Spain, UBE. The Union brings together all the Spanish Buddhist communities that request it and meet the requirements to be part of it
• Buddhist Monasteries of Spain
• Dag Shang Kagyu Monastery
• Soto Zen Buddhist Community

Other articles of the topic Religion : Full communion, God in Islam, Shirk (Islam)
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