QUESTION: When did Buddhism first come to the ‘West?
ANSWER: The first Westerners to become Buddhists were probably the Greeks who migrated to India after the invasion of Alexander the Great in the 3rd century BCE. One of the most important ancient Buddhist bOOks, the Milindapanha, consists of a dialogue between the Indian monk Nagasena and the Indo-Greek king Milinda. But in recent times Buddhism started to attract admiration and respect in the West towards the end of the 19th century when scholars began translating Buddhist scriptures and writing about Buddhism. By the early 1900’s a few Westerners were calling themselves Buddhists and one or two even became monks. Since the 1960’s the number of Westerner Buddhists has grown steadily and today they make up a small but significant minority in most Western countries.
ANSWER: The first Westerners to become Buddhists were probably the Greeks who migrated to India after the invasion of Alexander the Great in the 3rd century BCE. One of the most important ancient Buddhist bOOks, the Milindapanha, consists of a dialogue between the Indian monk Nagasena and the Indo-Greek king Milinda. But in recent times Buddhism started to attract admiration and respect in the West towards the end of the 19th century when scholars began translating Buddhist scriptures and writing about Buddhism. By the early 1900’s a few Westerners were calling themselves Buddhists and one or two even became monks. Since the 1960’s the number of Westerner Buddhists has grown steadily and today they make up a small but significant minority in most Western countries.
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