Why Buddhism is not growing?

[SarathW]

Why Buddhism is not growing?

The global Buddhist population in 2050 will be about the same size it was in 2010!

https://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/rel ... 2010-2050/

[budo]

Why should it grow if the Buddha himself said it would shrink with the rising of counterfeit dhamma.

[Ceisiwr]

Why Buddhism is not growing?

The global Buddhist population in 2050 will be about the same size it was in 2010!

https://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/rel ... 2010-2050/

I imagine it has something to do with conversion to other religions, becoming non-religious and already low birth rates in the west.

[Sam Vara]

I reckon it's got something to do with all that semen retentive sex that I keep reading about...

viewtopic.php?f=56&t=34295

[Ceisiwr]

I reckon it's got something to do with all that semen retentive sex that I keep reading about...

viewtopic.php?f=56&t=34295

[DNS]

8 characteristics of people suited for the Dhamma:

1. This Dhamma is for one who wants little, not for one who wants much (appicchassāyaṃ dhammo, nāyaṃ dhammo mahicchassa).
2. This Dhamma is for the contented, not for the discontented (santuṭṭhassāyaṃ dhammo, nāyaṃ dhammo asantuṭṭhassa).
3. This Dhamma is for the reclusive, not for one fond of society (pavivittassāyaṃ dhammo, nāyaṃ dhammo saṅgaṇikārāmassa).
4. This Dhamma is for the energetic, not for the lazy (āraddhavīriyassāyaṃ dhammo, nāyaṃ dhammo kusītassa).
5. This Dhamma is for one with well-established mindfulness, not for one of confused mindfulness (upaṭṭhitassatissāyaṃ dhammo, nāyaṃ dhammo muṭṭhassatissa).
6. This Dhamma is for the composed, not for the uncomposed (samāhitassāyaṃ dhammo, nāyaṃ dhammo asamāhitassa).
7. This Dhamma is for the wise, not for the unwise (paññavato ayaṃ dhammo, nāyaṃ dhammo duppaññassa).
8. This Dhamma is for one who is free from impediments, not for one who delights in impediments (nippapañcārāmassāyaṃ dhammo nippapañcaratino, nāyaṃ dhammo papañcārāmassa papañcaratino).

(Anguttara Nikaya iv. 227)

Due to the above, it will probably always be around the #3 to #5 most popular religion, except perhaps during times when a samma-sam-buddha is present, then perhaps higher.

[markandeya]

Most spiritual traditions are being hampered by materialism, people have less time, have to many wordily concerns, I still think that Buddhist schools are quite well thought of even by neutrals who may not have any religious or spiritual beliefs.

Buddhist practices, may not be as popular as they were 10 years ago and before, people nowadays seem to be more into Advaita, although most of the modern Advaita is not the original adi shankara, its commonly termed as Neo Adviata, because people become the One, but whatever its called the Modern Advaita Vedanata is far more popular than Buddhist practices, mainly because Buddhism as in the westernised Buddhist teachings of Buddha Dharma did not satisfy or even come to close to answering the no self theory, which leaves a lot of people in confusion to what is their real identity. Modern Neo Advaita gives a positive identity and people in general prefer this.

[Virgo]

Why Buddhism is not growing?

There are not as many people with the kind of kamma for it.

Kevin

[Sabbe_Dhamma_Anatta]

Never mind 'isms; "Dhamma is growing at an extraordinary pace"; Goenkaji didn't teach Buddhism, he taught Dhamma.

Goenkaji: I am not concerned with 'isms'. I teach Dhamma, and that is what the Buddha taught. He never taught any 'ism', or any sectarian doctrine.

https://www.vridhamma.org/A-store-house ... S-N-Goenka

[Manopubbangama]

Buddhism is growing.

Just not in absolute terms in comparison to the world population.

Buddhism in Burma is alive and well and this is the country that will carry the torch of the sasana for at least the next 100 years.

This can be inferred by the fact that no other place even has the seeds of cultural orthodoxy and reverence for the Dhamma that the Burmese have, not the birthrate to match it.

What this means is that you (whoever is reading) is living in a time unlike any other time in the past 10,000 years or more - there are hundreds of thousands of monks, many of whom speak English who can train you to learn real Buddhism.

The very fact that this is so means that our kamma is indeed very good, and that we should take advantage of this fact - another such opportunity is not likely to occur for quite some time.

To make a simple choice even simpler - if you could hop on a plane, and go to a place with mango trees to devour fresh fruit, would you still desire to sit on your computer and look at pictures of mangoes and argue with others as to what the mango tastes like having not tasted it yourself?

[Aloka]

To make a simple choice even simpler - if you could hop on a plain.....

Would that be in the manner of a Kangaroo?




.

[DNS]

Buddhism in Burma is alive and well and this is the country that will carry the torch of the sasana for at least the next 100 years.

This can be inferred by the fact that no other place even has the seeds of cultural orthodoxy and reverence for the Dhamma that the Burmese have, not the birthrate to match it.

It's good you like Burma and their monks, but there are good and bad monks everywhere in virtually every nation. There are some monks in Burma who have been accused of instigating violence against members of other religions and ethnicities. This does not mean that all do that and in the same way it doesn't mean that all are good.

[SarathW]

In my opinion, Buddhism is not growing due to the misunderstanding of the teaching and not practicing true Dhamma.

Due to this, the Buddhists are an easy target for the conversion by other religions.
Many Buddhist changes their religion due to economic benefits and status of other religions.
What we need are not the number of monks but the quality of monks.
As David said we need more monks who can set examples by their behavior to other people.

Even so-called Buddhist does not follow religion. In Sri Lanka, many Buddhist men never go to a temple. Many of them consume alcohol.
If you compare this to Muslim men the go the mosk very often and do not consume alcohol. Due to this many Sri Lankan trust Muslims when they come to business dealings.
Christians are highly active in the social area. They use education and health and the economic power to impress people.

[pilgrim]

Buddhists tend to think small, to do things slowly, to think things over and let things unfold naturally. If Buddhism is to grow, we need to think BIG. Like Dhammakaya, leaving its teachings aside, it's outreach is impressive. Everything is conducted on a mega scale. They invest in technology and programs that amplify and expand their reach.

[retrofuturist]

Greetings pilgrim,

Buddhists tend to think small, to do things slowly, to think things over and let things unfold naturally. If Buddhism is to grow, we need to think BIG. Like Dhammakaya, leaving its teachings aside, it's outreach is impressive. Everything is conducted on a mega scale. They invest in technology and programs that amplify and expand their reach.

The thing is... in the Dhamma, the wise have disenchantment, and they value solitude. They are therefore not interested in becoming entangled in grand, audacious and expensive outreach programs, that are, by their nature, in conflict with the wisdom and discernment that they have realized.

Thus, the only ones who would do such a thing, are those who are not yet wise, those who are 'tangled' and 'enmeshed', and see some benefit in evangelical expansionism. Arguably, this logic accounts for why only Dhammakaya is the only "Theravada tradition" (loosely defined) that does this kind of activity.

Metta,
Paul.