Western Buddhism Into the 80's

rch 2502/1959, the Chinese made an attempt to arrestintensive practice of insight (Vipassana) meditation,
the Dalai Lama who then fled through the Himalaya tocalled the Insight Meditation Society. The IMS now
India. As Tibet was made part of China, refugeesoperates a retreat centre which is set on 80 wooded
streamed to the northern borders of India and Nepalacres in the quiet farm country of Barre in central
where they established large colonies. Some of theMassachusetts. Besides the unsalaried staff, the
Tibetans went further to Europe and America whereSociety invites meditation teachers from other parts of
they founded monasteries and refugee communities.America, Europe and Asia to conduct retreats at the
Tibetan meditation centres were also established forIMS. Of the four resident teachers of the centre, the
the native Western people and since 2508/1965first two, Jack Kornfield and Joseph Goldstein, spent
Tibetan Buddhism has begun to be well known to thelong years as Buddhist monks studying and practising
Americans. Under compe-tent masters (calledmeditation under Southeast Asian meditation masters,
Rimpoche), Tibetan meditation centres have multipliedespecially Buddhadasa Bhikkhu of Suan Mokh, Chaiya,
rapidly and they are gaining new disciples every day.and Ajahn Chah of Wat Pah Pong, Ubon, both in
Among the best-known and most influential of theThailand. With this Southern Buddhist background of its
Tibetan masters in America are Chogyam Trungpaex-monk teachers, this big meditation centre can be
Tulku and Tarthang Tulku. Chogyam Trungpa arrived insaid to represent the Theravada meditation tradition in
the United States in 2513/1970 when he founded theAmerica.
Tail of the Tiger community near Barnet, Vermont, inAlso in 2519/1976, Ajahn Sumedho, an American monk,
March. In November of the same year, he moved towas granted permission by his teacher, Ajahn Chah of
Boulder, Colorado, where the Karma Dzong MeditationWat Pah Pong, a forest monastery in Ubon Province
Center was organized in March 2514/1971 and thein Northeast Thailand, to visit his aging parents in
Naropa Institute originated in 2517/1974.California. On his way back to Thailand, Ajahn
Tarthang Tulku arrived in the United States in 2501Sumedho made a stop in London where he came into
1968. It is he who founded the first Tibetan meditationcontact with Mr. George Sharp, Chairman of the
centre for Americans, the Tibetan NyingmapaEnglish Sangha Trust, which was established in 2499
Meditation Center in Berkeley, California, which was1956 to provide a suitable residence for bhikkhus in
organized in the spring of 2502/1969.England. The Trust owned the Hampstead Buddhist
The degree of the success of Tibetan Buddhism inVihara which was, in 2519/1976, empty. In 2520/1977,
America is clearly indicated in the following words ofAjahn Sumedho accompanied Ajahn Chah to London
Needleman: “Tibetan Bud-dhism will be for theand was left with three other Western monks, all
West in the coming decade what Zen Buddhism hasdisciples of Ajahn Chah, to stay at the Hampstead
been in the last decade and...will enrich ourBuddhist Vihara. As the site of the Vihara was
understanding of religion no less than Zen Buddhismconsidered unsuited for forest monks and as a forest
has.”called Hammer Wood in West Sussex was given to
In Britain, a number of Tibetan Buddhist centres havethe Sangha, the monks headed by Ajahn Sumedho
also been established. Among these are the Tibetanmoved from London to Sussex on June 22, 2522
Centre at Samya Ling, the Kham Tibetan House, the1979. There, they developed the Chithurst Forest
Manjushri Institute and the College of Tibetan BuddhistMonastery or Wat Pah Cittaviveka, where the Thai
Studies.forest Theravada tradition began to be settled in the
In 2519/1976, a group of Americans on the East CoastWest and the Western Sangha began to grow on the
founded an organization to provide a place for theWestern soil.