Buddhism in Germany looks back to a history of over 150 years. Arthur Schopenhauer was one of the earliest Germans who were influenced by Buddhism. Schopenhauer got his knowledge of Buddhism from authors like Isaac Jacob Schmidt (1779-1847). German Buddhists or Orientalists like Karl Eugen Neumann, Paul Dahlke, Georg Grimm, Friedrich Zimmermann (Subhadra Bhikschu) and the first German Buddhist monk Nyanatiloka were also influenced by Schopenhauer and his understanding of Buddhism. But also German Indologists like Hermann Oldenberg and his work „Buddha, sein Leben, seine Lehre, seine Gemeinde“ had an important influence on German Buddhism. Arthur Schopenhauer (February 22, 1788 – September 21, 1860, [1] IPA: ) was a German philosopher, often considered a pessimist. ... Karl Eugen Neumann (* October 18, 1865 in Vienna; † Oktober 18, 1915) ist he first translator of large parts of the Pali Canon of buddhist scriptures from the original Pali into a European language (German) and one of the pioneers of European Buddhism. ... Hermann Oldenberg (1854-1920) was a German scholar of Indology, and Professor at Kiel (1898) and Göttingen (1908). ...

In 1888 Subhadra Bickshu (Friedrich Zimmermann) published the first edition of the „Buddhistischen Katechismus“, a work based on the "Buddhist Catechism" of Henry Steel Olcott. Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (1832-1907), founder and first president of the Theosophical Society, is well-known as the first prominent person of Western descent to make a formal conversion to Buddhism. ...

In 1903 the first German Buddhist organisation was founded by the Indologist Karl Seidenstücker in Leipzig. In 1904 Florus Anton Gueth became the Theravada monk Nyanatiloka. Some important Pali texts were translated into German in the early part of the 20th century by scholars like Karl Eugen Neumann (1865-1915), Nyantiloka and others.

In 1922 Hermann Hesse published his famous work "Siddhartha", which has been translated into many languages. Hermann Hesse in 1927 Hermann Hesse (pronounced ) (2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-born poet, novelist, and painter who became a Swiss citizen. ... Siddhartha is an allegorical novel by Hermann Hesse which deals with the spiritual journey of an Indian man called Siddhartha during the time of the Buddha. ...

In 1924 Dr. Paul Dahlke established the first German Buddhist monastery, the "Buddhistische Haus" in Berlin.

The German Dharmaduta Society, initially known as the Lanka Dhammaduta Society and dedicated to spreading the message of the Buddha in Germany and other Western countries, was founded in 1952.

In 1957 The German Dharmaduta Society purchased the premises of "Das Buddhistische Haus" from the heirs of Dr. Dahlke. It is now a Centre for the spread of Theravâda Buddhism in Europe. The German authorities have designated it, as the oldest Buddhist institution in Europe), a National Heritage site.

Literature

• Hellmuth Hecker: Chronik des Buddhismus in Deutschland. 3. Aufl. Deutsche Buddhistische Union, Plochingen 1985
• Jürgen Offermanns: Der lange Weg des Zen-Buddhismus nach Deutschland. Vom 16. Jahrhundert bis Rudolf Otto. Lunds Univ., Lund 2002, ISBN 91-22-01953-7
• Eva Sabine Saalfrank: Geistige Heimat im Buddhismus aus Tibet. Eine empirische Studie am Beispiel der Kagyüpas in Deutschland. Farbri, Ulm 1997, ISBN 3-931997-05-7
• Klaus-Josef Notz: Der Buddhismus in Deutschland in seinen Selbstdarstellungen. Eine religionswissenschaftliche Untersuchung zur religiösen Akkulturationsproblematik. Lang, Frankfurt a.M. u.a. 1984.
• Andrea Rübenacker: Buddha boomt. Eine inhaltsanalytische Untersuchung der im deutschen Fernsehen gesendeten Beiträge zum Thema "Buddhismus in Deutschland". Unter besonderer Berücksichtigung einer stofflichen Buddhismus-Betrachtung. Diss. Dortmund 2000.
• Volker Zotz: Auf den glückseligen Inseln. Buddhismus in der deutschen Kultur. Theseus, Berlin 2000 (ISBN 3-89620-151-4)

Volker Zotz (Volker Helmut Manfred Zotz) (born October 28, 1956 in Landau in der Pfalz, Germany) is an eminent Austrian philosopher, and a prolific author in German language. ...

External links

• Soka Gakkai International Deutschland
• Deutsche Buddhistische Union (DBU)
• buddhismus-heute.de
• tibet.de
• Buddhactivity Dharma Centres database
• Das Buddhistische Haus, Berlin-Frohnau
• Zen-Vereinigung Deutschland e.V.