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America in 1997, admitted more immigrants into its borders than all
of the other nations on earth combined. A Newsweek article pointed
out thirteen years ago, that, "Asian immigrants who will number as
many as 12 million by the year 2,000 could affect America more
profoundly than any other group since the first boat people crossed
over on the Mayflower." Recent articles in Christianity Today,
World Magazine, and Moody Monthly have called attention to the rapid
spread of Buddhism in America and signal the vital need for training
Christian leaders that are well informed and equipped to minister in
a rapidly changing pluralistic context.
Statistics reveal that
Asians accounted for only 5 percent of the immigrants legally
admitted into US borders during the period 1931-1960. However,
after 1965, immigration from Asia grew to 34 percent and by
1980-1984 skyrocketed to 48 percent. It is important to recognize
that these immigrants unlike their predecessors from Europe are less
likely to come from Judaeo-Christian backgrounds and are
predominantly from a Buddhist, Hindu or Muslim background.
In the state of California alone, there are over 500,000
Southeast
refugees. 80,000 of those refugees are Cambodians who have settled
in Long Beach, just south of Los Angeles. In Orange county there are
over 300,000 Vietnamese. 1,000 Tibetan refugees have relocated in
sixteen cluster sites in America due to the pressure of the
"Free Tibet" movement and high visibility of the Dalai
Lama.
Seeds of Buddhism were further planted by the Buddhist
radio
personality, Alan Watts, (a former Episcopal priest) D.T. Suzuki
(the Zen
author from Japan) and the Beat generation among youth looking for
answers in the tumultuous '60's. These students have now become the
Buddhist teachers, monks, and professors of the 1990's. Dr. Diana
Eck, the Director of the Pluralism Project at Harvard estimates that
there are presently over 1,500 Buddhist temples, centers and
monasteries in America and stated that 'Los Angeles is writing the
history of Buddhism in America." It boasts to be the home of the
largest Buddhist temple in the Western Hemisphere, "Hsi
Lai" or "Coming to the West" which recently purchased
the Christian Narramore Center for $6.5 million dollars for their
new Buddhist University.
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