[Buddha-l] how many buddhists...

[David S]

About a year or two ago, the discussion arose about the number of Buddhists in China and also to my website which has a page that lists the number of Buddhists.  It made some Buddhists quite angry and so in an effort to provide more equanimity and loving kindness, I improved that page:
 
http://www.vipassanafoundation.com/Buddhists.html
 
If you scroll down past the discussion about China, you will see a paragraph discussing Buddhism in the U.S.  The number of Buddhists in the U.S. has been rising, not so much due to conversion, but due to immigration from Asia.  You will find links to some of the studies already provided on this list and some others.  I have now placed links to studies to show the sources to the previous and current claims made at the site.  I have also added a page discussing the definition of a Buddhist:
 
http://www.vipassanafoundation.com/definitionofabuddhist.html
 
A common topic for discussion of any counting of a demographic group is to define who or what we are countng, so I have made that additional page on the definition of a Buddhist and you will note I take the inclusiveness position.  I know some will disagree and for those that do, please let me know if you have any other references from the Suttas that can help in an accurate definition of a Buddhist.
 
David N. Snyder
Vipassana Foundation