Source: Miami Herald

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/9686319.htm

On September 17, 2004 the Miami Herald reported, "thousands of South Floridians [gathered] to see Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, who kicks off five days of public talks and religious teachings in Miami-Dade and Broward counties on Saturday... His message has resonated in the post-9/11 period, with his emphasis on nonviolence and achieving world peace through compassion. These elements have contributed to the rise of Buddhism in the West. Among the five million Buddhists in the United States, who are mostly of Asian descent, one million are Western converts, said Charles Prebish, professor of religious studies at Pennsylvania State University and coauthor of The Faces of Buddhism in America."