More Americans Turn to Buddhism in Vermont

January 11, 2006

Source: The Buddhist Channel/Voice of America

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=2,2197,0,0,1,0

On January 11, 2006 the Voice of America reported, "The religious traditions of most Americans are rooted in the Judaism and Christianity of Europe and the Middle East. However, in recent decades, there has been a growing interest in the spiritual traditions of Asia, especially Buddhism. At a meditation center in the New England state of Vermont, Americans from many walks of life practice a Tibetan form of Buddhism. Many of the chants one hears every evening in the spotless wooden and gold shrine room at the Karme Choling meditation center are updated versions of the traditional chants uttered by monks in far off Tibet. There are no Asians among the forty or so practitioners sitting on the traditional square cushions here. Some are residents, and some are visitors. According to center director Bill Brauer, Karme Choling, like America itself, is an amalgam."