most-and-least-buddhist-cities-in-america

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tiltbillings
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most-and-least-buddhist-cities-in-america

Post by tiltbillings »

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/1 ... de=1739984" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
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Re: most-and-least-buddhist-cities-in-america

Post by DNS »

:thumbsup: Thank you for that link!

Las Vegas is number 7 !!!!!!!!!!!

:woohoo:

We should get an even higher rating here in Vegas; after all we have Brahma here, Mandalay Bay, Tao night club (okay, maybe not for the Tao night club) but the Brahma statue is a big attraction and the Manadalay Bay casino has a "Buddhist" theme. And Steve Wynn is a Buddhist.

http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Brahma" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Steve_Wynn" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Sambojjhanga
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Re: most-and-least-buddhist-cities-in-america

Post by Sambojjhanga »

David N. Snyder wrote::thumbsup: Thank you for that link!

Las Vegas is number 7 !!!!!!!!!!!

:woohoo:

We should get an even higher rating here in Vegas; after all we have Brahma here, Mandalay Bay, Tao night club (okay, maybe not for the Tao night club) but the Brahma statue is a big attraction and the Manadalay Bay casino has a "Buddhist" theme. And Steve Wynn is a Buddhist.

http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Brahma" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Steve_Wynn" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
i'm sensing a theme..."go WEST young (or old) man (or woman) :twothumbsup:

Oh, and I would be hiding my defilements if I didn't mention that San Diego is numero dos :jumping:
Sabba rasam dhammaraso jinati
The flavor of the dhamma exceeds all other flavors
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Re: most-and-least-buddhist-cities-in-america

Post by DNS »

I like San Diego. I lived there 1998-1999. You can't beat the San Diego weather; about 70 degrees all year, fairly sunny and the Pacific ocean / beach too. I didn't realize there were that many Buddhists in San Diego.

I wonder why Honolulu is not on the list? It probably should be #1. They probably only checked the stats for mainland U.S.
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Sambojjhanga
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Re: most-and-least-buddhist-cities-in-america

Post by Sambojjhanga »

David N. Snyder wrote:I like San Diego. I lived there 1998-1999. You can't beat the San Diego weather; about 70 degrees all year, fairly sunny and the Pacific ocean / beach too. I didn't realize there were that many Buddhists in San Diego.

I wonder why Honolulu is not on the list? It probably should be #1. They probably only checked the stats for mainland U.S.
I think this list is rather biased, to be quite frank with you. It is indeed odd that Honolulu isn't on there. There are other places as well that really should be on the list that aren't. You know what they say. Lies, damned lies, and statistics.

I love SD. Lived here since the early 70's. big problem from my perspective now is it's gotten ridiculously expensive.

Much metta,

:anjali:
Sabba rasam dhammaraso jinati
The flavor of the dhamma exceeds all other flavors
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Re: most-and-least-buddhist-cities-in-america

Post by appicchato »

Viva San Diego!...
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Kim OHara
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Re: most-and-least-buddhist-cities-in-america

Post by Kim OHara »

I couldn't help noticing the similarity between their map of the US and the election maps we've seen so recently ... most-Buddhist lines up pretty neatly with the Democrat-voting states.
Obviously not just because of the Buddhists, but to do with openness, pluralism ... good things like that.

:coffee:
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marc108
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Re: most-and-least-buddhist-cities-in-america

Post by marc108 »

cali woop woop. its interesting to see the density around the more famous monasteries
"It's easy for us to connect with what's wrong with us... and not so easy to feel into, or to allow us, to connect with what's right and what's good in us."
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Re: most-and-least-buddhist-cities-in-america

Post by daverupa »

On that US map, the state of Utah is shown as having some nice orange up in Box Elder county (top-left of the state). Beyond that, the lesser yellow colors map to the Ogden-Salt Lake City-Provo sprawl.

But the strong Box Elder presence is interesting because it's fairly rural; I found the following article from 2010, the same year as the map from the OP (Honeyville is in Box Elder, a branch of Jodo Shinshu):
Now, with only 50 members, mid-week services are held just 10 times a year, with no Sunday service offered. The congregation shares the same minister, Rev. Jerry Hirano, with larger and more active congregations in Ogden and Salt Lake City.

But Aoki said her church wasn't always so quiet.

"We used to have more and we used to even have a Sunday school," she said. "But the young people, they get married and not many people come back on the farm. The young people go away to school and they don't come back."

...

The congregation was a branch of the Intermountain Buddhist Church in Salt Lake City until 1943. It then became a branch of the Ogden Buddhist Church until 1971 when it became independent.

...

Mike Monson, a minister's assistant at the Ogden Buddhist Church, said the Honeyville Buddhist Church will one day die as its members get too old to attend.

He said at that time, the building will revert back to the larger church and likely will be sold.
It's interesting to see how traditional religious adherence changes after the expatriate generations. For the most part, Mahayana seems to be better suited for export as compared to Theravada, but they all seem to suffer, to one extent or another, from a constricted adherence to cultural expressions.

Related reading:

Old wisdom in the New World: Americanization in two immigrant Theravada Buddhist temples
  • "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

    "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.

- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]
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Re: most-and-least-buddhist-cities-in-america

Post by suttametta »

Buddhism is very prominent in the Bay Area.
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Re: most-and-least-buddhist-cities-in-america

Post by DNS »

On the U.S. map there is a part of Colorado in the south-central area to southwest that is showing over 5% Buddhist. Does anyone know what made that happen? I know Shambhala Mountain is pretty popular and big, but that is up in Northern Colorado. I imagine it must be another big Vajrayana center, but not sure.
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