Elements of Buddhism were introduced in Cuba along with the arrival of the Chinese since the mid-nineteenth century and the Japanese during the first half of the mid-twentieth century. However, their religious traditions most generally remained inside the ethnic minorities.
From the 1990s, several Buddhist groups have been developing without any links to these communities but rather under the supervision of masters from Europe and the Americas. In this respect, there are two Soto Zen groups (Havana and Artemisa) which are connected to the International Sangha of Kosen Thibaut, a French follower of the Japanese master Deshimaru. A network of Vipassana sympathizers meets at Havana and occasionally offers courses and retreats on meditation. Eduardo Pimentel, a nationally renowned yoga instructor, promotes the Vipassana method according to the Burmese-Indian teacher, S.N. Goenka, and has connected Cuban practitioners with Buddhists from the Americas. Tibetan Buddhism is represented by a...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Fabelo L (2009) La Nueva Era: Una etapa en la espiritualidad religiosa cubana. In: Simposio Internacional CIPS 2009, CITMATEL-CIPS. DESR-CIPS, La Habana
Jiménez S et al (2005) Algunas Tendencias y Manifestaciones del Movimiento de la Nueva Era en Ciudad de La Habana. DESR-CIPS, La Habana
Rodriguez Plasencia G (2014) Soka Gakkai in Cuba: building a “spiritual bridge” to local particularism, the “mystic East” and the world. J Relig Jpn 3(2–3):198–225
Rodriguez Plasencia G (2015) Joining Soka Gakkai in Cuba: affiliation patterns and factors influencing religious conversion careers. Soc Compass 62(2):159–171
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this entry
Cite this entry
Rodriguez Plasencia, G. (2015). Buddhism in Cuba. In: Gooren, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08956-0_126-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08956-0_126-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-08956-0
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities