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What
comes to mind when you think about the state of North Carolina? It
might be basketball or barbecue. Maybe dogwoods. It could be NASCAR or
kudzu. But it probably isn't Buddhism. If you think of religion at all,
it's probably Methodists or Baptists. And if an image of a religious leader
comes to mind it might be the state's famous Baptist preacher, Billy Graham,
and not Phramaha Somsak Sambimb, the Thai Buddhist monk who serves as spiritual
advisor to the hundreds of Cambodian Khmer refugees at the Greensboro Buddhist
Center. It's not likely that Somsak, or any other Buddhist leader in the
Tar Heel State, will soon rival Graham's visibility or clout. But the religious
landscape of the state has been changing during the past quarter century,
and Buddhism now has an increasing presence. As twenty students at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill discovered when they criss-crossed
the state doing research for this collaborative project, by 2001 the Tar
Heel State boasted at least thirty-three Buddhist temples and centers.
The Buddha has come to the land of barbecue, Baptists, and basketball.
Although the class
has now ended, the Buddhism in North Carolina Project continues.
From mid-2001 to mid-2006 this website was updated by UNC grad student Jeff Wilson as new groups
formed. These responsibilities have now been taken up by UNC grad student
Brian Moynihan. Currently eighty Buddhist groups are listed in North Carolina.
Please contact us at the numbers/email listed below if you have information
on groups that are not included in our directory.
Last updated: 12/19/06 |
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