Our Mission, Vision, Values and Goal

OUR MISSION


Our mission is to facilitate international exchange and promote spiritual friendship amongst European Buddhists, to support social action and ideas motivated by Buddhist values, and to amplify the voice of Buddhism in Europe and worldwide.


OUR VISION


We envision a fellowship of European Buddhists bringing Buddhist ideas and principles into European society. We wish that the voice of Buddhism should help bring about a world guided by wisdom and compassion, for the happiness and wellbeing of all.


OUR VALUES


We believe in the limitless potential of all beings for wisdom and compassion. We are motivated by the values of non-violence, compassion, kind-heartedness and responsibility, which are at the heart of Buddhism.

We support the implementation of fundamental human rights, equality and individual responsibility for all, regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, language, religion, nationality, social origins, birth status or any other distinction. In respect of the Buddhist value of equanimity we don’t support any kind of discrimination or claiming attitudes that lead to division or marginalisation within our communities and society at large. Likewise, we work to ensure that the richness of teachings and values present in the various Buddhist traditions can be preserved and can constitute a heritage to be passed on to European society and future generations.

We share the values that inspired the founders of the Council of Europe and the European Union: of creating and maintaining peace, solidarity and diversity across Europe, after centuries of war and discrimination, via free, democratic, open and non-discriminatory states.

We encourage openness, clarity and transparency within the EBU, and within the societies in which we live and work.

At the root of many modern difficulties may often be found greed, anger and prejudice. Though these may be personal and local in origin, their consequences may be global and collective. We believe that Buddhist practice, founded in a deep understanding of interconnectedness, can help transform attitudes.


We believe that oppression, discrimination, labour exploitation and all aspects of social and economic injustice should be transformed into openness, freedom, co-operation and peace.

With wisdom and compassion, unhealthy consumerism and over-exploitation of our planet can be transformed into care for all life forms and deep respect for the earth and its ecological diversity.

Read here our article "Let's create European Buddhism" for more on our mission, vision and values!

A Buddhist voice for Europe

The European Buddhist Union is an international association of Buddhist organisations and national Buddhist unions in Europe.

We envision a fellowship of European Buddhists bringing Buddhist ideas and principles into European society.

In 2008 the EBU obtained official participatory status with the Conference of International Non-Governmental Organisations at the Council of Europe.


Our background


The EBU was founded in 1975 as an umbrella association for existing European Buddhist organisations. The influence of Buddhism and Europe upon each other goes back much further than the 19th or 20th centuries: there has been much interaction between Buddhism and European culture since the beginning of Buddhism in India in the 5th century BCE.

More about Buddhism, some characteristics of Buddhism, and Interactions between Buddhism and European culture coming soon on this page.


What we do


Our mission is to: facilitate international exchange and promote spiritual friendship amongst European Buddhists; to support social action and ideas motivated by Buddhist values; and to amplify the voice of Buddhism in Europe and worldwide.

Click here to read more on EBU and its members activities


Our council


The European Buddhist Union is guided by an international council elected by a general assembly of all member organisations. The present council was elected for 3 years in September 2020.

Click here to meet our council members


Our members


The European Buddhist Union is open to all schools and traditions of Buddhism in Europe wishing to unite on the basis of Buddhist teachings and work together in spiritual friendship and respect for diversity.


About the membership


We bring together almost 50 member organisations from 16 European countries. We regret we cannot offer individual membership at present.


Click here for an overview of all our members

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