ABSTRACT
Introduction The rapidly increasing connectedness of world societies has meant that tradition al religions face both a threat and an opportunity. The threat is of the corrosive and destructive effect of contact with modes of thinking that reject and undermine their basic postulates. The opportunity is provided by large numbers of potential converts who have not previously been accessible to them. Buddhism, particularly in its Tibetan variety, has proved one of the most successful of traditional religions in adapting to this new global context, and I begin by asking why this iso
Several reasons may be suggested. As far as Buddhism in general is concerned, we can consider for example the ease with which Buddhist philosophy (Mahäyäna in particular) can be viewed as harmonious with contemporary science, and the success with which Buddhism has been presented as an essentially non-violent, non-hierarchical and ecologically friendly tradition. f
In relation to Tibetan Buddhism speeifically, we might note the great internal variety of Tibetan religion, which ean seem to have something for almost every religious need from healing rituals and prosperity magie to profound meditative experienees and subtle philosophical argument. Another key issue, however, is undoubtedly the presenee of large numbers of teaehers of Tibetan-style Buddhism in the form of the refugee lamas who left Tibet in 1959 and the following years.
