Buddhism in Switzerland

Interest in Buddhism in Switzerland emerged at the beginning of the 20th century, sparked by allusions to the religion by Theosophy and some philosophical schools.

[1] In the 1970s, a group in French-speaking Switzerland was formed in Lausanne by Georges Bex, who had been ordained a monk in Thailand.

[1] Immigration from Asian countries, mostly from Cambodia, Thailand, Tibet and Vietnam resulted in the multiplication of Buddhist centers in Switzerland.

[1] Tibetan Geshe Rabten founded in 1977, in Mont Pèlerin, a Buddhist monastery and study centre for European monks, nuns and lay people as well.

Switzerland also has Tibetan-Buddhist and Zen monasteries, among them the Tibet Institute Rikon located in Zell-Rikon im Tösstal in the Töss Valley in the canton of Zürich.