Apart from various Buddhist groups brought to the
Cape Colony from Southeast Asia during the 1680s, and the many indentured labourers brought to
Natal from
India during the latter part of the 19th century (some of whom were Buddhist, and some of whom were Hindu who later converted to Buddhism once in South Africa), most Buddhists in South Africa are
converts, and not
Asian. Various Buddhist groups grew up in the major cities from the 1970s, and there has been a proliferation of distinct Buddhist traditions since the mid-1980s. These include
Theravada,
Zen,
Nichiren and
Tibetan schools. Sister Palmo (Freda Bedi) was instrumental in establishing the Karma Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism in South Africa when she visited in 1972. At the behest of the 16th Karmapa, Choje Akong Tulku Rinpoche set up Samye Dzong Dharma centres in the major South African cities, which are thriving today under guidance of the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Drodul Trinley Dorje. The
Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order has erected
Nan Hua Temple, the largest Buddhist temple and
monastery in Africa, in the town of
Bronkhorstspruit near
Pretoria. Another notable Buddhist centre in the country is the Buddhist Retreat Centre in
Ixopo, KwaZulu-Natal. The Nichiren Buddhist lay group
Soka Gakkai International has a community centre in Parkwood, Johannesburg. Derivatives of Korean Zen have been established in the Western Cape. The Vipassana Association of South Africa founded by
S.N. Goenka has been holding meditation retreats in the Western Cape. More recent additions to the collection of schools include
Shambala originally conceived by
Chögyam Trungpa,
Diamond Way Buddhism, a multicultural Lay Buddhist tradition directed by
Ole Nydahl and under the guidance of
H.H. 17th Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje, and the
New Kadampa tradition founded by
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. A 2003 study estimated that in the late 1990s there were a total of 6,000 Buddhists in South Africa (3,000 of whom had Asian ancestry) out of a total population of 42 million (or 0.01% of the total population). And according to the 2010s estimates, the Buddhist adherents (may included
Taoism and
Chinese Folk Religion) is increasing to between 0.2% 0.3% of the South African population, or between 100 and 150 thousand people while the number of practising Buddhists maybe low. == Dalai Lama's visits ==