Electronic Journal of Central European Studies in Japan, No.3 (October 2017)

History of Hungarian Buddhism and the influences of Buddhism in
Hungary until the 1920`s
Király Attila（Josai International University））

Summary
As the first of a series, this paper aims to introduce the story of Buddhism and its
influences in Hungary until the 1920s with some references to later decades. The introductionof Buddhism into Hungary should not be interpreted only from the point of view of thehistory of religion, but also as a history of ideas, because individuals, artists, diplomats,representatives of then-nascent Hungarian Oriental Studies, Tibetology and Buddhology all
played significant roles in this process. As a result, the study focuses on, inter alia, the personof Sándor Kőrösi Csoma, (known outside Hungary as Alexander Csoma de Kőrös,) the fatherof Tibetology, the commemoration and celebration of whose achievements bring together
from time to time both adherents and researchers of Buddhism in Hungary.

Keywords: Hungarian Buddhism, Eastern religions in Hungary, Sándor Kőrösi Csoma,
Hungarian painters, Simon Hollóssy, religious life in Hungary in the interwar period, yoga

Introduction
The first of this multiple-part series of papers deals with the aims to introduce the history of
Buddhism in Hungary until the 1920`s. One such aim is to try to understand the reasons forthe rapid growth of Buddhism in Hungary in the past 25 years since the fall of communism inEastern Europe. To do so, we need to concern ourselves with the development of Buddhism in
Hungary before and after World War II, especially during the post-war socialist period. The
end of the eighties meant also the end of the socialist period; significant changes took place in
Hungarian society and in religious life, and these had a considerable influence on emerging
Buddhist groups.
It is important to mention here that the research literature on Hungarian Buddhism andother Asian religions in Hungary is undeniably poor compared to Western European andNorth American academic literature on Buddhism in the West.

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『中欧研究』第 3 号（2017 年 10 月）

The history of Buddhism in Hungary has been examined in detail so far only by an earlier
Buddhist theological dissertation1, two major studies2 after 1990, a commemorative bookedited by the Dharma Gate Buddhist College and another unpublished study3. In othercountries only shorter studies and reviews have appeared on the subject4. Although there
exists already a rich body of literature on Buddhism in the West, including Western Europe,
historical surveys of European Buddhism make little more than passing reference to
Buddhism in Hungary5. This, of course, originates in the differences that exist between
Western and Eastern European Buddhism, their historical developments, financial
backgrounds, structure of their groups, publicity etc. There are obviously also numerous
historical reasons for these differences.
Nevetheless, it is also true that many Hungarian Buddhist groups are eager to describe or
position themselves conspicuously in a different way than Buddhist groups in other Westernor Eastern European countries: many Hungarians cherish their alleged Eastern historical roots

1Rev. Géza Rács, “Magyarország és a Buddhizmus” (Hungary and the Buddhism), (Buddhist) Doctoral

thesis. Budapest: Buddhista Misszió, az Árja Maitreya Mandala Rend magyarországi ága, 1960).
2Attila Márton Farkas, Buddhizmus Magyarországon Avagy Az Alternatív Vallásoság Egy Típusának

Anatómiája (Buddhism in Hungary or the anatomy of a type of alternative religiousness). MTA PTI
Etnoregionális Kutatóközpont Munkafüzetek 50 (Budapest: MTA Politikai Tudományok Intézete,
Etnoregionális Kutatóközpont, 1998). Ágnes Kárpáty, Buddhizmus Magyarországon avagy egy
posztmodern szubkultúra múltja és jelene, (Buddhism in Hungary or the present and the past of apostmodern subculture) MTA PTI Etnoregionális Kutatóközpont Munkafüzetek 76 (Budapest: MTA
Politikai Tudományok Intézete, 2001).
3

Csaba Kalmár, Lángra Lobbant a Szikra - Emlékkönyv a Buddhizmus Magyarországi Meghonosítóiról
(The spark became a flame - Commemorative book about those who introduced Buddhism to Hungary)(Budapest: A Tan Kapuja Buddhista Egyház, 2004). The Gate of Dharma Buddhist College website also
published short articles on the important figures of Hungarian Buddhism, which uses as source the abovementioned memorial book. Buddhist groups' homepages also publish short summaries of Hungarian
Buddhism. The above-mentioned unpublished work is about the post-war, socialist era history of
Buddhism: Krisztina Szamosközi, “A Buddhista Misszió Történetéhez” (About the history of Buddhist
Mission) (Budapest: Gate of Dharma Buddhist College, after 2010). This work also contains references tothe pre-war times. The journalist Károly Nagy also wrote a short informative book about Buddhism with abrief summary of the history of Hungarian buddhism. Károly Nagy, Buddhizmus, Misztika, Tibet.,(Buddhism, mysticism, Tibet) Változó Világ Többnyelvű Könyvtár 40 (Budapest: Változó világ, n.d.)
4 Among the early reviews are these two: Ernest Hetényi, “A short history of Buddhism in Hungary,”
Bulletin of Tibetology 10, no. 1 (1973): 57-59. Russell Webb, "Buddhism in Hungary," British Mahabodhi
Soc. "Buddhist Quarterly" Autumn, n.d.
5

See for example Martin Baumann, “Global Buddhism: Developmental periods, regional histories, and a

new analytical perspective.” Journal of Global Buddhism, no. 2 (2001) (2001): 1-43.

Electronic Journal of Central European Studies in Japan, No.3 (October 2017)

and thus, Hungarian Buddhists tend to describe themselves as more sensitive to Eastern
spiritual ideas than other Europeans.
Meanwhile, since the year 2000 research on Eastern religions in Hungary became
somewhat more energetic; the number of studies on Buddhist and other religious groups with
Eastern origins have increased remarkably6. Japanese researchers have also dealt with
Hungarian Buddhism7. However, as some time has elapsed since the publication of many ofthese works and more than a quarter of a century has gone by since the fall of Eastern
European communist regimes, a new summary of Buddhism-related research in Hungary
would seem to be justified.

The characteristics and the periods of Hungarian Buddhism
Just like in other European countries, one of the distinctive features of "Hungarian
Buddhism" is that those, who introduced it to Hungary were not only individuals who claimed
themselves Buddhist practitioners, but also groups of Hungarian intellectuals - typicallyorientalists, artists, musicians, art historians, art collectors, diplomats – who came into contact
by different motives and sometimes with a strong adventurous spirit with Buddhism during
their lives and professional careers, and then pioneered in introducing the Buddhist teachingsand heritage into Hungary. The scientific educational work carried out by scientists andresearchers was particularly important during the decades of socialism (1947-1989), whenthose interested in the East, had to rely almost exclusively on these types of works for
information about Buddhism on a wider range8.
6

It is worth to mention here, that although Hungary has a long tradition in “traditional” folklore studies

which received strong official support even during the socialist era, serious academic research in the fields
of cultural and religious anthropology – which might help to understand the different aspects of thechanging religious life in a changing society – began only after 1989 with the establishment ofanthropological departments in some Hungarian universities.
7

These will be introduced in detail later in this series of paper. I would mention here only that recently asignificant monograph was published on the Hungarian adherents of the Society of Krishna consciousness.
8

Above criteria are in accordance with the editorial principles of the commemorative book published by

Tan Kapuja Buddhista Egyház (in English: Gate of Dharma Buddhist College) which was established at the
beginning of the nineties. Kalmár, Lángra Lobbant a Szikra - Emlékkönyv a Buddhizmus Magyarországi
Meghonosítóiról.
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『中欧研究』第 3 号（2017 年 10 月）

Thus, the story of the introduction of Buddhist ideas into Hungary should not be interpreted
only from the aspects of the history of religion, but also as an adventureous tour de force ofideas, since in addition to religious practices and beliefs, intellectual interest and curiosity inEast Asia and the spirit of adventure also played a substantial role in it.
In certain cases, one can not draw a sharp dividing line between a researcher and apractitioner - in this regard, the “Hungarian Buddhism” shows a similar character as its
Western European or North American9 counterpart.

The author of the paper divides into three periods the history of Hungarian Buddhism andthe history of the influences of Buddhism in Hungary. These papers will discuss these periods
in a roughly chronological manner with some thematically organized subsections, and withsome that concern themselves with later periods.
1. The first phase lasts from the mid-19th century to the end of the Second World War. This
paper covers mostly the first part of this period until the 1920’s. The second paper will deal
mostly with the 30’s and 40’s.
2. Buddhism under the socialist regime. The second period begins after the Second World
War, from approximately 1947 and lasts until 1989.
3. The third period begins from about 1989 and has so far laster more than a quarter century.
A few things should be noted here. First of all, the presentation of the history of Buddhism
and its influences in Hungary should not be seen as confined to the territory of present-day
Hungary, since before 1920 the teachings of Buddha appeared in a country with a muchbigger territory than the present Hungarian state. Hungary’s territory was reduced after WorldWar I, but in a certain sense the Treaty of Trianon had a greater impact on the practice ofEastern religions after World War II. This is because with the establishment of the Eastern
bloc under Soviet control, the practice of all religions became more difficult than had been
under the more liberal prewar regimes of East/Central Europe.
During the years of the socialist regime, it was impossible even to think about free
networking with Buddhist practitioners in neighbouring countries. This situation began tochange in the 80’s, and changed significantly only after 1989.
On the other hand, as a result of the integration of East/Central Europe into the system of
the “socialist” world order created by the USSR, Buddhism and Buddhism-influenced

9

In this context see for example Journal of Global Buddhism 9 (2008) Special Issue Buddhist and Scholarsof Buddhism: Blurred Distinctions in Contemporary Buddhist Studies.

Electronic Journal of Central European Studies in Japan, No.3 (October 2017)activities in Hungary and other East Bloc countries, including the attempts to engage in
research by Buddhist groups, were held back when compared to the American and Western
European Buddhism and Buddhology. During the eighties, when the socialist world wasloosening, this inclusion-like development resulted in the birth of a unique world of
Hungarian Buddhism, the effects of which are still being felt.

This situation changed radically only after the 1990s, when more and more Buddhist
groups, denominations and churches were founded. In addition to the Western (European andAmerican) and Hungarian Buddhist communities, there appeared also Japanese, Korean andTibetan groups, and we may expect in the near future further developments with regard to
Theravada communities and initiations. In addition to the capital, Buddhist communities
emerged in other major cities and there are also more and more communities operating
Buddhist meditational centers, retreats, and even monasteries in the countryside. As one may
expect we can find naturally a lot of examples of the peaceful co-existence of Buddhism withother Oriental religions and/or semi-, or pseudo-religious "intellectual trends" and there is no
shortage of syncretic tendencies.

Characteristics of the first period of development until the end of the Second World War

Let me summarize in brief the characteristics of the first period until the end of WWII withsome additional comment on the postwar socialist era and the situation after the 1990’s.
-

The early period of Buddhism in Hungary was a period when Hungarians were getting

to know the “East”, and the Eastern religions. As Martin Baumann stressed in his work about"global Buddhism”, at the time when the West met Buddhism in the 19th century, Buddhism
appeared to Westerners as “text only”, in other words text without context. This may be evenmore affirmatively said about Hungary10.
-

This is the classical period of traveler’s and explorer’s books, reports and romantic

accounts about the East. The descriptions are in accordance with the fashion of the period;
we can find a lot of examples of descriptions of “the national character” of East Asianpeoples.
10

Martin Baumann. Global Buddhism: Developmental Periods, Regional Histories, and a New Analytical

Perspective. In: Journal of Global Buddhism 2 (2001): 1-43.
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『中欧研究』第 3 号（2017 年 10 月）-

This early period is mainly "paper-based". In this sense it differs significantly fromthe post-war period, when radio and television, and from the after 90s onward, when in
addition to the traditional media the Internet began to play a significant role.

-

This first period which lasts until the Second World War is just like elsewhere in theWest, also the period of emergence of a Hungary-based Oriental Studies and Asian-related
museology. Hungarians played a notable role in several major scientific discoveries related to
Buddhism, and at the birth of the discipline of Buddhology and Tibetology (Alexander Csomade Kőrös – Sándor Kőrösi Csoma, Sir Aurel Stein – Stein Aurél)11.
-

However we must wait until the end of WWII for the institutionalization of

Buddhism in Hungary and the birth of the first officially recognized Buddhist group(Buddhista Misszió - the Buddhist Mission). Consequently, there were no Buddhist religious
schools, Eastern “masters” or “teachers” living in the country during the previous period. Of
course, there was no direct master-student relationship (which is a legitimizing element within
a Buddhist lineage). Naturally, we cannot speak about interbuddhist relations, although there
were personal connections with the already existing Western Buddhist organizations (Pali
Text Society, Maha Bodhi Society). Thus the above mentioned relative delay compared toWestern Buddhism can be perceived in these terms too. The task of Buddhist teaching islimited to the delivery of some spiritual counselling and “spiritual life skills”.
-

Obviously, transplantation and adaption of ritual practices (meditation, prostration,

ceremonies etc.) was also delayed. Such practices would only start seriously after the war,
when the Buddhist Mission (Buddhista Misszió) began to operate, but in reality this process isstill underway at present. Rituals and ceremonies involve the construction of spaces full ofsymbolic meaning – neither authoritarian regimes, nor the constrained budgets of small
religious groups made it easy to bring them to life.
-

During this period Buddhism did not influence the whole of society, but only somesmall groups. This is actually still true today. The construction of Buddhist structures or
Buddhism-related buildings that are clearly visible from the outside took place starting only inthe eighties, and that of Buddhist temples only since the nineties.
-

Because of the lack of institutionalization, we cannot speak of the establishment of

any religious hierarchy. Interestingly, the lack of institutionalization or a relaxed, only
partially implemented institutionalization can be observed even today in many moderngroups. (There are financial, legal and political reasons behind this phenomenon.)11

I will come back to Sir Aurel Stein in the second part of this series of papers.

Electronic Journal of Central European Studies in Japan, No.3 (October 2017)-

Until the nineties there were many Hungarians interested in Buddhism, but monks or

Buddhist masters had yet tot arrive to the country. Initially Hungarians were mainly interested
in the Southern, Theravada Buddhism, and this remained so until the nineties. In the first
instance, the interest in Buddhism was intellectual and artistic, and not devotional. Let meemphasize here, that the resulting spiritual openness towards the various schools of Buddhism
remains until today an important characteristic of Buddhism in Hungary. People were not“fanatic” about Buddhist teachings, there has been no “religious fanaticism”, and this may besaid even today. The subcultural, in some measure elitist, but also self-organizing nature of
Hungarian Buddhism lasts to this day, though, after the millennium, devotional Buddhism
grew stronger12. In the first part of the twentieth century, to a certain degree because ofurbanization there were already signs of the disintegration of religious traditions in Hungariansociety, and thus it was already predictable that Buddhism would reach out in particular to theurban and more educated segment of the population. Similarly, it was also predictable that
Buddhism in Hungary would be adopted by many predominantly as a spiritual lifestyle, thatwould allow the individual to develop and maintain multiple religious adherences, as
Buddhism makes possible without any particular problem for the practitioner of Buddhism toobserve Christian customs and celebrate its holidays. In other words, tendencies towards“secular Buddhism” – which is an important topic for present day Western Buddhist research– can be traced back to this first period13.
-

Buddhism to the general public actually did not appear alone and independently in

Hungary, but together with other Eastern religions. This partnership with other East Asianspiritual traditions is still characteristic of the way Hungarians approach Eastern religions. It
is also worth to mention here that Europe's first yoga school started to operate in Hungary
during the thirties.
-

One of the pivotal and substantial element of the attraction of Hungarians to Easternreligions was the idea that the Hungarian nation originates in the East, and consequently
Hungarians appreciate and comprehend better and more “deeply” and “instinctively”

12

Shopping for religion as an option and the New Age began to appear already during the sixties andseventies in the West, but the trend showed up only in the late eighties, early nineties in Hungary. “Selfyourself religions”
emerged also only at these later years.
13

See for example Winton Higgins, “The Coming of Secular Buddhism: A Synoptic View”, Journal of

Global Buddhism, no. 13 (2012) (2012): 109–26.
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『中欧研究』第 3 号（2017 年 10 月）

Buddhism than other European nations. Consequently, Buddhism is interpreted as a religionof our Eastern “cousins”, and thus has strong links to the heart and soul of Hungarians. Thisidea runs through the history of Buddhism in Hungary, and until nowadays provides a solid
ideological support for the adherents. There can be found more than enough examples of thiskind of thinking in the publications and on the websites of Buddhist communities.
-

Theosophy should be also mentioned here, as it appeared very early in Hungary andBuddhism was interpreted as a part of it. Thus, here is another example that Buddhism existed
in a syncretic form and intertwined with the occult.
-

Needless to say, at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries there

was no ethnic Buddhism (Thai, Tibetan, Chinese, Japanese etc.) in Hungary. We have to wait
until the 1990’s for them to appear. On the opposite side of the globe, Buddhist groups ofethnic Chinese and Japanese origin appeared already in the United States by the middle of the
19th century. At this time in Eastern Europe and in the Balkans, we can find only Kalmyk andBuryat Buddhism in Russia, and a Kalmyk Buddhist group that functioned in Belgrade, in
Serbia.
-There existed no translations of Buddhist texts from original languages in the earliest

periods. The exception is, of course, Sándor Kőrösi Csoma, or as he wrote his name in
English Alexander Csoma de Kőrös, the founder of Tibetology. At this time typically German,
French and English books were used for the source of translations.
-Because of that, I should emphasize once again the delay Hungary was subject to.

Just like in other East/Central European countries, “Hungarian Buddhism” was actuallydeveloping at the periphery of western Buddhism. However, the above-mentioned belief inthe links of the Hungarian people to the East, and the nature of this peripheral situation gave
opportunities to the formation of specific, local forms of Buddhism. This came to havesignificance after the 1980`s.

The beginnings

The first Hungarian sources associated with Buddhism can be traced back long before the19th century. Galeotto Marzio, the Italian humanist residing in the court of King Matthias
pondered for the first time mistakenly on the possibility that the name of the castle of Buda

Electronic Journal of Central European Studies in Japan, No.3 (October 2017)

might be traced back to the Buddha's name14.
The first Hungarian written source linked indirectly to Buddhism is the story of Barlaam
and Josaphat (in Hungarian: Barlám, Jozafát) in the codex Kazinczy (1521-1541). The codex
Kazinczy was most likely a Hungarian sermon-, legenda- and sample-collection15. The story
of Barlaam and Josaphat is the Christian version of Buddha's life. Its original source was a
Mahayana text written between the second and fourth century A.D.16

Sándor Csoma Kőrösi (Alexander Csoma de Kőrös)Kőrös)
Strictly speaking, Alexander Csoma de Kőrös (1784-1842) was the founder of the scienceof Tibetology and thus one of the initiators of domestic Hungarian Oriental Studies, but hewas also indirectly – without his will - one of the persons who layed down the foundations of

14

Galeotto Marzio, Mátyás Királynak Kiváló, Bölcs, Tréfás Mondásairól És Tetteiről Szóló Könyv(Budapest: Magyar Helikon, 1979). The English title is: „Book about the great, wise, humorous sayings anddeeds of King Mátyás”. The online edition may be found in the Hungarian Electronic Library (Magyar
Elektronikus Könyvtár). - Galeotto Marzio, Mátyás királynak kiváló, bölcs, tréfás mondásairól és tetteiről
szóló könyv, Bibliotheca historica ([Budapest]: M. Helikon, 1977), http://mek.oszk.hu/06500/06598.
Galeotto Marzio, (Budapest: Hungarian Helicon, 1979). The original Latin title of the work is De egregie,
sapienter et iocose dictis ac factis Mathiae regis.
Galeotto Marzio writes about Buda and the Buddha (p46): “Buda castle lies upon a hill, and its shores are
washed by the Danube. It is not quite certain from where its name was taken: maybe from the antique
Budaliah, or maybe from the holy man named Buddha. It does not mean, that the city had been founded byhim, it was just named after his famous name. According to the testimony of St. Jerome, Buddha was theauthor of the doctrine of the Indian philosophers named gymnobrachmans, and according to the tradition hewas born from the side of a virgin. Is the story of this birth real or written, I do not bother myself too muchto find it out. But it is certain that the Buddha is the name of a very wise man who founded the religion of
the Indians (Indus) (sic).”
15

Sándor V. Kovács, ed., A magyar nyelvű középkori irodalom (The Hungarian medieval literature)(Budapest: Neumann Kht., 2000), http://mek.oszk.hu/06100/06196. Zsuzsa Kovács, Kazinczy-Kódex 1526–
1541 (Codex Kazinczy), Régi Magyar Kódexek 28 (Budapest: Magyar Nyelvtudományi Társaság, 2003).
The text is also listed on the webpage Sermones Compilati of the Institute of Old Hungarian Literature of
Eötvös Loránd University. “Barlám És Jozafát legendája[1],” Sermones.elte.hu - Szöveggyűjtemény,accessed February 1, 2016,
http://sermones.elte.hu/szovegkiadasok/magyarul/madasszgy/index.php?file=374_386_Barlam_Jozafat.
16

The story of Barlaam and Josaphat entered the Christian World with Manichean help.
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『中欧研究』第 3 号（2017 年 10 月）

domestic Buddhism17. On the international level Csoma was one of the generators ofscholarly and public interest in Buddhism and Tibet, and he was the editor of the first TibetanEnglish dictionary and the writer of a Tibetan grammar book in English.
Csoma’s importance goes far beyond his oeuvre. He was one of the founders of a newscience, Tibetology, but since his quest was originally launched to explore the past of the
Hungarian nation, his life`s work served and serves as an example for later generations of
Hungarians.
Körösi`s legendary figure is still hugely revered both in Hungary and in his homeland, theSzékelyföld, or Szeklerland of Transylvania which is now part of Romania. Various
scientific18 and educational institutions bear his name. Statues of Csoma can be found inmany towns and villages of Transylvania and Hungary19. Schools are named after him20 andpoetic works commemorate his achievements. Hungarian Buddhists feel a strong attachement
to his person, Buddhist groups named stupas and parks after him21.

17

An extensive body of research literature on Csoma already exists. Here I will mention only two

researchers and their relevant works. The Hungarian Géza Bethlenfalvy and the French-Breton Bernard le
Calloch are among the most important Kőrösi-researchers. Géza Bethlenfalvy, “A Buddhizmus és
tanulmányozásának kezdetei (Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Munkásságának Tükrében.)”, (Buddhism and the
beginning of its research in light of the works of Kőrösi Csoma) Távol-Keleti Tanulmányok, January 2009,55–70. Bernard Le Calloc’h, “Alexandre Csoma de Körös, Le Bodhisattva Hongrois.,” Revue de L’histoire
Des Religions tome 204, no. 4. (1987): 353–88.
18Félix Vályi, “Kőrösi Csoma Sándor szentté avatása Japánban” (The canonisation of Sándor CsomaKőrösi in Japan) Pesti Napló, April 2, 1933.
Kőrösi Csoma Társaság. (http://www.kcst.hu/)
19

There are for example Csoma statutes in Transylvania, in his native Csomakőrös, in Marosvásárhely(Targu Mures), and also in the garden of the Rath Museum of Budapest.
20

For example the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Általános Iskola és Gimnázium (Sándor Csoma Kőrösi

Elementary and Secondary School) in Budapest, Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Kéttannyelvű Általános Iskola(Sándor Csoma Kőrösi Bilingual Elementary School) in Budapest, Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Általános Iskola(Sándor Csoma Kőrösi Elementary school) in Dunakeszi and Tóalmás.
21

The Sándor Csoma Kőrösi stupa was inaugurated on September 25, 1982 in Budapest, and later in 1987,

the Hungarian Buddhist inaugurated another Kőrösi Csoma stupa at the legendary Uszó ranch. At Tarvillage, situated near the Mátra mountains, there is a Buddhist Park, called the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor
Memorial Park. Here can be found the Sándor Csoma Kőrösi Peace stupa, which was built on the 150th
anniversary of his death in 1992. The Dalai Lama was also present at the inauguration ceremony and heconsecrated the stupa.

Electronic Journal of Central European Studies in Japan, No.3 (October 2017)

I will come back to the figure of Kőrösi in my next paper, when I will examine thebeginnings of Hungarian Orientalist Studies and the Hungarian Buddhist groups of thethirties, but let me mention here some important things.
Körösi`s figure played some moderate role in the Hungarian-Japanese relations22, as his
person was a certain kind of catalyst during the 1930`s when for well-known political reasons
Hungary and Japan reestablished and strengthened their diplomatic and cultural relations.
By the initiative of Felix Vályi, the Hungarian Society for East Asia donated in 1933 a
Csoma statue sitting in meditational pose to Japan honoring the country`s achievement as a
research center of Asian studies. The statue was the work of the famous sculptor, Géza
Csorba. The donation ceremony, and the Csoma memorial service took place at Taishō
University in Tokyo on February 22, 1933. Later, the statue was transferred to the Museum of
the Japanese Imperial House23. The statue was later copied, and the new statue was placed at
the entrance of the library of Taishō University. This ceremony was interpreted by Vályi as
the canonization of Kőrösi to “Buddhist sainthood”, and thus it is commemorated with great
respect by the Hungarian Buddhist communities and the picture of the statue can be seen in
many Hungarian Buddhist publications24.
Csorba produced later some other statues of the Székely-Hungarian scientist. For example,
another Csorba statue "The eternal wanderer" depicting Csoma in traveling dress withwalking stick had been placed in the garden of the Rath Museum (formerly the Museum ofChina) which belongs to the Ferenc Hopp East Asian Museum25.

22

In Japanese ケーレシ・チョマ・シャーンドル. Csoma`s name is frequently written in Japanese texts

in this way: チョーマ.
23

Vályi wrote a report about the event for the Pesti Napló (Diary of Pest). Vályi interpreted the event as

Csoma’s canonization to „Buddhist sainthood”. Félix Vályi, “Kőrösi Csoma Sándor szentté avatása
Japánban” (The canonization of Kőrösi Csoma Sándor in Japan) Pesti Napló, April 2, 1933.
24

The author is planning to write a separate paper about the ceremony and the events at the University of

Taishō. This event contributed significantly to the shaping of a semi-mythical figure of Csoma in Hungary.
The demystification of the personality and works of Csoma was recently the goal of a major Csomaresearcher, Péter Marczell, who examined also the political motivations behind the mythisation of Csoma’s
figure. P. J. Marc Zell, “Csomakőrös: Himalayan Hermit or Nationalistic Activist?” Himalayan and Central
Asian Studies 5, no. 2 (April-June 2001): 23-53. P. J Marc Zell, but Kőrösi Csoma's Planet (Alexander
Csoma de Koros I. Vol.), Asiatic Society Monograph Series 1 (Calcutta: Asiatic Society, 2007).
25

Béla Kelényi, “A Nyugati Bódhiszattvától Az Örök Vándorig: Csorba Géza Csoma-Szobrai,” (From theWestern Bodhisattva to the Eternal Wayfarer: Csoma de Kőrös statues by Géza Csorba) Keletkutatás 2012.
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『中欧研究』第 3 号（2017 年 10 月）

The earliest of Csoma’s biographers was the renowned Theodore Duka (1825-1908), whoseKőrösi-biography was written and published originally in English. It is also available inJapanese26. There are several Japanese scholarly works dealing with Csoma’s life andachievements27.
The Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences contains the famous Csoma Archive,
which arrived in Hungary courtesy of Theodore Duka at the end of the 19th century. One partof this covers the base of the Tibetan manuscript and woodprint collection of the Oriental
Collection of the Academy. I have to mention here briefly the so-called Alexander-books,
written about Tibetan Buddhism and other subjects at the request of Csoma by his Tibetan
masters and teachers28. These naturally did not affect directly the course of Buddhism in
Hungary, as these were not read by those sympathizing with Buddhism. The Csoma Archive
was included into the Memory of the World Register of UNESCO in 200929.
As I have mentioned on previous pages, in Hungary, just like in the US and Westernősz (2012): 5–24. .
26

The original English edition: Tivadar Duka, Life and Works of Alexander Csoma de Koros, Trübner's

Oriental Series (London: Trübner, 1885). The Japanese edition: Tivadar Duka, Choma do Keresu no Shogo:
Yoroppa saisho no Chibetto gakusha, trans. Maeda, Takashi (Tokyo: Sankibo busshorin, 1998).
27

Due of the lack of space, I would mention here only some major Csoma-studies, including a very early

work written by Naojiro Kitamura, and those which have links to Taisho University. Naojiro Kitamura,“Arekusanderu Choma Kurushi no keireki oyobi jigyo”, Shigakkai 4, no. 2 (1902): 24-31. Masao
Ichishima, „Chomazo to Taishodaigaku” Tendai 8 (1984): 62-67. Masao Ichishima, „Alexander Csoma”,
Taisho Daigaku Sogo Bukkyo Kenkyujo Nenpo 3 (1981): 47-58. „Zatsuho: Arekusanda Choma dozo
hoteishiki to kinentenrankai”, Taisho Gakuho Daigaku 15 (June 1933): 166 Masao Ichishima, „Kindai
seizogaku no senkusha Choma ni tsuite”, Tendai Gakuho 22 (1980): 104-110. Masao Ichishima,„Chibettogaku no senkusha Choma ni tsuite”, Taisho Daigaku Kenkyu Kinenho - Bukkyo Gakubu
Bungakubu 76 (1991): 338-318. Masao Ichishima, „Shirarezaru Hangari no eiyu Choma”, inKokusaikajidai aidentiti tamaru tokuzen hóka hen (Tokyo: Shunshusha, 1998). Isabella C. Kovacs, „Choma
Arekusanda but Kyoroshu - Yoroppa ni shite okeru Ajiakennkyu no senkusha kindai Chibettogaku
soshisha”, Gengobunkaronshu 46 (January 1998) pp.81-100. Akira Yuyama, “Choma no Chibettogakusha
Goettingen ryugaku”, Toyobunkoshoho 8 (1976): pp.87-91.
28

His legacy is introduced on the website of the MTA (Hungarian Academy of Science): “Kőrösi Csoma

Sándor (1784-1842),” accessed April 1, 2016, http://csoma.mtak.hu/.
29

UNESCO, the Hungarian National Commission for UNESCO | The Memory of the World list Hungarianelements, (September 8, 2014) http://www.unesco.hu/kommunikacio-informacio/vilagemlekezetprogram/vilagemlekezet-lista-140908.

Electronic Journal of Central European Studies in Japan, No.3 (October 2017)

Europe, there exists a certain kind of free corridor between the representatives of academia
and active Buddhism and because of his legacy, Kőrösi’s person represents in many senses alink between Hungarian Orientalist researchers, Tibetologists and various domestic Buddhist
groups30.
It is worth mentioning here that Hungarian Orientalists have also always held in highesteem another world-renowned researcher, Sir Aurel Stein (in Hungarian Stein Aurél), andthe legacies and memories of these two have been nurtured by generations of scholars31.
Csoma’s name became a recurring element in the Hungarian history of Buddhism. As forthe religious institutions during the post-war socialist period, it was the Kőrösi Csoma
Institute of Buddhology founded by the Arya Maitreya Mandala (AMM) and the Hungarian
Buddhist Mission, which bore his name. We can also frequently encounter his name on the
webpages and in the publications of the Buddhist groups founded after the nineties.
Let me mention here another example of how Csoma’s legacy is interpreted and cherishedby contemporary Buddhist society. On May 27, 1991 following the then-valid law, various
Hungarian Buddhist groups created as an umbrella organization the Gate of Dharma Buddhist
Church (Tan Kapuja Buddhista Egyház, TKBE). Between the various teachers, educators andmentors at the (Tan Kapuja Buddhista Főiskola, TKBF) launched by TKBE we can find not
only representatives of the Buddhist organizations, but also researchers and scientists
representing universities and research institutions. Other than these, domestic advocates of
Buddhism also make use of works on Buddhism written by scholars. Moreover, the Gate of
Dharma Buddhist College (TKBF) also taught Eastern languages, including Sanskrit, classical30

A few years ago, a group of young professionals started to work on the maintenance of the sites in

Zanskar where Csoma worked during the 19th century. The project’s name is Csoma's Room. “Csoma’s
Room,” accessed February 10, 2016, http://csomasroom.kibu.hu/hu/.
31

I will discuss in detail his works in the next paper of this series, when I will describe the beginnings of

Hungarian Oriental Studies. Let me mention here only, that his most important works were quickly
translated - sometimes abrdiged versions - into Hungarian. Stein, Aurél. Homokba temetett városok.
Edited by Gyula Halász. Budapest: Lampel R. Könyvkereskedése R.T. könyvkiadóvállalata, 1908. Stein,
Aurél. Indiából Kínába. Harmadik utam Belső-Ázsiába 1913-1916. Translated by Gyula Halász. Budapest:
Atheneum RT., 1913. Stein, Aurél. Ősi ösvényeken Ázsiában. Budapest, 1935. Stein, Aurél. RomvárosokÁzsia sivatagjaiban. Translated by Gyula Halász. Budapest: K.M. Természettudományi Társulat, 1913.
Other Hungarian geographical expeditions, and Béla Széchenyi’s and Lajos Lóczy’s work will be also
discussed later.
13

『中欧研究』第 3 号（2017 年 10 月）

Chinese, Japanese, and “Csoma’s” Tibetan language. Along with other holidays, Csoma's
birthday is also an official holiday of The Gate of Dharma Buddhist Church and the Gate of
Dharma Buddhist College32.
However, as the researchers of Csoma’s life and Kárpáty and Farkas stress in their papers,
the original purpose of Csoma’s eastern odyssey was to search, find and explore the
Hungarian homeland and the decendants of those Hungarians who had remained in Asia,
when our forefathers moved to Central Europe, and thus his adventurous life and his scientificresults not only lifted him to the position of a cult figure of Buddhism in Hungary, but hebecame also a strengthening element of the national myth of the nation`s eastern roots33. A
specific, state-patronized cult of Csoma emerged in socialist Hungary after the war, and eventhough Csoma remained a Protestant Christian until the end of his life, borrowing Kárpáty’s
words, Csoma became a “legitimizing symbol of Buddhism” during the socialist period of
Hungary (1947-1989)34.
The pseudo-mythical interpretations of the origin of the Hungarian nation rooted in the“East” has a long tradition in Hungary, and it happened also many times that even various
pseudo-religious elements were stitched to these concepts. Csoma’s figure appears from time
to time to back these pseudo-mythical concepts.
As I have mentioned already before, the emphasis on the eastern origins of the Hungariannation, and therefore the affinity of the Hungarian people to the reception of Buddhism
appears repeatedly in many older and contemporary Hungarian Buddhist sources35.

Early Hungarian Buddhists

As Attila Marton Farkas suggests Hungarian Buddhism has its roots in the intellectual32

The holidays of TKBE are Lunar New Year (February), Csoma's Birthday (April 4), Buddha's

enlightenment and parinirvana (May), opening ceremony of the school year. Other detailed informations
about the ceremonies could be find in the Ceremony Book of the Church: A Tan Kapuja Buddhista Egyház– Szertartáskönyv , 3.7 ((Budapest): A Tan Kapuja Buddhista Egyház, 2013).
33

Kárpáty, Buddhizmus Magyarországon avagy egy posztmodern szubkultúra múltja és jelene. Farkas,

Buddhizmus Magyarországon avagy az alternatív vallásoság egy típusának anatómiája.
34

Kárpáty, Buddhizmus Magyarországon avagy egy posztmodern szubkultúra múltja és jelene, 4.

35

The emergence of national cults and neo-paganism after the collapse of the socialist regime and theirrelations with Buddhism will be discussed later in this series of studies.

Electronic Journal of Central European Studies in Japan, No.3 (October 2017)quests of Hungarian bourgeois intellectuals. The western interpretations of eastern religions,along with mysticism, occultism, psychoanalysis and Schopenhauer’s thoughts about
Buddhism reached the expanding middle class bourgeoisie of Hungary almost the same timeat the end of the 19th century36.
Thus, Buddhism came to Hungary fundamentally from the West and not from the East.
During the subsequent decades, the Buddhist literature was translated into the three major
Western languages, namely German, French and English. The formation of Western
Buddhism in these three major language areas was of major significance for Buddhism in
Hungary.
During the first decades of Buddhism in Hungary, there is a noticeable orientation towards
India, South Asia and Tibet. Behind this orientation, there is the well-known fact that almost
everywhere in the West, early researchers and practitioners of Buddhism tried to find andexplore "the purest, most authentic" forms of Buddhism, and Hungarians were no exceptions
to this rule37.
The first representative of Hungarian Buddhism is József Hollósy (1860-1898), who wentfrom Máramarossziget, in present-day Romania, through Budapest to Munich to study
painting, where he deepened his knowledge of Indian philosophy and upon his return to his
homeland compiled and published from English sources his Buddhista Káté (Buddhist
Catechism) in 189338, and then using German translations, rendered Buddhist sutras into
Hungarian and published some parts of the Dhammapada39. Hollóssy`s Buddhist circle

36

Farkas, Buddhizmus Magyarországon avagy az alternatív vallásoság egy típusának anatómiája, 4–10.

37

It is relevant to mention here the work of the Pali Text Society.

38

The book received wide and positive recognition; great Hungarian writers of this epoch, including Mór

Jókai and Gyula Krúdy also knew about it and made references to it. After the 1990s, when the Hungarian
publishing industry was liberalized and the publishing of Buddhist books was revitalized, this book wasalso republished in a slightly modernized form. Bhikshu Szunhádra, Szunhádra. Buddhista Káté –Bevezetésül Buddha Tanához. (Buddhist Catechism - Introduction to the teachings of Buddha), trans. by
József Hollóssy (Budapest: Trajan Könyvesműhely, 2006). Rev. Geza Racs, who was a member of the
Hungarian branch of Arya Mandala Maireya and the Buddhist Mission during the socialist period, also
wrote about the early Hungarian Buddhist works in his work on page pp. 101-106.
39

About the two painters, József Hollóssy and László Mednyánszky see Bincsik Mónika. A magyar

festészet és a buddhizmus 1880-1914 között: Hollósy József és Mednyánszky László (The Hungarian
Painting and Buddhism between 1880-1914: József Hollóssy and László Mednyánszky), 1998.
15

『中欧研究』第 3 号（2017 年 10 月）

released the first Buddhist-themed books40.
The first major Hungarian Buddhist work, the two-volume long Dhammó (in English
Dharma) was published at the beginning of the twentieth century. It was written by the
Orientalist turned businessman Jenő Lénárd (1878-1924) 41.
Hollósy’s Buddhist orientation influenced his brother, the also renowned painter Simon
Hollóssy, whose disciple, Zoltán Felvinczi Takács, became the first director of the Ferenc
Hopp Museum of East Asia.
The teachings of Buddhism left also an impression on László Mednyánszky (1852-1919),
who was one of the most prolific Hungarian painters at the turn of the century. Encountering
Buddhism for the first time in 1889 in Paris, by 1892, when working in in Máramaros(Maramures) he had made contact with the group of József Hollóssy42.
Here it should be indicated that the establishment of an independent religious denomination
met with great difficulties at this time. Buddhism was still basically an unknown religion.
Article 43 of the 1895 law guaranteeing freedom of religion43 divided religious organizations
into three categories: established, recognized and unrecognized religious denominations, andconsequently the initiation, establishment and operation of a religious congregation wasconstrained by strictly defined conditions.
A related fin-du-siecle development was the founding of the Hungarian section of the
Theosophical Society by Blavatsky and Olcott. The Hungarian Theosophical Society was
operating from 1906 to 1950, and its adherents communicated Buddhism and other Eastern

40

Kalmár, Lángra Lobbant a Szikra - Emlékkönyv a Buddhizmus Magyarországi Meghonosítóiról, 24–26.

41

His two volume-work was published in 1911. The second edition of Lenard's massive, nearly seven

hundred-page work was published in 1912. Jenő Lénárd, Dhammó. Bevezetés a Buddha Tanába (Budapest:
Lampel Rt., 1912). Dhamma. (Introduction to the Teachings of Buddha). The book is about the teachings of
Buddhism, but naturally the author wrote the first chapter about Kőrösi. Zoltán Takács Felvinczi wrote
about the book in the prestigious journal, Nyugat (West). Zoltán Felvinczi Takács, “Dhammó. Lénárd JenőKönyve,” Nyugat, 1914.
42

About this see Katalin Keserü, “Conversio a Modern Képzőművészetben – Teozófus Művészet,” inConversio. Az Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem Bölcsészettudományi Karán 2011. szeptember 22–23-án
Tartott Vallástudományi Konferencia Előadásai. Ed. Déri Balázs et Al., ΑΓΙΟΝ Könyvek 1 (Budapest:
Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem Bölcsészettudományi Kar Vallástudományi Központ, 2013), 49–50.
43“1895. Évi XLIII. Törvénycikk a Vallás Szabad Gyakorlásáról,” (1895th XLIII. Article on the Free

Exercise of Religion) Törvények, Jogszabályok a Wolters Kluwer Kft.-Től., accessed September 2, 2015,
http://www.1000ev.hu/index.php?a=3&param=6605.

Electronic Journal of Central European Studies in Japan, No.3 (October 2017)

religions to Hungary within a syncretic framework together with spiritual-occult doctrines44.
Another disciple of Simon Hollóssy was Ferenc Sass, husband of the famous painter,
Erzsébet Sass-Brunner (1889-1950) who would later settle in India. Attracted to mysticism
and inspired by the Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore’s visit to Hungary (1926), Sass-Brunnermoved to India accompanied by her daughter, Erzsébet Brunner (1910-2001), who alsochoose painting as her life-profession. They both would spend the rest of their lives in thatcountry. As both were portrait-painters, so their talents allowed them to produce portraits ofleading Indian politicians and artists. After the war, Erzsébet Brunner was granted Indian
citizenship, and she strived to live according to Buddhist ideals. During her pilgrimage acrossIndia, Nepal, Burma, Thailand she stopped at Buddhist holy sites45.
This concludes the first chapter of this series of papers. The next paper will cover theremaining period until the end of WWII, and will discuss the early Buddhist groups of the
1930’s, Hungarian-Japanese prewar relations with a focus on Japanese Buddhism, thebeginnings of yoga in Hungary and the beginnings of Oriental Studies, museology and theliterary works related to Buddhism.

44

During the decades of socialism, they were operating just as a circle of friends, but they made a fresh

start in 1991. “| MAGYAR TEOZÓFIAI TÁRSULAT |,” accessed June 2, 2016,
http://www.teozofia.hu/index.php. (http://www.teozofia.hu/index.php). There exists also within the
Hungarian Theosophical Society a Siddhartha Theosophical Lodge as well. “.:: Sziddhártha Teozófiai
Alosztály Honlapja ::.,” accessed October 22, 2015, http://www.sziddhartha.hu/.
45

Erzsébet Brunner visited his home country in the eighties. The artwork of Erzsébet Sass-Brunner and

Erzsébet Brunner was shown to the Hungarian public at a representative exhibition in 1997 in theirhometown Nagykanizsa. See Mónika Bincsik and Melinda Géger Dr., eds., Sass Brunner Erzsébet És
Brunner Erzsébet kiállítása /Nagykanizsa - Képzőművészetek Háza (Nagykanizsa: Hevesi Sándor
Művelődési Központ, 1997). After the death of Erzsébet Brunner in 2002, her legacy of more than six
hundred images from India was transferred to Nagykanizsa. About the two painters see also Kalmár,
Lángra Lobbant a Szikra - Emlékkönyv a Buddhizmus Magyarországi Meghonosítóiról, 42–48.
17

『中欧研究』第 3 号（2017 年 10 月）

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