Buddhism in Poland Buddhism in Poland The roots of Buddhism in Poland can be found in the early 20th century in the nation's connections to the origin countries of the religion, like Vietnam, China, Japan, and Korea. After World War II, primarily expatriate Poles joined various Buddhist groups and organizations. Since the breakdown of the Eastern Bloc, which promoted an antireligious campaign, Buddhism has been able to develop further in the more tolerant atmosphere. Today all of the principal schools of Buddhism including Mahayana (Zen and Jodo Shinshu) and Tibetan Buddhism can be found in Poland. Movements like the Friends of the Western
Faith in Buddhism affecting "dalits" led to a revival of mass conversions in Gujarat and other states. Some converts admit that the conversion is a political choice to reorganize themselves, as conversion could help them to no longer be classified by the Hindu caste system. Scholars have described Ambedkar's perspective on Buddhism as secular and modernist rather than religious, as he emphasized the atheist aspects of Buddhism and rationality, and rejected Hindu soteriology and hierarchy. Other scholars have interpreted Ambedkarism as a form of critical traditionalism, in which Ambedkar reinterprets traditional Hindu concepts rather than rejecting them altogether. Specifically, scholar states that Ambedkar's