History of Vietnamese Buddhism

The saffron (for a more appropriate name for the color) robes monk wear dates back centuries. Orange was chosen mainly because of the dye available at the time. The tradition stuck and orange is now the color of choice for Theravada Buddhist followers in Southeast Asia.

The number of Asians coming to the United States can be seen in the millions, immigrants grew from 491,000 in 1960 to about 12.8 million in 2014. Asian American are contributing to the diversity of the U.S. in the religious landscape. Buddhists and Hindus today account for about the same share of the U.S. public as Jews (roughly 2%). 

Gautama meditating beneath a tree, where he finally understood how to be free from suffering, and ultimately, to achieve salvation

Buddhism is a major global religion with a complex history and system of beliefs. The following is intended only to introduce Buddhism's history and fundamental tenets, and by no means covers the religion exhaustively. Many Historians believe that the founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama, lived from 566(?) to 480(?) B.C. Guatama was the son of an Indian warrior-king, in which he led an extravagant life. Having everything does not also give happiness, Gautama explored the workd in search of understanding. He renounced his title and became a monk in search of the truth. The culmination of his search came while meditating beneath a tree, where he finally understood how to be free from suffering, and ultimately, to achieve salvation. Following this epiphany, Gautama was known as the Buddha, meaning the "Enlightened One." The Buddha spent the remainder of his life journeying about India, teaching others what he had come to understand.