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 introduction of Buddhism into Hungary should not be interpreted only from the point of view of the history 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 person of Sándor Kőrösi Csoma, (known outside Hungary as Alexander Csoma de Kőrös,) the father of Tibetology, the commemoration and celebration of whose achievements bring together from time to time both adherents and researchers of Buddhism in Hungary.
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