The problem of classification of western Buddhist communities

The article is devoted to the basic classification of Buddhist communities in the West, dividing them into two key categories: ethnic and new converts’ ones. This disengagement gradually became so obvious that some researchers are talking about the existence of two Buddhisms - the traditional one that is characteristic of ethnic communities, and the dynamic one, which is characteristic to neophytes. The author presents an analytical and critical assessment of the concept of two Buddhists.