Religion and the process of modernization have encountered each other with dramatic consequences in various parts of the world. Southeast Asia is now undergoing such an encounter, with consequences still to be determined. For Buddhism presents itself in this encounter in ways that are quite different from those of other religions.

Recent trends in international politics suggest the beginnings of a new relationship between the industrial nations of the world and the Third World countries. The traditional worldview of the affluent—in which developing nations were assigned a secondary or supporting role—has undergone a radical change as these states increasingly influence global events.