Taiwan's Tzu Chi as Engaged Buddhism

Taiwan's Tzu Chi as Engaged Buddhism
Author: Yu-Shuang Yao
Publisher: Global Oriental
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2012-05-16
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004231323

This book is the first comprehensive sociological account and in-depth analysis of a new Chinese Buddhist movement, known as Tzu Chi (otherwise, the Buddhist Compassion Merit Society). Based in Taiwan, it was founded in 1966 and still led by a female Buddhist master – Master Cheng Yen. Its members are laity, and women play a major role. The main focus of the movement is medical charity – to ease and if possible prevent suffering and to teach ethics to the wealthy; at the same time, it also offers members a religion and a way of life. Recruitment typically attracts people from the urban middle class. With some 3.5 million members and a very low drop-out rate, Tzu Chi is extraordinarily successful, and has spread to other parts of the world, not least mainland China where it is attracting the attention of the general public and the media. The book stands in the Anglo-American tradition of the sociology of religion; it also draws on the author’s knowledge of Buddhist history. The data come from participant observation and many long interviews. It will be of particular interest to students of new religious movements, religious studies in contemporary China, and studies in ethics and social change in East Asia.

Buddhism in Taiwan

Buddhism in Taiwan
Author: Charles B. Jones
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Total Pages: 281
Release: 1999-05-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0824861701

Buddhism in Taiwan is the first work in a Western language to examine the institutional and political history of Chinese Buddhism in Taiwan. Tracing Buddhism's development on the island from Qing times through the late 1980s, it seeks to shed light on the ways in which changing social circumstances have impacted Buddhist thought and practice. It looks in particular at a number of significant changes that modernization has brought: the decline in clerical ordinations, the increasing prominence of nuns within the monastic order, the enhanced role of the laity, alterations in the content of lay precepts, the abandonment of funerals as a major source of income, the monastic order's loss of special recognition from the government, and the founding of large, international organizations. Charles Jones begins his survey with the earliest mention of Buddhism in Taiwan in historical records from the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) and continues through the formation of pan-Taiwan Buddhist organizations during the Japanese occupation (1895-1945). A review of the role of the Buddhist Association of the Republic of China (BAROC) follows, and the volume concludes with the rise of large independent Buddhist movements that fully emerged after the end of martial law and the removal of restrictions of civic organizations in the late 1980s. Jones provides a careful and balanced review of primary and secondary sources and translations of government and Buddhist documents, extensive bibliographies of major figures, detailed histories of prominent temples, and an exhaustive summary of recent Taiwanese scholarship. Buddhism in Taiwan promises to be a classic in the field of modern Chinese Buddhism. Scholars of the religion, history, political science, sociology, and anthropology of Taiwan will find its systematic and thorough approach stimulating as well as highly informative.

The Politics of Buddhist Organizations in Taiwan, 1989-2003

The Politics of Buddhist Organizations in Taiwan, 1989-2003
Author: André Laliberté
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2013-08-21
Genre: History
ISBN: 1134353537

Laliberté looks at a relatively unexplored aspect of modern Taiwan: the influence of religion on politics. This book offers a detailed survey of three of the most important Buddhist organizations in Taiwan: the Buddhist Association of the Republic of China (BAROC), the Buddha Light Mountain (or Foguanshan) monastic order, and the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Association (or Ciji). It examines their contrasting approaches to three issues: state supervision of religion, the first presidential election of 1996, and the establishment of the National Health Insurance. This study analyzes the factors that explain the diverse paths the three organizations have taken in the politics of Taiwan. Based on an in-depth examination of Buddhist leaders' behaviour, The Politics of Buddhist Organizations in Taiwan compels us to question conventional views about the allegedly passive aspect of religious tradition, deference to authority in societies influenced by Confucian culture and the adverse legacy of authoritarian regimes.

Taiwan's Buddhist Nuns

Taiwan's Buddhist Nuns
Author: Elise Anne DeVido
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Total Pages: 211
Release: 2012-02-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 143843149X

Explores the milieu of Taiwan’s Buddhist nuns, who have the greatest numbers in the Buddhist world and a prominent place in their own country.

Democracy’s Dharma

Democracy’s Dharma
Author: Richard Madsen
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 218
Release: 2007-11-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0520252284

This title explores the remarkable religious renaissance that has reformed, revitalized and renewed the practices of Buddhism and Daoism in Taiwan. Madsen connects these developments to Taiwan's transition to democracy and the burgeoning needs of its new middle classes.

Getting Saved in America

Getting Saved in America
Author: Carolyn Chen
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2014-08-31
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0691164665

What does becoming American have to do with becoming religious? Many immigrants become more religious after coming to the United States. Taiwanese are no different. Like many Asian immigrants to the United States, Taiwanese frequently convert to Christianity after immigrating. But Americanization is more than simply a process of Christianization. Most Taiwanese American Buddhists also say they converted only after arriving in the United States even though Buddhism is a part of Taiwan's dominant religion. By examining the experiences of Christian and Buddhist Taiwanese Americans, Getting Saved in America tells "a story of how people become religious by becoming American, and how people become American by becoming religious." Carolyn Chen argues that many Taiwanese immigrants deal with the challenges of becoming American by becoming religious. Based on in-depth interviews with Taiwanese American Christians and Buddhists, and extensive ethnographic fieldwork at a Taiwanese Buddhist temple and a Taiwanese Christian church in Southern California, Getting Saved in America is the first book to compare how two religions influence the experiences of one immigrant group. By showing how religion transforms many immigrants into Americans, it sheds new light on the question of how immigrants become American.

Engaged Buddhism

Engaged Buddhism
Author: Christopher S. Queen
Publisher: SUNY Press
Total Pages: 462
Release: 1996-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780791428436

This is the first comprehensive coverage of socially and politically engaged Buddhism in Asia, presenting the historical development and institutional forms of engaged Buddhism in the light of traditional Buddhist conceptions of morality, interdependence, and liberation.

Religion and Democracy in Taiwan

Religion and Democracy in Taiwan
Author: Cheng-tian Kuo
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Total Pages: 174
Release: 2009-01-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0791478327

In Religion and Democracy in Taiwan, Cheng-tian Kuo meticulously explores various Taiwanese religions in order to observe their relationships with democracy. Kuo analyzes these relationships by examining the democratic theology and ecclesiology of these religions, as well as their interaction with Taiwan. Unlike most of the current literature, which is characterized by a lack of comparative studies, the book compares nearly all of the major religions and religious groups in Taiwan. Both case studies and statistical methods are utilized to provide new insights and to correct misperceptions in the current literature. The book concludes by highlighting the importance of breaking down the concepts of both religion and democracy in order to accurately address their complicated relationships and to provide pragmatic democratic reform proposals within religions.

Chinese Buddhism

Chinese Buddhism
Author: Chün-fang Yü
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2020-06-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0824881583

What are the foundational scriptures and major schools for Chinese Buddhists? What divinities do they worship? What festivals do they celebrate? These are some of the basic questions addressed in this book, the first introduction to Chinese Buddhism written expressly for students and those interested in an accessible yet authoritative overview of the subject based on current scholarship. After presenting the basic tenets of the Buddha’s teachings and the Chinese religious traditions, the book focuses on topics essential for understanding Chinese Buddhism: major scriptures, worship of buddhas and bodhisattvas, rituals and festivals, the monastic order, Buddhist schools such as Tiantai and Chan, Buddhism and gender, and current trends—notably humanistic Buddhism in Taiwan and the resurgence of Buddhism in post-Mao China. Each chapter ends with discussion questions and suggestions for further reading. A convenient glossary of common terms, titles, and names is included.

Passing the Light

Passing the Light
Author: Chün-fang Yü
Publisher: Topics in Contemporary Buddhis
Total Pages: 266
Release: 2013-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

This is a study of the Incense Light order, a single sex Buddhist community in contemporary Taiwan. The work is based on the authors participant observation of the nuns as well as on documentary materials gathered about the group.