Buddhism in Taiwan
Encyclopedia
Buddhism is a major religion in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

.
Many Taiwanese people practice the Chinese traditional religion
Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion or Shenism , which is a term of considerable debate, are labels used to describe the collection of ethnic religious traditions which have been a main belief system in China and among Han Chinese ethnic groups for most of the civilization's history until today...

 which integrates Buddhist elements, Confucian
Confucianism
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...

 principles, local practices and Taoist
Taoism
Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...

 tradition. (Roles for religious specialists from both Buddhist and Taoist traditions exist on special occasions such as childbirth and funerals). Of these, a smaller number identify more specifically with Chinese Buddhist teachings and institutions, without necessarily eschewing practices from other Asian traditions. One study proposes that 7 to 15 percent of Taiwanese are Buddhist in the strict sense. A distinguishing feature of this form of Buddhism is the practice of vegetarianism
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...

.

Taiwan government statistics distinguish Buddhism from Taoism, giving almost equal numbers for both (in 2005, 8 million and 7.6 million, respectively, out of a total population of 23 million). Many of Taiwan's self-declared "Buddhists" actually observe the more syncretistic
Syncretism
Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...

 practices associated with Chinese traditional religion. Self-avowed Buddhists may also be adherents of more localized faiths such as I-kuan Tao
I-Kuan Tao
I-Kuan Tao, also Yīguàn Dào, or usually initialized as IKT is a new religious movement that originated in twentieth-century China. It incorporates elements from Confucianism, Taoism, and Chinese Buddhism, and recognizes the validity of non-Chinese religious traditions such as Christianity and...

, which also emphasize Buddhist figures like Guanyin or Maitreya
Maitreya
Maitreya , Metteyya , or Jampa , is foretold as a future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. In some Buddhist literature, such as the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, he or she is referred to as Ajita Bodhisattva.Maitreya is a bodhisattva who in the Buddhist tradition is to appear on...

 and espouse vegetarianism.They are mostly vegetarians.

Four local Buddhist teachers whose institutions are especially significant are popularly likened to the "Four Heavenly Kings
Four Heavenly Kings
In the Buddhist faith, the Four Heavenly Kings are four gods, each of whom watches over one cardinal direction of the world.The Kings are collectively named as follows:...

 of Taiwanese Buddhism." They are:
  • North (Jinshan, Taipei): Master Sheng-yen
    Sheng-yen
    Sheng-yen was a Buddhist monk, a religious scholar, and one of the mainstream teachers of Chinese Chan Buddhism. He was the 57th generational descendant of Linji in the Linji School and a 3rd generational descendant of Master Hsu Yun...

     (聖嚴, d. 2009) of Dharma Drum Mountain
    Dharma Drum Mountain
    Dharma Drum Mountain is an international Buddhist spiritual, cultural, and educational foundation founded by late Ch'an Master Sheng-yen. The international headquarters of this organization is located at Jinshan District, New Taipei City, Taiwan .Dharma Drum Mountain is one of the most...

     (法鼓山)
  • South (Dashu, Kaohsiung
    Dashu, Kaohsiung
    Dashu District is a district located in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan and shoring Kaoping River. Fo Guang Shan is one of largest travelling spot in Dashu District...

    ): Master Hsing Yun
    Hsing Yun
    Hsing Yun is a well-known Buddhist monk, as well as an important figure in modern reformation of Mahayana Buddhism in Taiwan and China. Hsing Yun is the founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order and the affiliated Buddha's Light International Association, one of the largest international...

     (星雲) of Fo Guang Shan
    Fo Guang Shan
    Fo Guang Shan is an international Chinese Mahayana Buddhist monastic order based in the Republic of China , and one of the largest Buddhist organizations. The headquarters of Fo Guang Shan, located in Kaohsiung, is the largest Buddhist monastery in Taiwan. The organization itself is also one of...

     (佛光山)
  • East (Hualien): Master Cheng Yen
    Cheng Yen
    Cheng Yen is a Taiwanese Buddhist nun , teacher, and philanthropist. She is often called the "Mother Teresa of Asia." In 1966, Cheng Yen founded the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, commonly known as Tzu Chi; its motto is "instructing the rich and saving the poor"...

     (證嚴) of the Tzu Chi
    Tzu Chi
    The Tzu Chi Foundation, whose name means "compassionate relief," is an international humanitarian organization and the largest non-governmental organization in the Chinese-speaking world....

     Foundation (慈濟基金會)
  • West (Nantou
    Nantou
    Nantou may refer to:* Nantou County - central Taiwan, Republic of China* Nantou City - a city in Nantou County, Taiwan Province, Republic of China...

    ): Master Wei Chueh
    Wei Chueh
    Wei Chueh is a Chinese Buddhist monk situated in Taiwan. He is the founder of the Chung Tai Shan Monastery and Buddhist order. Wei Chueh is often credited for reviving the traditional teachings of Ch'an Buddhism....

     (惟覺) of Chung Tai Shan
    Chung Tai Shan
    Chung Tai Chan is a Taiwan-based Buddhist monastic order founded by the Venerable Master Wei Chueh in 1987. The headquarters monastery itself, Chung Tai Chan Monastery , completed in September 2001 in Puli, Nantou County, is the tallest and one of largest temple and monastery in Taiwan and the...

     (中台山)


Several of these figures have been influenced by the Humanistic Buddhism
Humanistic Buddhism
Humanistic Buddhism is a modern Buddhist philosophy practiced mostly by Mahayana Buddhists. It is the integration of people's spiritual practice into all aspects of their daily lives...

 (人間佛教) of Master Yin Shun
Yin Shun
Yin Shun was a well-known Buddhist monk and scholar in the tradition of Chinese Mahayana Buddhism, particularly the Three Treatise school. Yin Shun's research helped bring forth the ideal of Humanistic Buddhism, a leading mainstream Buddhist philosophy studied and upheld by many practitioners...

 (印順), a theological approach which has come to distinguish Taiwanese Buddhism. (Sheng-yen's tradition is formally Zen Buddhist; Yin Shun was inspired by Taixu
Taixu
Venerable Master Taixu , 1890-1947, was a Buddhist modernist, activist and thinker who advocated the reform and renewal of Chinese Buddhism.- Biography :...

 太虛, who is less well known in Taiwan.) Their missions have branches all over the world. In a reversal of the older historical relationship, these Taiwanese Buddhists have played important roles in the revival of Buddhism in China.

Early years

Buddhism was brought to Taiwan in the time of the Ming dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

 by settlers from Fukien and Kwangtung Provinces. It was discouraged by the Dutch colonial rulers who controlled Taiwan from 1624 until 1663, until Cheng Cheng-kung (Koxinga) drove the Dutch from Taiwan in 1663. His son Cheng Ching established the first Buddhist temple in Taiwan.

When the Qing dynasty took control of Taiwan by defeating of Cheng Ching's son, Ching Ning, in 1683, large numbers of monks came from Fukien and Kwangtung provinces to establish temples, and a number of different Buddhist sects flourished. Monastic Buddhism, however, would not arrive until the 19th century.

Japanese period

During the Japanese period (1895–1945), many schools of Japanese Buddhism came to Taiwan to propagate their Buddhism teachings, such as Kegon
Kegon
Kegon is the name of the Japanese transmission of the Huayan school of Chinese Buddhism.Huayan studies were founded in Japan when, in 736, the scholar-priest Rōben originally a monk of the Hossō tradition invited Shinshō to give lectures on the Avatamsaka Sutra at...

 (華厳宗), Tendai
Tendai
is a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism, a descendant of the Chinese Tiantai or Lotus Sutra school.Chappell frames the relevance of Tendai for a universal Buddhism:- History :...

 (天台宗), Shingon Buddhism
Shingon Buddhism
is one of the mainstream major schools of Japanese Buddhism and one of the few surviving Esoteric Buddhist lineages that started in the 3rd to 4th century CE that originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra...

 (真言宗), Rinzai school
Rinzai school
The Rinzai school is , one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism.Rinzai is the Japanese line of the Chinese Linji school, which was founded during the Tang Dynasty by Linji Yixuan...

 (臨済宗), Sōtō
Soto
Sōtō Zen , or is, with Rinzai and Ōbaku, one of the three most populous sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism.The Sōtō sect was first established as the Caodong sect during the Tang Dynasty in China by Dongshan Liangjie in the 9th century, which Dōgen Zenji then brought to Japan in the 13th century...

 (曹洞宗), Jōdo shū
Jodo Shu
, also known as Jōdo Buddhism, is a branch of Pure Land Buddhism derived from the teachings of the Japanese ex-Tendai monk Hōnen. It was established in 1175 and is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan, along with Jōdo Shinshū....

 (浄土宗), Jōdo Shinshū
Jodo Shinshu
, also known as Shin Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism. It was founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran. Today, Shin Buddhism is considered the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan.-Shinran :...

 (浄土真宗) and Nichiren Buddhism
Nichiren Buddhism
Nichiren Buddhism is a branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren...

 (日蓮宗). During the same period, most Taiwan Buddhist temples came to affiliate with one of three central temples:
  • North (Keelung
    Keelung
    Keelung City is a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. It borders New Taipei and forms the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, along with the Taipei and New Taipei. Nicknamed the Rainy Port for its frequent rain and maritime role, the city is Taiwan's second largest seaport...

    ): Yueh-mei Mountain (月眉山), founded by Master Shan-hui (善慧)
  • Center (Miaoli
    Miaoli
    Miaoli may refer to:*Miaoli County , a county located in central Taiwan, Republic of China*Miaoli City , the seat of Miaoli County*Miaoli, Zhengzhou , town in Jinshui District, Zhengzhou, People's Republic of China...

    ): Fa-yun Temple (法雲寺), founded by Master Chueh-li (覺立)
  • South (Tainan): Kai-yuan Temple (開元寺), also founded by Chueh-li


As a Japanese colony, Taiwan fell under the influence of Japanese Buddhism. Many temples experienced pressure to affiliate with Japanese lineages, including many whose status with respect to Buddhism or Taoism was unclear. (Emphasis on the Chinese folk religion was widely considered a form of protest against Japanese rule.) Attempts were made to introduce a married priesthood (as in Japan). These failed to take root, as emphasis on vegetarianism and/or clerical celibacy became another means of anti-Japanese protest.

World War II

With Japan's defeat in World War II, Taiwan fell under the control of Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....

's government, resulting in contrary political pressures. In 1949, a number of mainland monks fled to Taiwan alongside Chiang's military forces, and received preferential treatment by the new regime. During this period, Buddhist institutions fell under the authority of the government-controlled Buddhist Association of China
Buddhist Association of China
The Buddhist Association of China is a major organization of Chinese Buddhism, which serves as the official supervisory organ of Buddhism in the People's Republic of China...

 (中國佛教會). Originally established in 1947 (in Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...

), it was dominated by "mainland" monks. Its authority began to decline in the 1960s, when independent Buddhist organizations began to be permitted; and especially since the 1987 lifting of martial law in Taiwan.

Modern developments

One of the first private networks of Buddhist centers was that of Hsing Yun
Hsing Yun
Hsing Yun is a well-known Buddhist monk, as well as an important figure in modern reformation of Mahayana Buddhism in Taiwan and China. Hsing Yun is the founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order and the affiliated Buddha's Light International Association, one of the largest international...

, who first attained popularity through the new medium of radio broadcasts in the 1950s and later through publication of Buddhist audio on phonograph discs
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...

, leading the founding of Fo Guang Shan
Fo Guang Shan
Fo Guang Shan is an international Chinese Mahayana Buddhist monastic order based in the Republic of China , and one of the largest Buddhist organizations. The headquarters of Fo Guang Shan, located in Kaohsiung, is the largest Buddhist monastery in Taiwan. The organization itself is also one of...

 in 1967. Another key figure was Cheng Yen
Cheng Yen
Cheng Yen is a Taiwanese Buddhist nun , teacher, and philanthropist. She is often called the "Mother Teresa of Asia." In 1966, Cheng Yen founded the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, commonly known as Tzu Chi; its motto is "instructing the rich and saving the poor"...

, a nun who was ordained by the aforementioned Yin Shun
Yin Shun
Yin Shun was a well-known Buddhist monk and scholar in the tradition of Chinese Mahayana Buddhism, particularly the Three Treatise school. Yin Shun's research helped bring forth the ideal of Humanistic Buddhism, a leading mainstream Buddhist philosophy studied and upheld by many practitioners...

 and later founded Tzu Chi
Tzu Chi
The Tzu Chi Foundation, whose name means "compassionate relief," is an international humanitarian organization and the largest non-governmental organization in the Chinese-speaking world....

, Taiwan's most important charity organization. It is difficult to overestimate the impact of her personal example on the image of Taiwan's sangha. Tzu Chi runs several hospitals in Taiwan, and conducts worldwide relief work. A 1999 earthquake centered in Puli
Puli
The Puli is a medium-big breed of Hungarian herding and livestock guarding dog known for its long, corded coat. The tight curls of the coat, similar to dreadlocks, make it virtually waterproof. A similar looking, but much larger Hungarian dog breed is called Komondor.- Appearance :The Puli is a...

 brought praise for Tzu Chi for its effective response, in contrast with that of the Taiwanese government.

During the 1980s, Buddhist leaders pressed Taiwan's Ministry of Education to relax various policies preventing the organization of a Buddhist university. The eventual result was that in the 1990s—flush with contributions made possible by Taiwan's "miracle economy
Taiwan Miracle
The Taiwan Miracle or Taiwan Economic Miracle refers to the rapid industrialization and economic growth of Taiwan during the latter half of the twentieth century...

"--not one but half a dozen such schools emerged, each associated with a different Buddhist leader. Among them were Tzu Chi University
Tzu Chi University
Tzu Chi University, or TCU, is a private university located in Hualien City, Hualien County, Taiwan . It was founded by the Tzu Chi Foundation and is famous in Taiwan for the quality of the medical education it provides...

, Hsuan-Chuang University, Huafan University
Huafan University
Huafan University is an institute of higher education founded by members of the Buddhist community in Taiwan. It is located in Shiding District, New Taipei City...

, Fo Guang University
Fo Guang University
Fo Guang University is located in Jiaoxi Township, Yilan County, Taiwan. It was founded by the Mahayana Buddhist Fo Guang Shan monastic order in 2000 and as such represents the culmination of education efforts of the order that started in 1963 with establishing Chinese Buddhist Research Institute...

, Nanhua University
Nanhua University
This page describes a university in Taiwan.Nanhua University is located in Dalin Township, Chiayi County, Taiwan. Founded in 1996 as the Nanhua College of Management, it was elevated to university status in 1999. The university was founded by the Buddhist monk Hsing Yun of Fo Guang Shan. It is...

, and Dharma Drum Buddhist College
Dharma Drum Mountain
Dharma Drum Mountain is an international Buddhist spiritual, cultural, and educational foundation founded by late Ch'an Master Sheng-yen. The international headquarters of this organization is located at Jinshan District, New Taipei City, Taiwan .Dharma Drum Mountain is one of the most...

. The regulations of Taiwan's Ministry of Education prohibit recognized colleges and universities from requiring religious belief or practice, and these institutions therefore appear little different from others of their rank. (Degrees granted by seminaries, of which Taiwan has several dozen, are not recognized by the government.)

In 2001, Master Hsin Tao
Hsin Tao
Dharma Master Hsin Tao is a Buddhist monk who set up the Ling Jiou Mountain Buddhist Foundation in 1989.Hsin Tao was born in Burma and is now based in Taiwan. His family were from Yunnan in China. He founded a monastery in Taiwan...

 (心道) of Ling Jiou Shan opened the Museum of World Religions
Museum of World Religions
The Museum of World Religions is a museum in Yonghe District, New Taipei City, Taiwan.The museum was founded by Venerable Hsin Tao , a Buddhist monk, and set up through the Ling Jiou Mountain Buddhist Foundation...

 (世界宗教博物館) in Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...

. In addition to exhibits on ten different world religions, the museum also features "Avatamsaka World," a model illustrating the Avatamsaka Sutra
Avatamsaka Sutra
The is one of the most influential Mahayana sutras of East Asian Buddhism. The title is rendered in English as Flower Garland Sutra, Flower Adornment Sutra, or Flower Ornament Scripture....

.

In 2009 Taiwan lost one if its most influential Buddhist teachers when Sheng-yen
Sheng-yen
Sheng-yen was a Buddhist monk, a religious scholar, and one of the mainstream teachers of Chinese Chan Buddhism. He was the 57th generational descendant of Linji in the Linji School and a 3rd generational descendant of Master Hsu Yun...

 of the Dharma Drum Mountain monastery died.

Development of the Vajrayana schools

In recent decades Vajrayana Buddhism has increased in popularity in Taiwan as Tibetan lama
Lama
Lama is a title for a Tibetan teacher of the Dharma. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru .Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries...

s from the four major Tibetan schools (Kagyu, Nyingma, Sakya and Gelug) have visited the island, including the 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama is the 14th and current Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years...

, who visited the island thrice in 1997, 2001 and 2009.

The Koyasan Shingon sect of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 also maintains its own practice centers and temples in Taiwan, some of them historically established during the Japanese period of Taiwanese history, while others were established in the post-WWII era in order to re-establish an orthodox Esoteric Buddhist lineage that was long eliminated during the Tang Dynasty.

The True Buddha School
True Buddha School
The True Buddha School is a modern Vajrayana Buddhist sect based in Taiwan and parts of East Asia with influence from Sutrayana and Taoism.Founded in the late 1980s, the founder of this sect is Lu Sheng-yen , often referred to by his followers as a tulku, a Tibetan term for a reincarnated teacher...

, founded in the late 1980s by Taiwanese native Lu Sheng-yen
Lu Sheng-yen
Lu Sheng-Yen , commonly referred to by followers as 師尊 is the founder and spiritual leader of the True Buddha School, a new Buddhist sect with teachings taken from Sutrayana and Vajrayana , as well as Taoism...

, is one of the more well known of the Vajrayana sects in Taiwan, although at least seven established Buddhist organisations have charged that the group functions as a personality cult.

Recent growth

Statistics provided by the Interior Ministry show that Taiwan's Buddhist population grew from 800,000 in 1983 to 4.9 million in 1995, a 600 percent increase against an overall population rise of about twelve percent. Additionally, in the same period the number of registered Buddhist temples increased from 1,157 to 4,020, and the number of monks and nuns was up 9,300 monks and nuns, up from 3,470 in 1983.14. This trend can be attributed to the activity of various charismatic teachers, such as those mentioned above.

Sources

  • Chandler, Stuart. Establishing a Pure Land on Earth: The Foguang Buddhist Perspective on Modernization and Globalization. University of Hawaii Press, 2004.
  • Government Information Office (Taiwan), Republic of China Yearbook, 2002.
  • Hsing, Lawrence Fu-Ch'uan. Taiwanese Buddhism & Buddhist Temples/ Pacific Cultural Foundation: Taipei, 1983.
  • Ho Erling, "Buddha Business" (article 2002.
  • Jones, Charles Brewer. Buddhism in Taiwan: Religion and the State, 1660-1990. University of Hawaii Press, 1999.
  • Laliberte, Andre. "The Politics of Buddhist Organizations in Taiwan: 1989-2003" RoutledgeCurzon, 2004.
  • Madsen, Richard. Democracy's Dharma: Religious Renaissance and Political Development in Taiwan. University of California Press, 2007.

External links

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