Taiwan 2002

		Religion
		Buddhism Chinese Buddhism Buddhism is a pan-Asian religion originated in India and was brought to China sometime before the sixth century. Buddha was an Indian prince named Siddhartha Gautama who renounced his royal family and luxurious lifestyle to search for religious understanding and release from the human condition. It is said that he achieved enlightenment through self-denial and meditation, and thereafter instructed his followers on the nature of dharma, the true way. Buddha preached a doctrine envisioned in the "Four Noble Truths" life is fundamentally difficult and disappointing; suffering is the result of one's desires; to stop disappointment one must control one's desires; and the way to stop desire is through right views, intention, speech, conduct, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration. Buddhism spread south to Ceylon, Cambodia, and Laos to become Theravada or Hinayana (Little Vehicle 小乘) and north to China, Korea, and Japan, where it developed into Mahayana (Great Vehicle 大乘). Hinayana is concerned more with individual salvation through contemplation and self-purification, while Mahayana teaches compassion and universal salvation. Mahayana adherents believe in powerful godlike bodhisattvas, enlightened individuals who are capable of saving all sentient beings and transporting them to a state of release (nirvana) from the human condition. Bodhisattvas possess the natural disposition to attain enlightenment and become Buddhas, a potential which is inherent in all people. Mahayana adherents also believe in a cycle of lives which continues until one attains nirvana and becomes a Buddha. Several Mahayana concepts, such as a life of suffering, many powerful godlike figures, and possible transcendence to a higher state of being, meshed well with similar ideas in Taoism and folk religion already widely accepted in China. As a result, Mahayana Buddhism became the most popular form of Buddhism in China, and indeed, in all of Northeast Asia. Although Buddhism originated in India, it has undergone thorough Sinification since its introduction to China. In terms of thought system, canons, and ceremonies, the Buddhism practiced in China today is distinctly Chinese, and few Chinese people consider it a foreign religion. Buddhism in Taiwan Buddhism, as the second largest religion in Taiwan, has been known to attract more than 10,000 participants to its public ceremonies. Buddhism was introduced into Taiwan in the late 16th century. By the time Ming loyalist Koxinga escaped to Taiwan and drove out the Dutch, Buddhist monks were already coming to Taiwan with official sanction. Buddhist temples were built with the support of Koxinga and his followers. By the 17th century, several Buddhist temples had been erected by officials, the gentry, and local people; however, Buddhist missionary work at the time seems to have been limited in scope. Some Buddhist temples were used as temples of folk religion by the people, and thus received popular support. Japanese Buddhism was introduced into Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period (1895-1945). Eight Buddhist sects, namely, the Tendai 天臺, the Shingon 真元, the Pure Land 淨土, the Soto 曹洞宗, the Rinzai 臨濟宗, the Shin 真, the Nichiren 日蓮, the Hokke 法華, and the Agon 阿含, came to Taiwan to proselytize. Buddhist sects already established in Taiwan responded to the incursion by accommodating the newcomers. By 1925, a large number of Japanese monks were in leading positions in Taiwan's established Buddhist temples. Buddhism in Taiwan gradually took on a Japanese cast, particularly in the areas of moral and disciplinary codes and education. During the Japanese occupation, Buddhist groups in Taiwan separated into the northern, central, and southern schools. The monk Shan-hui 善慧 founded the Yueh-mei Mountain 月眉山 school of Keelung (the northern school), and the monk Chueh-li 覺立 established the Fa-yun Szu 法雲寺 school of Miaoli (the central school) and the Kai-yuan Szu 開元寺 school of Tainan (the southern school). Most Buddhist temples of this era belonged to one of these three schools. Towards the end of the Japanese occupation, many monks actively engaged in proselytizing activities and established Buddhist organizations. Postwar Buddhism in Taiwan has witnessed the reestablishment of the Chinese Mahayana tradition, renewed stress on moral and disciplinary codes and the ceremony of ordination 傳戒大典, emphasis on Buddhist education and the establishment of Buddhist institutes, and active proselytizing. In 1947, Master Chang-chia 章嘉 established the Buddhist Association of the ROC 中國佛教會 in Nanjing. Large numbers of Chinese monks followed the Chinese Nationalist government to Taiwan and established the Taiwan provincial chapter of the Buddhist Association of the ROC. Monks from the Chinese mainland headed the association at first, and temples throughout the island became association members. Since the 1950s, the Buddhist Association of the ROC has held ordination ceremonies for Buddhist monks, nuns, and lay people. Temples recognized by the association hold an annual third-level ordination ceremony 三壇大戒, with monks and nuns receiving one month of stringent training before ordination. Since then, thousands of monks and nuns have been ordained in this ceremony at various temples and monasteries around the island. The Museum of World Religions 世界宗教博物館 located in Yungho City, Taipei County was opened on November 9, 2001. Hosted by Ling Jiou Mountain's Master Hsin Tao, 180 religious leaders and Museum experts from nearly 40 countries participated the inaugural ceremony. The Museum collects Buddhist art from the Chinese mainland, Tibet, Nepal, Myanmar, Cambodia, India, and Thailand. Artifacts of Taoist and Taiwanese folk religions are also featured in its main collections. As of 2000, Buddhists in the ROC had registered 4,010 temples, 35 seminaries, five universities, three colleges, four high schools, 46 kindergartens, 32 nurseries, six orphanages, five retirement homes, one center for the mentally retarded, 64 institutions for proselytizing, three hospitals, three clinics, 118 libraries, and 35 publishing houses with 25 publications. There were also around 9,300 Buddhist clergy serving the 3.67 million Buddhists of Taiwan. Tantric Buddhism Since 1980, Tantric Buddhism, an esoteric sect that developed between the second and fourth centuries a.d. in India, has become increasingly popular in Taiwan. In recent years, exiled Tibetan monks of the Tantric sect have come to Taiwan, rapidly attracting a large following and thereby exercising a significant effect on Taiwan's religious culture. On March 22, 1997, the Nobel Prize winning religious and political leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama, set foot again on Chinese soil for the first time in 38 years, ever since his exile in 1959. Invited by Master Ching Hsin 淨心長老 of the Buddhist Association of the ROC, the 14th Dalai Lama held two public talks and a Buddhist consecration ceremony, met with religious leaders, and ended his five-day visit to Taiwan on March 27 by meeting with former President Lee Teng-hui. On April 16, 1998, the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama 財團法人達賴喇嘛西藏宗教基金會 was formally established. Although religious in name, the Foundation serves as a de facto Tibetan representative office in Taiwan. The Dalai Lama visited Taiwan a second time in April 2001. More than 20,000 people attended the two-day ceremony where he preached the Buddha's teachings. Although the trip was classified as "strictly religious," the Dalai Lama met with not only religious leaders, such as Master Cheng Yen 證嚴法師 of the Buddhist Tzu Chi Compassion Relief Foundation, Master Sheng Yen of the Dharma Drum Mountain, and Master Hsin Tao of the Ling Jiou Mountain Buddhist Foundation and the Museum of World Religions during the 10-day trip, he also conversed with President Chen Shui-bian, Vice President Lu Hsiu-lien, former President Lee Teng-hui, and other influential political figures. His appeal for permits to allow more Tibetans to study Mandarin, receive vocational training, and obtain employment in Taiwan received a positive response. The Dalai Lama also donated US$150,000 for post-quake reconstruction works. Education The road traveled by Buddhist education has not been a smooth one. Its beginning in post-retrocession Taiwan dates from the invitation by the Buddhist Master Miao-kuo 妙果 of the Yuan-kuang Temple 圓光寺 in Chungli to the Buddhist Master Tzu-hang 慈航 from the Chinese mainland to establish a Buddhist institute in Taiwan. Master Tzu-hang later founded a Maitreya monastery in Hsichih, Taipei County. Next, Master Yin-shun 印順 assumed the directorship of a Buddhist institute in Hsinchu. Subsequently, over 50 Buddhist institutes were founded islandwide. Many of these institutes functioned intermittently; only a portion of them were able to maintain unbroken operations. One explanation for this is that Buddhist and other religious institutes were not officially recognized by the MOE. Another is that many Buddhist figures founded independent educational institutes instead of uniting to establish one large institute. Nonetheless, the Buddhist-sponsored Tzu Chi Junior College of Nursing 慈濟護理專科學校 opened in 1989, the Huafan College of Humanities and Technology 華梵人文科技學院 opened the following year, and the Tzu Chi Medical College 慈濟醫學院 began enrolling students in 1994. The Nanhua Management College of Fo Guang University 佛光大學南華管理學院, located in Chiayi, which began enrolling students in October 1996, was renamed in 1999 as Nanhua University 南華大學. Missionary and Humanitarian Works Abroad Buddhists are becoming more missionary-oriented. Over the past decade, television proselytizing has gained popularity, and lectures on Buddhism have begun to draw large crowds. Intellectuals have been drawn to Buddhism from the beginning, for both academic and religious reasons, and some have become renowned monks and nuns. By stressing "Buddhism for this world," Buddhist leaders have also managed to attract people outside of academia who have contributed significant amounts of financial and spiritual support to Buddhist organizations. Some of Taiwan's leading figures in Buddhism have expanded their missions overseas. For example, after the January 14, 2001, earthquake in El Salvador, the Buddhist Tzu Chi Compassion Relief Foundation dispatched medical teams from the United States to provide food and build prefabricated houses for victims. It has also opened three relief distribution stations at New York's Pier 94 and Chinatown and Liberty State Park in New Jersey since the collapse of the World Trade Center on Spetember 11, 2001, and provided a total of US$950,000 relief funds within two months of the incident. The Foundation cooperated with Knightsbridge International to provide food, blankets, medicine, and US$5 per household to the Afghan refugees. The two organizations have collaborated to provide medicine for the Afghans from February to May 1998 and various relief materials for Kosovo refugees in 1999. Copyright (C) July 2002, Government Information Office.   All rights reserved.   Site design by L.F. Lee Best viewed with Netscape 4.x or IE 5.x (medium font) at 800 x 600 True Color (32 bit) resolution