Prominent Nuns: Influential Taiwanese Voices

PROMINENT NUNS Influential Taiwanese Voices Jennifer Eichman I n recent times, scholars have certainly taken note of the burgeoning ranks of well-educated Taiwanese nuns. From the 1960s onward, the Taiwanese nuns community slowly shed its image as a vocation of the undereducated, disaffected, and lovelorn. In the last thirty years, collegeeducated women have swelled the ranks of well-established Buddhist monasteries and also instituted their own female enclaves. These nuns have garnered the respect of the larger society and made numerous contributions to Taiwanese social welfare, environmental protection, Buddhist education, and many other areas of social and spiritual life. The more prominent voices in this very fertile landscape have created transnational networks, increasing their global reach. As Elise DeVido has rightly pointed out, the phenomenal success of these nuns is unprecedented in the Mahayana diaspora including Korea, Japan, and Mainland China. Theravada and Tibetan communities too have yet to nurture female talent in the same sustained way.1 In this article, I will make passing reference to the contributions of numerous talented Taiwanese nuns, while largely focusing on the work of four extraordinary individuals. They range from conservative to radically other and from studiously reflective to kinetically active. The most internationally prominent Taiwanese nun, Cheng Yen (1937-), focuses almost exclusively on ‘‘doing religion’’ through charitable activities, while the nuns Kuan Ch’ien (1956-), Wu Yin (1940-), and others have made it their mission to improve the doctrinal sophistication of the sangha through education. Cheng Yen, Kuan Ch’ien, and the ª 2011 Association for Religion and Intellectual Life SEPTEMBER 2011 . 345 P R O M I N E N T N U N S: I N F L U E N T I A L T A I W A N E S E V O I C E S more politically active nun Chao Hwei (1965-), all represent a new movement in the propagation of Taiwanese/Chinese Buddhist doctrine and practice.2 At times their approaches and organizations have been criticized, yet all three remain well within the range of contemporary normative practices. Not so for the fourth individual. Ching Hai (1950-) was tonsured in Taiwan and for a brief time she shaved her head and wore traditional monastic robes. However, she soon struck out on her own, developing what to some is Buddhist heresy and to others a new age religious organization. Without the strong financial backing and spiritual commitment of her large and loyal Taiwanese base, Ching Hai could not have severed all ties to Taiwanese Buddhist organizations and proceeded to transmit her own unique vision, let alone create an extensive global network. For this reason, I have chosen to include her here. New religious offshoots, even when they are roundly condemned by their incubating organizations, provide some comparative perspective on both what constitutes the norm and what kinds of spiritual experimentation we might expect to see from other intrepid religious innovators. These four voices represent a range of approaches to Buddhist modernization that capitalized on Taiwan’s economic advancement, female education, and democratization. The out migration of highly educated Taiwanese has been an equally indispensable factor in the ability of Taiwanese-based Buddhist organizations to create transnational networks, build temples overseas, and increase their presence in a global spiritual marketplace. Recent immigrants lend their manpower and knowledge of local laws while major Taiwanese Buddhist institutions send financial support and monastic expertise. Many institutions have also sent nuns to run these centers, thereby increasing their international visibility and educational opportunities. Refocusing the tradition: Buddhism for the here-and-now The twentieth century brought with it political, economic, and religious turmoil greatly hindering the ability of Mainland China Buddhist organizations to survive let alone forge creative responses to modernity.3 This was especially so after the Communist takeover in 1949. Since the beginning of the 1982 Reform Era, Mainland Chinese have begun to revive their Buddhist institutions, yet despite the presence in Mainland China of historically famous Buddhist monasteries, these institutions have yet 346 . CROSSCURRENTS JENNIFER EICHMAN to achieve the global reach of such Taiwanese organizations as Compassion Relief, Dharma Drum, or Buddha’s Light whose transnational networks are continually expanding operations and centers in the West and around the world.4 In past centuries, Taiwan was a peripheral outpost that hardly warranted a dot on the map of Chinese Buddhist pilgrims and spiritual seekers. At the present moment, Taiwanese Buddhist organizations are enjoying an unprecedented newfound prominence. Compassion Relief has turned Hualian, Taiwan, into a desirable pilgrimage destination; for those seeking Buddhist instruction whether overseas Taiwanese or others, major Buddhist centers in Taiwan are prime sites for further spiritual development and academic research. After 1949, a few Mainland monks who had fled to Taiwan slowly began to establish new forms of Buddhist practice and institutions. They were inspired by the work of the reformist monk, Taixu (1890–1947), who had promoted a human-centered Buddhist approach (rensheng fojiao ⅉ䞮⇪㟨). Taixu wanted Buddhists to concentrate on their role as bodhisattvas in the here-and-now rather than on rebirth in other celestial realms. He wrote extensively about the role of a socially engaged bodhisattva who was not sequestered away in a monastery, but attended to the needs of his fellow man. Much of Taixu’s work was positioned to strengthen growing lay organizations, promote Buddhist participation in opening clinics, orphanages, schools, and outreach through various media such as radio and publishing.5 Taixu called for the establishment of a Pure Land on earth. He also wrote an essay on ‘‘How to Establish Buddhism in the Human Realm (renjian fojiao ⅉ栢⇪㟨).’’ Taixu described his vision this way, ‘‘It’s a Buddhism which, in accordance with Buddhist teachings, reforms society, helps humankind to progress, and improves the whole world.’’6 In post-1949 Taiwan, Yinshun tirelessly promoted Taixu’s many reformist ideas under the rubric of renjian fojiao. Renjian fojiao and the various movements inspired by it have been called humanistic Buddhism, creating an earthly Pure Land, or Buddhism for the human realm.7 Irrespective of the nomenclature, the idea remains the same: to cultivate the bodhisattva path through selfless service to contemporary society.8 Many Taiwanese nuns have been influenced by this movement: Cheng Yen received Yinshun’s sponsorship for her ordination, and Chao Hwei and Kuan Ch’ien were both students of Yinshun. In fact, Chao Hwei SEPTEMBER 2011 . 347 P R O M I N E N T N U N S: I N F L U E N T I A L T A I W A N E S E V O I C E S often gives lectures and writes about Yinshun’s ideas. Each of these nuns has further added their own imprint to what it means to develop a human-centered Buddhist practice. While this article focuses primarily on female contributions, one should not lose sight of the many contributions made by monks and nuns at Dharma Drum and Buddha’s Light monasteries who have also sought to implement practices and traditions that embody the spirit of renjian fojiao. Because Dharma Drum, Compassion Relief, and Buddha’s Light are well-endowed, large-scale organizations, they have had a profound impact on the local religious landscape. These three organizations also command the most extensive transnational networks. However, despite the prominence of renjian fojiao, it must be added that there are also other successful Buddhist organizations in Taiwan that have no connection to Taixu and Yinshun’s ideas, yet promote new and innovative methods of keeping Buddhism relevant to contemporary concerns. As Chao Hwei and others have said, Taiwan has a unique religious landscape wherein much of the populace has been accustomed to participating in an amalgam of Buddhist, Daoist, and popular religious God cults. Additionally, even among those who try Buddhist practice, a significant number sample different Buddhist traditions and lineages. They readily move between Theravada, Tibetan, and Chinese Buddhist centers, spending perhaps four or five years grasping the ideas of one organization or lineage master before trying another one.9 Others, however, may settle into one community and devote all their energy to that center’s mission. In general, Taiwanese Buddhist institutions do not chastise those who find religious sustenance from more than one center or master, though they do compete with each other for donations and membership. Nuns and feminism It has been said that behind every good man stands a good woman. In a reversal of that well-worn adage, it was powerful monks in Taiwan like Yinshun, Shengyan, and Xingyun who lent their support to nuns’ ordination and education. That coupled with a relaxing of the Eight Special Precepts encoded in the Vinaya, a set of precepts that make nuns subordinate to monks, opened new leadership opportunities for nuns, and spurred the growth of an educated female cohort.10 From the 1950s 348 . CROSSCURRENTS JENNIFER EICHMAN onward, support from eminent monks spurred female advancement. In the twenty-first century, powerful nuns may well need to return the favor by recruiting more men to fill the dwindling ranks of monks.11 Taiwan’s steady post-1949 economic gains, the lifting of martial law in 1987, the consequent rise of Buddhist groups on college campuses, the surge in female literacy, education, and rights all contributed to making it easier for women to gain a foothold in many areas of Taiwanese life, including the Buddhist sangha. That having been said, quite surprisingly, very few nuns attribute their success to a women’s rights movement or to Western-style feminism. Rather, many powerful nuns claim that such feminine and motherly virtues as compassion, nurturance, empathy, selflessness, patience, and warmth make it easier for them to administer to others while adjusting to communal monastic life.12 In short, many nuns follow Compassion Relief’s model in praising the virtuous qualities of a traditional loving wife and mother. In contrast to societies that have tried to separate women’s professional and personal lives, Taiwanese nuns view traditional nurturing skills as a professional asset that can be extended well beyond the confines of family life. Even the feminist nun Chao Hwei concedes that a ‘‘gentle feminine nature’’ makes women ideally suited for monastic work.13 In what follows, I will look at some of the contributions of Cheng Yen, Chao Hwei, Kuan Ch’ien, and Ching Hai to both Taiwan’s religious landscape, and where feasible, in the diaspora. Cheng Yen and compassion relief: doing Buddhism ‘‘It is more of a blessing to serve others than to be served.’’ This concise statement aptly encapsulates the spirit of Compassion Relief volunteers. Whether feeding the poor, attending to nursing home occupants, or managing large-scale disaster relief missions, the typical Compassion Relief volunteer is taught that the opportunity to serve others allows for the spiritual development of the self. Service is practice. From the start, Cheng Yen (1937-) has followed Yinshun’s directive in adhering to a program that ideally motivates her followers to manifest a bodhisattva spirit through practical action.14 Compassion Relief, as it is commonly called, refers to a foundation whose official title is Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu-Chi Foundation (hereafter Compassion Relief).15 Compassion Relief has four primary missions: charitable, medical, educational, and cultural. SEPTEMBER 2011 . 349 P R O M I N E N T N U N S: I N F L U E N T I A L T A I W A N E S E V O I C E S All four divisions and their many affiliates such as the Da’ai cable channel, and Da’ai Technology Company, LTD, are all connected through a shared sense of mission. In what follows, I will focus on the interconnection between relief missions, medical philanthropy, and efforts at environmental protection. There is a substantial, ever-growing body of English-language scholarship on Cheng Yen and her organization. Although I will draw on that material where relevant, I will not duplicate it here.16 In comparison, Chao Hwei and Ching Hai have received scant scholarly attention in the English-speaking world, and Kuan Ch’ien is virtually unknown. Cheng Yen’s personal story and the rise of her organization from that of a small local charity to a multinational organization that by 2000 had branches in 30 countries and 5 million contributors are indeed remarkable. As it continues to grow, recent data suggest that as of 2010 Compassion Relief had an organizational presence in fifty countries and close to 10 million contributors.17 At seventy-four years of age, this diminutive nun from a middle-class background now commands a vast network of centers known for their very professional response to disaster relief both in Taiwan and abroad. Cheng Yen is the first Taiwanese nun to have reached such prominence and stands virtually in a class all her own.18 Since its founding in 1966, Tzu Chi Compassion Relief has constructed four state-of-the-art hospitals in Taiwan, opened a secular four-year university with a medical school, started a television channel, sent relief missions to numerous disaster areas, and established a transnational network of volunteers in fifty countries. Cheng Yen’s vision of better medical care for the poor in eastern Taiwan inspired her to build a hospital in Hualian. Against all odds and despite a series of setbacks, Cheng Yen persisted with this project, which was finally completed in 1986. Her determination propelled the organization into the limelight and shortly thereafter, financial contributions and membership exploded, rapidly doubling and then tripling the size of the organization, making it financially feasible to take on more ambitious projects and extend Compassion Relief’s global reach.19 The momentum has continued, as has Compassion Relief’s ability to garner respect for its moral values, efficiency, and competence in implementing numerous projects. Compassion Relief membership numbers do, however, require some explanation. Unlike religious organizations that count 350 . CROSSCURRENTS JENNIFER EICHMAN members (huiyuan 㦒❰) based on formal initiation or professions of faith, Compassion Relief membership figures reflect the total number of financial contributors, not active participants. There is no minimum monthly contribution: all levels of financial support are considered beneficial to the mission. To get a sense of how this works, the Cedar Grove, New Jersey branch counts 10,000 contributor-members and approximately 1,000 active participants (zhigong). Active participants are designated ‘‘intentional volunteers’’ (zhigong ㉦ぴ) to distinguish their role from that of the commonly understood idea of an ordinary volunteer (yigong 券ぴ).20 Intentional volunteers embody a sense of religious purpose and commitment. These uniformed participants follow a designated code of conduct and transmit the ethical and cultural values of the parent organization. Their diplomatic skills, lack of (overt) proselytization, and neutral political position—disciples are told specifically not to become involved in politics or run for office—have made it possible for them to rebuild communities in Indonesia, Iran, Sri Lanka, Haiti, Mainland China, and many other places. Compassion Relief’s outreach is not haphazard but follows a rigorous set of protocols. The organization embraces modern managerial techniques, continually reassesses the outcomes of their endeavors, and seeks to constantly improve on their own efficiency, service, and effectiveness. Disaster relief is divided into three main tasks that are to be implemented in the following order: first, comfort the victims; second, ensure their physical well-being; and third, help them to return to independent living. In its current relief missions, Compassion Relief strives to arrive within the crucial first seventy-two-hour window. They send doctors and other trained medical personnel who set up medical clinics and emergency care. The communities’ needs are then assessed and action is taken to restore homes, schools, and lives. Although medical personnel are on hand to deal with life-threatening problems, Tzu Chi has discovered that oftentimes earthquake victims and survivors of other disasters are in need of psychological help not physical; hence, their doctors are also trained to listen and offer emotional support.21 Compassion Relief does not simply distribute free food or cash payments. At every level, they invite the local community to join their efforts. For example, when first aid kits were distributed in Iran, people were instructed on their use and encouraged to share this information SEPTEMBER 2011 . 351 P R O M I N E N T N U N S: I N F L U E N T I A L T A I W A N E S E V O I C E S with others; locals in Haiti were asked to help with food distribution and other tasks. In return, they were offered free meals or small cash payments. The goal is not only to help communities recover economically but also to instill in them the Compassion Relief spirit that values helping others. This last task may indeed be hardest of all and has admittedly been met with mixed results.22 Doctors and nurses in Compassion Relief hospitals are aware of the organization’s founding vision of compassion and service toward others. However, these hospitals embrace only the latest Western medical techniques and do not offer traditional Buddhist chanting or repentance rituals for healing, nor do they suggest as Falun Gong does that meditation can cure cancer or other illnesses.23 Cheng Yen has encouraged the donation of cadavers for medical research, allows scientific experiments with animals, and has set up a bone marrow registry. None of this sounds particularly religious or Buddhist and has led to some criticisms that Compassion Relief is largely a secular NGO, yet the overall reverence for human life that Cheng Yen attempts to instill in everyone is woven throughout the culture of her scientific and medical organizations. This is evident in the process students are asked to follow when working with cadavers. Before the dissection of cadavers, students first pray for the deceased, post biographies of the cadavers, and after dissection, write an essay of gratitude to the donor.24 After the cremation of the body, half the ashes are kept in a chapel where medical students can meditate and express gratitude to those who have donated their bodies. Compassion Relief does not prohibit abortion nor interfere with physician decisions. Rather, the organization’s imprint is found in the level of compassionate care provided both by medical personnel and by a host of volunteers. Compassion Relief’s disaster relief work is intimately tied to its mission to protect the environment. Since at least the 1960s, recent North American Buddhist converts—like Gary Snyder, Joan Halifax, and Joanna Macy—have promoted Buddhist ecological thought, arguing that Buddhism, like Native American traditions, is closer to nature than Western Abrahamic monotheisms.25 Critical of this view, scholars like William Bodiford and Tony Huber and others have asserted that such ideas were a fabrication of American Romanticism. In their view, neither Tibetan Buddhist nor East Asian Buddhist traditions had a particular claim to 352 . CROSSCURRENTS JENNIFER EICHMAN ecological mindedness nor is environmental protection inscribed in the canons of Buddhist scripture.26 Such scholarship certainly helps us disentangle various conceptual genealogies. However, we must recognize that during the last twenty years Compassion Relief integrated environmental protection as a signature component intrinsic to all of its projects. In fact, Dharma Drum, Buddha’s Light, and other Taiwanese Buddhist institutions have become major voices in the creation of a Buddhist ethos of environmental protection, energy conservation, and endorsement of green technologies. For 2011 advocates of renjian fojiao, the environment is of primary concern, whether conceived of as an embodied, interior realm of personal transformation or the exterior world of clean air, clean water, safe food, and the proper use of natural resources.27 In part because of the scale of their operations and in part because Compassion Relief is continually searching for new alternatives, environmental activists have gone on fact-finding missions to their headquarters in Hualian and other places.28 Not only have Compassion Relief members set up more than 4,500 volunteer-staffed recycling stations in Taiwan, they have also been working to repurpose recycled materials.29 Profits from these ventures are donated to Da’ai TV cable channel. Through the creation of its affiliate Da’ai Technology Company, LTD, members with technological expertise have produced an eco-fabric made from recycled PET bottles.30 This material is turned into blankets that Compassion Relief distributes to disaster victims. In Thailand, Compassion Relief volunteers are working to stop coastal erosion by planting Kandelia candel;31 in Mainland China, they have sought to recycle used glass, despite its low economic value. In 2007, Compassion Relief started an 8,000 cistern installation project in drought-prone Gansu, including the village of Ruoli. However, when this did not alleviate the water shortage in Ruoli, they agreed to relocate 210 impoverished families two hours northwest to Liuchuan, a government-designated new settlement. They helped negotiate a fair land deal with the government, built houses, designated fields, taught relocated villagers new farming techniques, and encouraged economic self-sufficiency. Relocated villagers were given houses with larger windows so that children could study by natural light.32 After the devastating 1999 earthquake in central Taiwan, Compassion Relief rebuilt fifty schools.33 Each school is not only earthquake resistant; buildings are also designed to reduce reliance on airSEPTEMBER 2011 . 353 P R O M I N E N T N U N S: I N F L U E N T I A L T A I W A N E S E V O I C E S conditioning, through maximum air circulation, recycle rainwater in restrooms and minimize noise.34 In their landscaping for the school, Compassion Relief also attended to the ecological protection of local species.35 Compassion Relief recycles paper, plastics, electronics, and other valuable waste. Although these examples are a mere fraction of Compassion Relief’s endeavors, they illustrate the range of projects and environmental concerns Compassion Relief chooses to undertake. Cheng Yen refrains from political involvement, yet in the 1970s and 1980s she could not have built a hospital or carried out many of her projects without explicit government endorsement and help securing land.36 After the 1987 lifting of martial law and Taiwan’s development of a multi-party democratic society, Cheng Yen still refused to criticize the government, endorse candidates, campaign for structural change, or allow her followers to be politically active. Her critics believe that the kinds of large-scale social interventions needed to reverse environmental degradation, change the plight of the poor, and spur economic development require a political solution in the form of new laws, policies, and government investment. In fact without the 1995–2010 changes to environmental law and consequent government investment in recycling technology, Compassion Relief’s efforts, even with its 60,000 recycling volunteers and 4,500 recycling stations, would only make a minor dent in Taiwan’s overall waste management problem. Taiwan’s 2002 Resource Recycling and Reuse Act and other laws have made recycling more cost-effective while spurring investment in new recycling technologies. From 1998 to 2008, Taiwan was able to increase its recycling rate to about 32 percent.37 Americans may be surprised to learn that, by law, plastic bags are not handed out in convenience stores, 80 percent of PET bottles are recycled, and food waste is divided into two types: raw and cooked. Each type is processed and turned into animal feed or fertilizer. McDonalds, Starbucks, and other corporate entities do not leave it to the customer to recycle properly. By law, each enterprise is legally responsible for the proper sorting of plastic, paper, and food refuse generated in its establishments. Strictly speaking, Taiwan’s Buddhist organizations cannot claim sole responsibility for the improvements in Taiwan’s recycling efforts. However, Compassion Relief, Dharma Drum, and Buddha’s Light have all supported recycling efforts, promoted the use of non-disposable chopsticks, vegetarian diets, organic farming,38 eco-friendly building practices, and a 354 . CROSSCURRENTS JENNIFER EICHMAN host of other initiatives. Environmental issues are increasingly at the forefront of efforts by these organizations to create an earthly Pure Land and realize the ideals of renjian fojiao. Chao Hwei: seeking structural change If Cheng Yen can be characterized as a soft-spoken nun who does not criticize government policies, Chao Hwei (1965-) stands as her alter ego. Convinced that structural change in the form of new government policies or the rewriting of the monastic code, the Vinaya, is the only way to effect real change, Chao Hwei has been a tireless advocate for many causes. The 2009 recipient of the ‘‘Outstanding Women in Buddhism’’ award,39 Chao Hwei’s prominence comes largely through her social and religious activism in Taiwan. She does not command a large monastic or lay following and thus does not oversee a global network of followers. An ethicist, university professor, and social activist, Chao Hwei uses both the journal of Hongshi Institute and the academic journal of Hsuan Chuang University as a platform for her many ideas. She has been invited to speak in Hong Kong and Mainland China and is best known among an international group of nun activists. Chao Hwei’s strident political activism and open embrace of feminism have certainly caused a stir. Her unflinching approach seen not only in her published writings but also more importantly in her very public protests against the death penalty, gambling, and nuclear power has garnered significant media attention. Chao Hwei takes credit in part for the passage of the Wild Animal Protection Law, forbidding horse racing. She has protested against the abuse of laboratory animals and advocated on behalf of a variety of animal welfare issues.40 The causes Chao Hwei has chosen to address are far to numerous to recount here. Hence, the following discussion will be confined to the three projects Chao Hwei singled out in her ‘‘Outstanding Women in Buddhism’’ award acceptance speech: a 1994 ‘‘Hunger Strike to Protect Kuan-yin’’; a 1999 attempt to make the Buddha’s birthday a national holiday—up to that point only Christmas held that distinction; and her 2000 project ‘‘Abolishment of the Eight Special Rules for Bhikkhunis.’’ Each of these causes demonstrates her commitment to renjian fojiao. The first of these three projects propelled her into a media spotlight, resulting in both positive and negative press. Some community members SEPTEMBER 2011 . 355 P R O M I N E N T N U N S: I N F L U E N T I A L T A I W A N E S E V O I C E S who questioned the appropriateness of placing a religious image in a public space wanted a statue of the Bodhisattva Guanyin removed from the entrance to Da’an park in central Taibei. In disagreement with this perspective, Chao Hwei staged a very public protest wherein she began what was to be a six-day fast and meditation. Many monastics, accustomed to a much softer approach, criticized her bold actions as merely complicating the issue. However, the monk Xingyun stood by her, offering crucial support.41 In this instance, Chao Hwei successfully convinced the authorities to leave the statue at the park, where it can be seen today. While this particular protest rallied for the acceptance of a religious image in a public setting, a cause that was only mildly controversial, many of Chao Hwei’s other protests have championed much more sensitive and complex causes, many of which are not yet thoroughly resolved. That in her acceptance speech, Chao Hwei would highlight her attempts to create a Buddhist holiday is somewhat puzzling. After all, this project not only failed, but it also had a negative impact on the lives of working Taiwanese. Since 1947, the twenty-fifth of December has been designated Constitution Day for the Republic of China, and thus, it was celebrated as a national holiday, not a religious one. That this was also Christmas Day was merely a fortuitous happenstance. However, the government resolved the apparent contradiction of allowing a foreign religion, Christianity, an official holiday for the birth of Christ while ostensibly ignoring the Buddha’s birthday, by simply abolishing the twenty-fifth of December as a national holiday. This, of course, led to plenty of disgruntled comments by the working public, that is, the majority of Taiwanese who had previously enjoyed having the day off. The third protest, conducted with great panache in front of TV cameras, was aimed at the long-standing Buddhist monastic practice of conferring at ordination, Eight Special Rules for nuns. From the 1960s onward, many major monasteries simply chose to disregard such rules; though, there were other monks who insisted on adherence. Well-educated nuns had not mounted protests. After all, most were reaping the fruits of a good education that allowed them to teach, travel, and participate in monastic institution building. In contrast, Chao Hwei came to the conclusion that simply ignoring these rules was not enough. She wanted them forever abolished. She felt that the dual ordination 356 . CROSSCURRENTS JENNIFER EICHMAN wherein nuns are ordained in front of a quorum of ten nuns and then a quorum of ten monks should also be abolished. Nuns, in her view, should only need a single ordination presided over solely by nuns. In 2000, on the eve before the Dalai Lama was to arrive in Taiwan for a discussion of nun’s ordination—especially for the restoration of a nun’s order in Theravada and Tibetan traditions—Chao Hwei and seven other nuns stood in front of TV cameras and slowly one by one, they tore up large sheets of paper each written with one of the eight objectionable precepts. Startling. Shocking. Yes, it was both of these, but the larger question one might pose is was it effective? This is a harder question to answer. To date, the sangha has not decided to rewrite the Vinaya or to expunge these rules. Many monks and nuns judged Chao Hwei’s behavior at this protest and others as unbecoming of a nun. Highly visible protests aside, Chao Hwei does, however, follow her teacher Yinshun in drawing the line at running for public office. These three incidents offer a taste of the types of activities and causes that Chao Hwei takes on in the name of renjian fojiao. Chao Hwei has been called a ‘‘trouble-maker’’ (mafanren), a criticism that she wears like a badge.42 Needless to say, Chao Hwei’s tactics are radically different from those of Cheng Yen. Cheng Yen demonstrates that a soft-spoken tough mindedness can effect great change. On the other hand, sharp attacks on chauvinistic monk attitudes, protests against one perceived injustice after another, and headline grabbing actions may draw needed attention to underlying problems and stimulate further discussion and awareness even if Chao Hwei cannot always elicit the outcome she so desires. In some respects, one could argue that Compassion Relief lives change while Chao Hwei advocates for it. The next nun to be discussed, Kuan Ch’ien, is a good friend of Chao Hwei. However, her approach to renjian fojiao differs from that of both Chao Hwei and Cheng Yen. Kuan Ch’ien: the fine art of living well Numerous Taiwanese nuns have completed Ph.Ds and Master’s degrees, often from universities in Japan, Europe, and the United States. Many in this group are faculty at Buddhist colleges and universities. They write well-researched books, publish academic papers, and attend international conferences. However, most intellectually gifted nuns are little known outside their particular academic subfield or home monastery. Education SEPTEMBER 2011 . 357 P R O M I N E N T N U N S: I N F L U E N T I A L T A I W A N E S E V O I C E S is a time-consuming labor of love. It takes years of coursework and teaching to improve the level of Buddhist knowledge among the nuns’ community and within the larger lay congregation. Several early pioneers were indefatigable proponents of nun’s education. Shig Hiuwen (1912) taught at Culture University and founded the Buddhist University, Huafan when she was 76. Tianyi was also an early pioneer in the education of nuns: she drew on Buddhist claims of equality and expedient means (upaya) to argue for nun’s equality.43 More recently, Wu Yin (1940-) has dedicated herself to raising the educational level of nuns. Most of the hundred nuns at her Luminary Buddhist Institute hold postgraduate degrees. The focus at Luminary Institute is on education and scholarship, not sutra chanting, funeral rites, or charity. Although not a student of Yinshun, Wu Yin is also dedicated to creating a Pure Land on earth. However, she has chosen dharma education as the primary means to effect this change.44 A tireless promoter of Yinshun’s ideas, Kuan Ch’ien, too strives to create a peaceful earthly Pure Land through education. Kuan Ch’ien (1956-), however, is unique in that she emphasizes the interconnectedness of three realms of knowledge: facility with doctrine and scripture, knowledge about Buddhist art and aesthetics, and the art of living a pleasing, Buddhist-centered life. Her goal is to guide her lay followers toward a Buddhist informed aesthetically pleasing way of life. In a word, her focus is on inner transformation of the self and the home. Like other nuns dedicated to a vision of renjian fojiao, Kuan Ch’ien promotes the bodhisattva path: her teachings largely follow those of Taixu and Yinshun. Many of her sutra lectures, in fact, draw extensively from Yinshun’s publication, Miaoyunji. Her approach is ideally suited for educated middle-class housewives and families who want an introduction to the often arcane language of Buddhist scriptures and guidance on how to fashion a lifestyle congruent with Buddhist doctrine. Kuan Ch’ien neither promotes charitable giving as the premier method of self-cultivation as Cheng Yen has nor engage in political protests like Chao Hwei. Rather, Kuan Ch’ien is a mild-mannered nun who is admired for her gift of clear exposition and depth of knowledge about Buddhist art. Her father Yang Yingfeng 㯙喀欷 (1926–1997)45 was an internationally acclaimed sculptor who had a thirty-year friendship with the nun Chueh Hsin. Chueh Hsin, too, was very interested in Buddhist arts, calligraphy, and music. After completing her bachelor’s degree in architec358 . CROSSCURRENTS JENNIFER EICHMAN ture, Kuan Ch’ien became a disciple of Chueh Hsin. The relationship between her father and Chueh Hsin resulted in the 1988 formation of the Chueh Feng Buddhist Art and Culture Foundation. The foundation’s stated purpose is the promotion of Chueh Hsin’s teachings and Yang Yingfeng’s artistic vision. It is also a platform for its director Kuan Ch’ien to create and promote numerous programs, foremost of which is her series of lectures on Buddhist scripture that are now available for free viewing on the foundation’s website. In fact, my introduction to Kuan Ch’ien’s teachings came from two Dharma Drum laywomen who have become avid watchers of her DVDs and Internet TV. Kuan Ch’ien also lectures on Buddhist art or invites scholars to do so. The more unique aspect of Kuan Ch’ien’s teachings derives from her avocation of an aesthetically refined sensibility attuned to the art of living well. To this end, she sponsors exhibitions and classes on flower arranging, Buddhist art, tea drinking, and vegetarian cooking.46 Her education in architecture has also been put to good use in rethinking spatial arrangements, especially at her education centers: for one of her centers, Chueh Feng Buddhist Study Center 屉欷⸇啠, she created a Tang dynasty studio. The popularity of televised cooking shows is readily apparent on Taiwan’s numerous cable channels. However, Kuan Ch’ien appears to be the first nun to have developed a specifically Buddhist-oriented all-vegetarian series of cooking videos. Introduced by the nun Zhao Hui, each short episode first presents the ingredients and then explains in easy-to-follow, minute detail just how to prepare the dish. The end of the show offers a summary of the nutritional content, health benefits, and visual aesthetics of the dish. Many of the dishes are created with somewhat expensive or hard-to-find ingredients and in keeping with Buddhist strictures do not include members of the onion family or garlic. The show highlights special native plants and other ingredients found in traditional markets and Chinese cooking techniques. In other words, the shows are aimed at guiding middle-class families toward tasty, healthy, high-quality vegan diets.47 The cooking videos are decidedly gendered: I cannot imagine a monk presiding over the same content. Without explicitly saying so, this effort promotes an alternative method of consumption: one that leaves out processed and junk foods while cultivating an appreciation for indigenous local ingredients. One could surmise that this is the Taiwanese parallel to the American go local, slow food movement. Although there are currently SEPTEMBER 2011 . 359 P R O M I N E N T N U N S: I N F L U E N T I A L T A I W A N E S E V O I C E S no videos on proper tea ceremony or flower arranging, Kuan Ch’ien’s centers offer such courses on a regular basis.48 Offering instruction in basic Buddhist scripture and doctrine; encouraging followers to learn about Buddhist art, architecture, calligraphy, sculpture and so forth; offering classes aimed at improving the quality of life by emphasizing Buddhist-oriented methods to improve one’s diet, immediate environment, and leisure time activities—these and other methods are all geared toward creating a gentle, refined middle-class Pure Land. The acquisition of knowledge is a long, slow difficult process, yet Kuan Ch’ien has created numerous lecture series that patiently break down difficult doctrinal concepts through the use of visual aids, that is, diagrams and drawings, and analogies to contemporary life, and drawings on a chalkboard.49 Kuan Ch’ien is probably the least internationally known of the nuns discussed here; however, she has lectured in Canada and Japan and established a tax-exempt foundation in California along with the American Bodhi Center in Texas. Ching Hai: transnational new age spiritual advisor Thus far, this article has presented three prominent nuns who, inspired by Yinshun’s idea of renjian fojiao, have each created a unique approach to its realization. Despite their differing temperaments and strategies, all three remain within the range of acceptable monastic behavior and contemporary normative tradition. In fact, one could argue that the sheer size of Compassion Relief allows it to reshape normative Buddhism, shifting attention to matters of charity and environmental protection. Not so for Ching Hai. In the 1980s, she flirted for a brief time with the Taiwanese vocation of a nun. In 1986, Ching Hai registered her Chan Foundation with the government and drew numerous followers to her particular vision. However, according to the scholar Ding Renjie, by the early 1990s Ching Hai was at war with the Buddhist establishment. Rather than acquiesce to their demands, she cut all ties to Buddhist organizations, disrobed, grew out her hair, dressed fashionably, and set out to create her own independent ‘‘new religion.’’ Even by Taiwanese standards of religious self-promotion made through claims to enlightenment or command of supranormal powers, Ching Hai’s blatant narcissistic refashioning resulted, with its array of eclectic costumes, spiritual fashion line seen for a short time on 360 . CROSSCURRENTS JENNIFER EICHMAN European and American runways, and ever-changing hair color and styles, in a head-turning, jaw-dropping radical otherness that the majority of Taiwanese Buddhists simply could not fathom. In comparison, Chao Hwei looks like an earnest promoter of Buddhist ethics and female equality, not a radical troublemaker. Despite the controversy swirling around her, Ching Hai has been able to attract disciples in Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, the United States, Europe, and to a lesser extent in many other countries. Her ambitious proselytizing efforts in Mainland China were initially quite effective, but severely curtailed in the late 1990s when the Mainland government authorities decided to ban her organization. The twists and turns in Ching Hai’s personal biography notwithstanding, a 2011 American first-time viewer of her English-language website will likely conclude that she is just another liberal New Age spiritual guru.50 Her website declares, ‘‘Be Veg, Go Green. Save the Planet,’’51 a theme that capitalizes on growing global awareness that vegan and vegetarian diets are not only healthier but also help reduce animal cruelty and save the planet. Ching Hai’s presence at climate change conferences and recent publication of books promoting her love for animals equally draws her into the global flow of recent liberal, progressive environmental activism and new age spirituality. These activities help keep this outlier in the conversational crosshairs of a broader pool of potential disciples and supporters. Ching Hai appears to have the survivor instincts of someone who knows that her relevance in the crowded, competitive world of spiritual advisors requires a media-savvy visibility and modicum of mainstream legitimacy—one that presents a futuristic vision that capitalizes on current trends without appearing too fanatical. The media arm of her organization has moved from producing VHS tapes, to DVDs, and now internet TV. Her shows are a technologically sophisticated mix of old 1990s lectures with recent appearances. The production quality is first-rate, even if the content is not. Ching Hai’s legitimacy is derived in part from a fabricated associational life, one largely facilitated through the creation of website categories that direct the reader to topics on the golden age of technology, science and religion, and so forth, through numerous web links to lectures given by other new age proselytizers of scientific or pseudo-scientific ideas. 52 SEPTEMBER 2011 . 361 P R O M I N E N T N U N S: I N F L U E N T I A L T A I W A N E S E V O I C E S Through a careful selection of links, a spiritual guru like Ching Hai can create the façade that she is a prominent voice in the imagined on-theground counterpart to this cyber-world. Ching Hai, like her nun counterparts in Taiwan, promotes a vegan/ vegetarian diet. However, unlike their arguments, which are grounded in Buddhist doctrine, Ching Hai argues the case in part through a Christian-Buddhist synthesis of injunctions against killing and a more generalized appeal to karma. She also appeals to the viewer through both cyber links to video clips of ‘‘elite’’ vegetarians and a web long page with a long list of famous vegetarians irrespective of religious persuasion: Albert Einstein, Leonardo de Vinci, Elie Wiesel, V.S. Naipaul, and Benjamin Franklin.53 Her link to the TED talk by Graham Hill entitled ‘‘Why I’m a Weekday Veg’’ also adds legitimacy. If one were surfing for a vegan restaurant or animal shelter, sites created for that subculture might also contain a link to Ching Hai’s chain of Loving Hut restaurants or website.54 Ching Hai’s disciples have opened a number of vegan restaurants most notably in California, where there is considerable support for alternative lifestyles—ones that are fast becoming mainstreamed on both coasts and in more liberal cities, like Portland, Oregon. A number of Ching Hai’s Vietnamese-American disciples have converted their restaurants to the Loving Hut framework. Restaurant reviews tend to give high marks for both the quality of the food and the service. The restaurants also make Ching Hai’s works available to interested diners, in effect serving to spread her teachings. Her website also has a section of vegan recipes and sells a few natural food items like Organic Fair Trade Vegan European Chocolate and fake fur clothing. In her current metamorphosis, Ching Hai makes no pretense to follow Buddhism. Her home page calls her ‘‘Supreme Master Ching Hai, a renowned humanitarian, artist, and spiritual leader (lingxing daoshi 槗㊶⺝ズ).’’ Ching Hai is further identified as talented in the arts and the art of living. Much of her financial support has come through the sale of her poetry, clothing line, spiritual jewelry, lamps, fans, reproductions of her paintings, and other paraphernalia. Ching Hai’s spiritual shopping pages promote the idea that her jewelry will embellish the inner beauty of those who wear it. Ching Hai makes no bones about encouraging her devotees to wear beautiful clothes. Devotees often decorate their houses with the lamps and pictures that she sells. Pleasing to the eye, her 362 . CROSSCURRENTS JENNIFER EICHMAN paintings are of the quality one might find at JC Penneys or Wal-Mart. They are reasonably priced and fit comfortably with the aesthetic tastes of middle-class America. The jewelry, however, tends to be a mixed bag of fine pieces and kitsch and can retail in the thousands.55 Americans accustomed to a particular Protestant view that religion and materialism are diametrically opposed, tend to find this blatant mixture of consumerism and religion rather crass. However, Asian disciples accustomed to the unremitting Buddhist calls for donations praise Ching Hai’s refusal to accept monetary donations, prostrations, or gifts. There are no membership fees. Seen from this perspective, she is characterized as an ethically upright leader with a pure heart. By decorating their houses with these spiritual objects, her followers sacralize the space, turning it into a shrine to Ching Hai and her teachings. Spiritual consumption allows practitioners to feel close to a master they rarely see in person and reminds them of their commitment to this particular spiritual path. When asked in 1993 to define her religious affiliation, Ching Hai replied, ‘‘I have explained that all religions are actually the same . . . so I include all the religions, I never taught you to attack each other’s religion . . .’’56 Sometime after severing her ties with the Buddhist community and recasting herself as a spiritual guru, Ching Hai began to create a spiritual path that draws together simple religious platitudes from numerous religious traditions, yet her synthesis is primarily Christian-Buddhist with a sprinkling of Hindu ideas. In brief, the goal of the one meditation technique Ching Hai promotes, the Quan Yin method, is for the soul to return to the Kingdom of Heaven: ‘‘To meditate on God doesn’t mean you worship God, it means that you become God. You realize that you and God are one.’’57 This idea gestures toward the Hindu doctrine of a monistic relationship between Brahman and Atman. However, Ching Hai is more likely to cite the Bible than Hindu texts. Ching Hai also claims, following standard Chan doctrine, that everyone is the Buddha; they simply need to realize this fact. In a departure from Christian doctrine, Ching Hai claims that God is not the creator of humans; rather karmic accumulation is responsible for the repeated transmigration of the soul. In some of her videos, Ching Hai claims that ‘‘master power’’ or God works through her: she has been sent by (the Christian) God as his spiritual avatar (Hindu idea) or super bodhisattva (Buddhist idea) to help those on Earth. Her powers are such that when she initiates people all their past karma is SEPTEMBER 2011 . 363 P R O M I N E N T N U N S: I N F L U E N T I A L T A I W A N E S E V O I C E S eradicated. Candy and snacks she has blessed are distributed at retreats. At other times, she suggests that by cultivating the Quan Yin meditation, her practitioners can become the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Guanyin): ‘‘If one attains the highest level in Quan Yin practice, then one becomes like Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, you know, Quan Yin Bodhisattva, who can hear everything, can see everything, and can help people in different corners of the universe, without having to be near them or without having to know their names or person.’’58 To be fully initiated into this practice requires adherence to a vegetarian diet and cultivation of the five Buddhist precepts: not to kill, not to lie, not to steal, no sexual misconduct, and no alcohol. Initiates are also expected to practice the Quan Yin meditation method for two and a half hours a day.59 This particular meditation method is not part of the standard Buddhist repertoire. Rather, it appears that Ching Hai learned this method prior to her trip to Taiwan. Ching Hai grew up in Vietnam, married a German doctor, divorced him, and studied the Kirpal Light Satsang method in India with the now largely discredited Thakar Singh. The Quan Yin method is likely a modified version of the Kirpal Light methods. Ching Hai requires that one meditate on both light (guang) and sound (yin). The uninitiated are not allowed full access to the method, and the initiated are expected to keep what they know a tightly guarded secret. Without an initiation, scholars are not permitted access to group meditation.60 Be that as it may, a number of aspects of the practice can be gleaned from an analysis of question-and-answer sessions Ching Hai held at two retreats. Both sessions have been made publicly available on DVD. The retreats are respectively: Moon Festival Celebration held at her Florida Ashram September 26, 1999; and the Every Soul Marks Its Journey, a three-day 1998 retreat held from December 16 to 18, 1998, in Los Angeles. According to these DVDs, during the meditation process the soul detaches itself from the body and travels to heaven and back. Heaven is also described not as a literal place, but as a state of being or progressively higher levels of consciousness. Ching Hai has claimed that the mind is the secretary of the soul, that the soul chooses to let the brain know what it is doing, and that there are at least five meditative levels. She has also claimed that humans are the vibration that creates the universe and are essentially energy, that is, light and sound. 364 . CROSSCURRENTS JENNIFER EICHMAN Some retreat participants voiced concern that their families were worried they had joined a cult. In fact, the accusations of cult status have been made repeatedly, especially in newspaper articles and by cult watchers. Ching Hai’s response to this was simply to say that participants were free to leave at anytime. Of course, to leave is to find oneself on a slower, inferior spiritual route to ultimate liberation.61 Such comments were about the extent of her engagement with this question: she did not offer a systematic rebuttal or equip her followers with counterarguments. Rather they were instructed simply not to engage in such discourse. In both question-and-answer sessions, Ching Hai demonstrated an easy rapport with the audience, an uncanny ability to read people, an intuitive sense of when to stop joking and pull back from sarcastic comments, and a startling irreverence for religious traditions, akin to the kinds of responses one might expect from a Chan master. Her audience did not recoil when in a response to whether she was teaching the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and other Buddhist doctrines, Ching Hai mocked the idea that anyone needed to memorize doctrinal lists, let alone follow them. In an irreverent gesture, she pointed out that men like numbers, ‘‘Buddha he liked numbers. He’s a man, I have more commonsense.’’ And ‘‘Men are all crazy. He is no exception.’’ But she did not stop with the Buddha: ‘‘God is a man, somehow, so he made the world in seven days. No, I’m just kidding.’’ Such responses elicited goodhearted laughter and were not challenged. While the audience took her comments in stride, Buddhist and Christian communities would certainly be offended by such irreverent treatment. Taiwanese Buddhist leaders not only find comments like these offensive, but harmful to their mission of raising Buddhist doctrinal literacy among their disciples. As seen in these comments, Ching Hai often makes stark gender distinctions that play with various stereotypes. On the other hand, she also calls attention to herself as a ‘‘little Asian woman no one wants to listen to.’’62 In reminding her devotees of her unusual prominence, Ching Hai in effect demonstrates her ability to compete in a spiritual arena dominated largely by men. In the main, retreat participants were a very ethnically diverse group, though the majority were Asians who sat silently while others asked the questions. Ching Hai’s supporters call her Supreme Master, a name translated from the Chinese. Her detractors find this outrageous because it puts her SEPTEMBER 2011 . 365 P R O M I N E N T N U N S: I N F L U E N T I A L T A I W A N E S E V O I C E S on a par with buddhas and bodhisattvas, a level of attainment they claim she does not have. Some of her supporters even incorporate her name in the standard Chinese Buddhist recitation formula of homage to a Buddha or bodhisattva. Thus, they recite ‘‘Namo Ching Hai Wu Shang Shih.’’ In her explanation of the name, Ching Hai presents yet another synthesis: this is not her name, but signifies that she is a daughter of the Creator, the Father, and that everyone has the name of Supreme Master.63 As infuriating as her persona, her materialism, and unsystematic religious synthesizing is to the Taiwanese Buddhist community and to others who have called her a cult leader, when we set aside her Buddhist roots and compare her work to that of an ever-changing array of selfmade gurus, spiritual guides and newly formed religions that make up the New Age marketplace, it becomes evident that Ching Hai’s work is neither the most radical nor innovative. She must compete with other gurus who also teach light and sound meditation. Narcissistic tendencies like hers are on full display on the web pages of other spiritual gurus who are essentially in the business of selling themselves: their income is generated through workshops, lectures, retreats, and the sale of books, DVDs, and other media. In this marketplace, physical appearance matters; portraits must exude an aura of spiritual wisdom. Ching Hai knows this. As she ages, it remains to be seen how she will attract the same attention. Dropping all pretense to represent Buddhism and recasting herself as a self-help guru was, for Ching Hai, a smart move. The sting of her synthesis is neutralized in the flow of a different religious current—one reserved for New Age spirituality. Conclusion The four remarkable voices discussed here demonstrate the pathways taken by ambitious, educated, courageous women. In fact, all four women promote the five lay Buddhist precepts, vegan diets, environmental protection, and respect for animals. Cheng Yen, Chao Hwei, and Kuan Ch’ien all found inspiration in the teachings of Yinshun, yet each chose to contribute to renjian fojiao in rather different ways. Cheng Yen had the foresight to build hospitals, encourage medical research, and found a charitable organization dedicated to helping disaster relief victims. Her attention to environmental issues, recycling, land reclamation, cistern distribution, energy efficiency, and other efforts have put her organization at the forefront of 366 . CROSSCURRENTS JENNIFER EICHMAN Buddhist environmental activism, even if she does not call it that. Fifty years ago, America was a leader in environmental protection. However, as of 2011 Taiwan has become a world leader in reforming waste policy, enacting strict recycling laws, and encouraging technological innovation in areas related to recycling and energy. Committed to establishing a Pure Land on Earth, the Buddhist community has often developed their own initiatives. As stated earlier, Buddhists conceive of the environment as both an interior space in need of spiritual transformation and an exterior world of plants, animals, air, water, and such. While Cheng Yen teaches that religious transformation occurs through service to others, Kuan Ch’ien has chosen to focus on the cultivation of wisdom. Her primary concern is to educate the laity. Not only is she raising Buddhist literacy, but she also offers instruction on Buddhist art and the art of living: cooking, flower arranging, and tea ceremony. On the face of it, her aesthetic interests would seem to overlap with those of Ching Hai. However, their approach to spiritual materialism is quite different. Kuan Ch’ien promotes Buddhist art, not her own creations. Nor do the lifestyles they offer overlap much beyond the promotion of vegan diets. Chao Hwei does not command either the resources or following of Cheng Yen, yet through her publications and political activism she has managed to call attention to numerous injustices both within the monastic community and without. Like Kuan Ch’ien, Chao Hwei has dedicated herself to Buddhist education and teaches college-level courses. The controversies swirling around Ching Hai should not stop us from noting just how gutsy it was for her to strike out on her own. In our continued study of Taiwanese women and their leadership within Buddhist and other religious communities, we should be open to the idea that not all female leaders will remain within the religious mainstream. Ching Hai herself seems well aware of just how religiously adventurous she has been, let us hope that for her, at least, it was somehow worth it. Notes 1. For an overview of the status of nuns, see Nancy Barnes. 1996. Buddhist women and the nun’s order in Asia. In Engaged Buddhism: Buddhist Liberation Movements in Asia. eds. Christopher S. Queen and Sallie B. King. Albany: State University of New York Press. Elise DeVido SEPTEMBER 2011 . 367 P R O M I N E N T N U N S: I N F L U E N T I A L T A I W A N E S E V O I C E S points out that Taiwan’s nuns enjoy more opportunities than nuns have for the past seventeen centuries. Elise DeVido. 2010. Taiwan’s Buddhist Nuns. Albany: SUNY Press, p. 117. 2. Unlike Western scholarly publications and Mainland Chinese media, Taiwan does not use the pinyin system. This creates a dilemma for the researcher. Many Taiwanese have an established presence on English-language websites and in older scholarly publications with their names romanized according to this alternative system. Hence if one were looking for English-language sources on Compassion Relief and entered the pinyin ‘‘Zhengyan’’ or ‘‘Ciji,’’ this would turn up fewer sources than if one used their preferred romanization of Cheng Yen and Tzu Chi, respectively. In the case of Zhaohui, she has indicated a preference for the continued use of Chao Hwei. Irrespective of the romanization, the Chinese characters remain the same. 3. See for example Pittman, Don A., 2001. Toward a Modern Chinese Buddhism: Taixu’s Reforms. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press. 4. Scholars have yet to produce an English-language monograph devoted specifically to Dharma Drum. However, for an excellent and lengthy discussion of Buddha’s Light in both Taiwan and Los Angeles, see Chandler, Stuart, 2004. Establishing a Pure Land on Earth: The Foguang Buddhist Perspective on Modernization and Globalization. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press. 5. DeVido, Elise, Taiwan’s Buddhist Nuns, p. 95. 6. As translated and cited by Elise DeVido in, Taiwan’s Buddhist Nuns, p. 99. 7. Elise DeVido has decided to translate this term as Buddhism for the Human Realm. Her translation is the most accurate and avoids the complications that arise with a term like ‘‘humanistic’’ which is at once too broad and too narrow. Her long discussion of this issue is given in Taiwan’s Buddhist Nuns, note 1, p. 147. 8. Yinshun stressed the importance of benefiting society through adherence to a thisworldly bodhisattva path. However, he did not leave a blueprint for the precise actions anyone should take; rather he left it up to his disciples to create their own paths. For more on Yinshun’s impact, see Marcus Bingenheimer, ‘‘Writing History of Buddhist Thought in the Twentieth Century: Yinshun (1906–2005) in the Context of Chinese Buddhist Historiography,’’ Journal of Global Buddhism 10 (2009): 255–290. 9. There is common scholarly agreement that over at least the past hundred years, Taiwan’s popular religious cults have created an amalgam of practices that draw from various aspects of the Buddhist and Daoist repertoire. Mixing of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism has also gone on for centuries in Mainland China. However, over the past fifty years, a number of Buddhist and Daoist institutions have moved to disentangle their traditions from other religious expressions, creating what some scholars have called a more ‘‘canonical’’ Buddhism. Chao Hwei, 2006, Introduction to Tracing the History of Cultivating the Bodhisattva Path (ren pusa xing de lishi zulu). Taibei: Fajie Publishing, pp. 1–5. 10. DeVido, pp. 26–27. 11. According to Elise DeVido as it stands the 15,000 Taiwanese nuns comprise 75% of the monastic community. Hence despite the continued presence of an older generation of prominent male abbots, there is a perceived need to attract more male talent to the vocation. This is also likely to be a contributing factor in the stance taken by some nuns not to be overly strident in their rhetoric on the position and role of nuns. DeVido, p. 10. 368 . CROSSCURRENTS JENNIFER EICHMAN 12. DeVido, pp. 26, 63, 76, 89. 13. Elise DeVido, Julia Huang, Li Yuzhen, Lekshe Tsomo and many others have focused on the empowerment of nuns, their relation to feminism and social standing vis a vis monks, monastic ordination, and leadership roles. According to Li Yuzhen nuns legitimate their monastic identity without openly challenging patriarchal society—doing it, not demonstrating for it. As cited in DeVido, p. 26. 14. My interview on May 14, 2011 with a Compassion Relief volunteer in Cedar Grove, NJ. See also Huang, p. 213. 15. The names can be confusing: The Compassion Relief Merit Society (Ciji gongde hui) is another name for the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu-Chi Foundation (fojiao ciji jijinhui). Many branches of Compassion Relief are officially registered as NGOs. Still Thoughts Abode is a medium-sized nunnery with a residential population that hovers around a hundred. Cheng Yen’s residence is here. The nunnery is economically self-sufficient and does not accept donations. Cheng Yen does not conceive of herself or the nuns as a traditional ‘‘field of merit,’’ thus all donations are given directly to the foundation. 16. C. Julia Huang’s 2009 publication, Charisma and Compassion nicely presents Cheng Yen’s biography, the history of Compassion Relief, the structure of the organization, and several case studies of Compassion Relief communities. Elise DeVido also offers extensive coverage in her 2010 work, Taiwan’s Buddhist Nuns. This section draws on that material but has a slightly different emphasis. I also did some interviewing of my own at a Compassion Relief branch (fenhui) in Cedar Grove, New Jersey in May of 2011 and will present those findings where relevant. 17. I have not seen precise data on these figures. They are claims made by the organization and not confirmed independently. David Schak was informed that Compassion Relief does not subtract the names of those who stop donating. Hence these figures perhaps better reflect the number of people who have made at least a one-time contribution. David C Schak, 2009,‘‘Community and the New Buddhism in Taiwan,’’ Journal of Chinese Ritual, Theatre, and Folklore 163 (2009.03) 169. 18. Even Time Magazine has taken notice of her power and influence by including Cheng Yen in ‘‘The 2011 Time 100’’ list. 19. For this history see, C. Julia Huang. 2009. Charisma and Compassion: Cheng Yen and the Buddhist Tzu Chi Movement. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, p. 194. 20. In this respect, their volunteer work and continued presence in the organization is founded on a commitment to a set of religious ideals. While some participants may choose the organization because it has a good reputation, like the Red Cross, UNICEF, or World Vision, longstanding intentional volunteers acculturate new arrivals and see to it that each mission meets the goals of the organization in both spirit and substance. In general, volunteers do not see their work as primarily a means to network or keep busy during an economic downturn as was often suggested in advice columns for the newly unemployed American after the 2008 economic downturn. 21. http://tw.tzuchi.org/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=363%3Abamiran-earthquake (accessed May 17, 2011). 22. Among disenfranchised local populations accustomed to surviving on handouts, planting the idea that they can help each other has not been easy. In my interview with Tzu Chi SEPTEMBER 2011 . 369 P R O M I N E N T N U N S: I N F L U E N T I A L T A I W A N E S E V O I C E S volunteers they said that Tzu Chi attempted to transmit a culture of volunteerism and generosity and offered the Haitian example. Compassion Relief does not generally work to convert recipients to Buddhism, or make them bodhisattvas committed to establishing an earthly Pure Land, rather they work to leave behind a more generalized understanding of the value of helping each other to create a better life, that is, the culture and spirit of their organization. This also makes it easier to minimize their presence and to monitor continued work and support. 23. There are numerous religious specialists in Taiwan who offer various techniques for exorcising demons and ghosts, amulets for bodily protection, and medically unproven cures for whatever ails one. Tzu Chi does not encourage any of these practices. Another new religion, Falun Gong also makes claims that its methods can cure a variety of illnesses. See David Ownby. 2008. Falun Gong and the Future of China. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. 24. Richard Madsen. 2008. Religious renaissance and Taiwan’s modern middle classes, In Chinese Religiosities: Afflictions of Modernity. Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 313– 314. 25. There are a number of Buddhists converts who have linked the thought of American Transcendentalists like Emerson and Thoreau, Native American ideas, and Zen Buddhism: Gary Snyder and Jon Kabat-Zinn are probably the best known. Unlike scholars who have gotten caught up in trying to define true Buddhism, I do not have a problem with such creative syntheses as long as we recognize that they are in fact new and innovative approaches that do not directly reflect centuries of Asian Buddhist practice. 26. The claim that canonical Buddhist literature did not advocate environmental protection rests in part on the idea that environmental protection is a new Western idea and in part on a literal reading of the canon sans hermeneutics. There are certainly Hong Kong Buddhist groups that have used canonical stories to bolster their claims for a Buddhist response to environmental degradation. See for example, the many articles in Yok-shiu Lee and Alvin Y. So., eds. 1999. Asia’s Environmental Movements: Comparative Perspectives. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe; William Bodiford. 2008. Buddhist ecological thought and action in North America. In Eco-Philosophy 2 (2007): 11-31. Published by the Transdisciplinary Initiative for Eco-Philosophy, Toyo University; Toni Huber. 1997. Green Tibetans: A brief social history. In Tibetan Culture in the Diaspora. Edited by F. J. Korom. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, pp. 103-119; Kenneth Kraft. The greening of Buddhist practice. In Cross Currents, 44.2 (Sum94): 163–180. 27. Some readers may feel that I am slighting the contributions of Dharma Drum, Buddha’s Light, Fuzhi, and many other Taiwanese organizations that have also sought to protect Taiwan’s environment. However, these other organizations are simply beyond the scope of my current topic: the contributions of prominent nuns to contemporary Buddhist practice. 28. Latest prominent visitor, Steven Rockefeller. 29. The Taiwan government publication, Taiwan Review, has a number of articles on Taiwanese environmental law and recycling efforts. Compassion Relief, its intentional volunteers, and affiliates are featured in some stories. See the following article for information on Compassion Relief’s recycling efforts, eco-fabric, and the overall impact of recycling laws 370 . CROSSCURRENTS JENNIFER EICHMAN on Taiwan’s waste management. Kelly Her, ‘‘Creating a Sustainable Homeland,’’ March 1st, 2010, Taiwan Review. http://taiwanreview.nat.gov.tw (accessed May 12, 2011). 30. Compassion Relief members are not the only ones in Taiwan looking to turn PET bottles into fabric. The Taiwanese competition to create innovative new ways to use recycled materials is actually quite stiff. What’s more, their prices cannot compete with those of Mainland China. However, Taiwanese products are more likely to have been genuinely constructed from recyclables. Compassion Relief has some advantages in that its recycling harvest comes mainly from the work of an army of volunteers and does not have the same financial restraints of for-profit recycling operations. See for example, Oscar Chung. Fabrics Go Green. In Taiwan Review March 1, 2010. 31. A mangrove plant, Kandelia candel, is an ideal choice for the restoration of coastal wetlands. ‘‘Saving the Coast by Planting More Plants,’’ Article from Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation. Database online. Search Global Activities at http://tw.tzuchi.org/ en/ (accessed May 13, 2011). 32. Tu Xin-Yi. Tzu Chi Laiyao Village, Nov. 1, 2010. http://tw.tzuchi.org/en (accessed 5.14.2011) 33. After typhoon Morakot, Compassion Relief helped relocate an aboriginal village of the Bunung to Minzu village, Namasia township. Because the Bunung were Christian, Compassion Relief replicated the four churches that had previously stood at the town center. In keeping with Cheng Yen’s philosophy of helping everyone irrespective of creed, race, or nationality, Compassion Relief has been willing to reconstruct churches, attend interfaith services, and work with those of other faiths. See, Master Cheng Yen visits church in village for typhoon survivors, Feb 2, 2010. Article from Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation. Database on-line. Search Global Activities @ http://tw.tzuchi.org/en/index. (accessed 5.14.2011) 34. Compassion Relief built earthquake-resistant schools in Sichuan after the disastrous 2008 earthquake there. They are also looking to build earthquake-resistant schools in Haiti. For Haiti, Compassion Relief has been experimenting with how to create cost effective prefabricated housing that can be assembled in just three to four days. In this respect, they are a driving force in alternative building technology, repurposing of recycled materials, and simple, functional, housing design. 35. Elise DeVido has written extensively about this mission, called Project Hope. See her work for a more extensive discussion of how Compassion Relief implements their vision. DeVido, pp. 49–63. 36. For this history see C. Julia Huang, Charisma and Compassion, pp. 32, 187–189. 37. Kelly Her, ‘‘Creating a Sustainable Homeland,’’ March 1, 2010, Taiwan Review. http://taiwanreview.nat.gov.tw (accessed May 12, 2011). 38. Fuzhi 䰞㤉 focused on organic farming. Demand by consumers caused them to expand their operations and open a store that sells organic produce, readymade foods, and organic clothes. They have also been working with lotus farmers to lessen the use of pesticides and herbicides—a real problem in Taiwan. 39. Venerable Bhikkhuni Rattanavali is the founder of the Outstanding Women in Buddhism Awards Committee. She lives in Thailand and has held award ceremonies each year since 2002. Cheng Yen was a 2002 recipient. Anywhere from eleven to twenty awards are SEPTEMBER 2011 . 371 P R O M I N E N T N U N S: I N F L U E N T I A L T A I W A N E S E V O I C E S given each year to nuns and lay leaders. http://www.owbaw.org/index.html#. (accessed May 12, 2011). 40. DeVido, pp. 102–105. 41. For a discussion of this see, Huang Jiashu 煒⹅㳈. Reflections on renjian fojiao ⅉ栢⇪㟨䤓䦐㊬. 12.2001 lecture in Hong Kong. In Lin Kok Quarterly Journal 坽屉♱㦇 13 (7.2004 ) Database on-line. http://www.buddhistdoor.com/download/data3.html (accessed May 5,2011) 42. Chao Hwei is criticized as much if not more by the monastic community than the wider public. Many find her tactics abrasive and worry that her work will damage the sangha’s reputation as a whole. However, Chao Hwei’s own press release characterizes her as a ‘‘mafanren.’’ I suspect that finding oneself in a swirl of controversy keeps Chao Hwei and her views in the limelight and draws needed press to her causes. In fact, her actions are calculated to grab headlines, not offer timid inoffensive suggestions. http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/formosa/people/2-zhao-hui.html (accessed May 17, 2011). 43. DeVido, pp. 19–20, 16, 81. 44. For more information, see their website: http://www.gaya.org.tw. See also DeVido, pp. 79–91. Wu Yin and Luminary Buddhist Institute are the subject of a forthcoming monograph by Chun-fang Yu and will not be commented on further here. 45. Known in the art world as Yuyu Yang, several of his pieces are on display at the Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, NJ. In reference to one of his New York installations, Yang commented that: ‘‘My sculptures in general, and stainless steel sculptures in particular, harmonize man and his environment spiritually, mentally, and physically; this is why I call my sculptures lifescapes instead of environmental sculptures.’’ As cited at http:// www.groundsforsculpture.org/c_yyang.htm, quoting Charles A Riley. 1995. Simply Put, The Subtle Sculptural Language of Yuyu Yang. Taipei: Yuyu Yang Lifescape Sculpture Museum np. 95, p. F12. 46. Many Buddhist centers offer classes on flower arranging and other soft arts. However, I am unaware of any other organization that has put together a systematic introduction to vegetarian cooking through video production. 47. It must be noted that traditional Chinese/Taiwanese cooking did not incorporate dairy products, hence the vegan quality of the diet is not a conscious choice but a de facto result of adhering to more traditional dishes and methods. Dairy products are now readily available in Taiwan, though many Chinese are lactose intolerant. 48. All of Kuan Ch’ien’s shows are at this site: http://cftv.chuefeng.org.tw/cf_vodindex.asp (accessed May 12, 2011). 49. In fact, because her production staff has found it very difficult to transfer her previous VCD lectures into a DVD and internet TV format, she is re-taping those lectures in front of a live audience. 50. http://www.godsdirectcontact.org (accessed May 1, 2011). 51. http://www.suprememastertv.com/vegetarian-restaurants-association-members/ (accessed May 14, 2011). 52. Her numerous TV shows can be accessed here: http://suprememastertv.com/ (accessed May 14, 2011). 53. http://al.godsdirectcontact.org.tw/vg-vip/query/index.php (accessed May 15, 2011). 372 . CROSSCURRENTS JENNIFER EICHMAN 54. Animal lovers such as Marian Hailey have added citations from Ching Hai’s teachings and links to her site. http://www.marianhaileymoss.com (accessed May 10, 2011). It is not clear to me whether the Loving Hut restaurants are a franchise from which Ching Hai reaps a substantial income as one critic suggested. It has also been suggested that her devotees volunteer their labor, thus bringing down the operational costs. http://lovinghut.us/ (accessed May 11, 2011). 55. Critics suggest that the stated price of these items is in fact not the actual price. Devotees are apparently asked to pay up to three times the asking price. I have not been able to verify this claim, but add it here to demonstrate that there are some concerns. 56. http://www.godsdirectcontact.org/eng/faq.txt (accessed May 16, 2011). 57. Excerpt from the article, ‘‘Why Must People Be Vegetarian’’ http://www.godsdirectcontact. org/eng/booklet/vegetarian.html (accessed May 11, 2011). 58. http://www.godsdirectcontact.org/eng/faq.txt (accessed May 3, 2011). 59. In the last ten years, Ching Hai has developed a less rigorous way to participate. One can agree to keep a vegetarian diet for twenty days a month and meditate for a half hour a day. 60. I was invited to a Boston Ching Hai center. However, I was not allowed to either watch the meditation or see the videos of Ching Hai’s teachings that are typically played as part of these sessions. I was, however, invited to share in the excellent Vietnamese food served afterward and participate in light discussion. Given such impediments to fieldwork, my comments will be confined to publicly available DVDs the organization produced from two retreats. While the DVDs were limited productions of only question-and-answer sessions held between participants and Ching Hai, they are still a rich record of her interactions and ideas. 61. Journalists, even those with no background in Religious Studies, seem to have a very negative visceral reaction to either Ching Hai or her organization. The Rick Ross Institute has links to approximately twenty articles criticizing Ching Hai either for her crass materialism, environmental degradation, religious synthesis, or personality cult. http://www.rickross. com/groups/suma_ching.html (accessed May 13, 2011). 62. In The Key to Immediate Enlightenment, Ching Hai expressed the following: ‘‘Always having male masters is boring. We need a change. You know, being a female spiritual teacher has also some advantages. Like, many women do not like, or feel shy, talking to men teachers, so maybe they find it easier to communicate with a female teacher.’’ Supreme Master Ching Hai. 2001. The Key to Immediate Enlightenment, Taipei: Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association Publishing Co., Ltd., p. 166. 63. The Key to Immediate Enlightenment, p. 206. 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