Abstract
The Mantra School Bright Lineage 真言宗光明流 is a modern Taiwanese Buddhist movement whose orthopraxy was formed by an intermingling of Chinese, Tibetan, Japanese and Western elements. These elements converged as a result of Japanese Colonialism and the Chinese Civil War, and first coalesced within the crisis of faith of the movement's founder, the Chan monk Master Wuguang 悟光上師. Finding his practice unfulfilling, Wuguang began first exploring Tibetan Buddhism but then turned his attention to Shingon. In 1971 he travelled to Japan, where he was initiated as a Shingon priest. He established the Bright Lineage the following year in Taiwan based on the various traditions he had studied. This article explores the sect's roots by first tracing the intersection of these elements with Wuguang's monastic career and then offering examples of their combination. I also highlight and analyze Wuguang's impact on the evolution of modern Taiwanese Buddhism. Data has been gathered through field-work conducted since 2011, and historical and textual research.
Highlights
THE Mantra School Bright Lineage1 真言宗光明流 is a modern Buddhist movement that encapsulates Taiwan’s richly tumultuous history
This, coupled with her gender, is why Gongga was refused by the temples she approached. Having heard of her difficulties, Wuguang used his position at Zhuxi Temple to organize a ten-day event there featuring Gongga in 1960. This event, which had over one-hundred attendees, was one of the first times Tibetan Buddhism had been publicly taught in southern Taiwan and was a key event in its early propagation
Wuguang returned to Tainan the following year and established the Mantra School Bright Lineage
Summary
THE Mantra School Bright Lineage 真言宗光明流 is a modern Buddhist movement that encapsulates Taiwan’s richly tumultuous history. Chen-Miao 全妙, secular name Chang Jinbao 鄭 進寳 1918–2000) established the Bright Lineage in 1972 in Tainan 台南 upon his return from Kōyasan 高野山, Japan, where he received empowerment 灌頂 and became a Shingon 真言 priest 阿闍梨 This new religious movement was largely modelled after the Ono branch 小野流 of Japanese Shingon into which Wuguang was initiated.. Having heard of her difficulties, Wuguang used his position at Zhuxi Temple to organize a ten-day event there featuring Gongga in 1960 This event, which had over one-hundred attendees, was one of the first times Tibetan Buddhism had been publicly taught in southern Taiwan and was a key event in its early propagation.. Became disillusioned with Gongga after she allocated his position in the community to a recent initiate who Wuguang believed had relatively little training
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