Changing Attitudes to the Precepts in Modern Taiwan: The Debate between Brahmā’s Net Precepts and Yogācāra Precepts

Abstract

Over decades of active social engagement among Taiwanese Buddhists, the precept-conferral ceremony for both laymen and monastics has become one of the most important events at many temples in Taiwan. Given that the Bodhisattva precepts are intended for both monastics and the laity, precept conferral is important for both the institutional management of Buddhism and individual practitioners. The two major streams of the Bodhisattva precepts are the Brahmā’s Net Precepts and the Yogācāra Precepts. Despite the longstanding predominance of the Brahmā’s Net Precepts, the Yogācāra Precepts began to gain importance during the early twentieth century, first in Mainland China and later in Taiwan. In order to understand how the attitudes toward the Bodhisattva precepts changed in the twentieth century, I have examined the debates on the Brahmā’s Net Precepts and the Yogācāra Precepts starting from the earliest proclamation in Mainland China and continuing through the end of the century in Taiwan. This chapter will begin with a brief survey of Taixu’s advocacy of the Yogācāra Precepts and his influence on those of his contemporaries who immigrated to Taiwan after 1945. The second half of this chapter will then move to Taiwan, focusing on the initial precept reforms that took place during the 1950s and the subsequent development of monastic education on the precepts and the Vinaya through Buddhist institutes, including several active female communities. The conclusions will shed light on the change and continuity of Bodhisattva precepts from China to Taiwan.