The Study of Buddhism in China: Some Observations on the Chinese Buddhist Association and its Seminary

Abstract

The study of Buddhism in the People's Republic of China (PRC) can and, for the purposes of this article, should be understood to encompass two distinct activities. On the one hand it refers to the study of the Buddhist tradition WKlertaken by Chinese monks as part of their monastic training and, on the other , to the aeademic study of the tradition (including those same monks) tmdei1aken by the scholarly community, both Western and Chinese. While these two activities are ,thus rather distinct, both are quite important in modern China. The first is crucial if Buddhism . . in China is to preserve its heritage and remain viable as a living tradition. And the second is necessary as. well if we are to gain a better understanding of the place of religious thought and practice in contemporary Chinese society. Given the constraints on both types of study during the Cultural Revolution, any recent improvements no matter how tentative should be seen as quite noteworthy. Recent developments begiming about 1980 suggest that significant progress on both of the fronts mentioned above is indeed being made~ Combined with a broa~ resurfacing of popular interest in religious practice throughout the PRC, there has been the rehabilitation of a number of religious organizations that had appeared moribund for a number of years. At the same time,. our understanding of these events has improved as Western scholars have gained. increasing access to their Chinese colleagues and to research data throughout the PRe.· Even with these recent improvements however, it remains very difficult to form any accurate picture of the current state of monastic Buddhism in the PRe and, while