Buddhist Reform Research Articles

The Modern Buddhist Reformer T'ai-hsu on Christianity

In his article Why No Buddho-Christian Dialogue in Whalen Lai asserts that the revival of Chinese Buddhism in the republican period, led by the energetic reformer T'ai-hsii (1890-1947), not inspired as much by a religious vision from within as it was by a recognition of necessity without.' He further argues that, although T'ai-hsii invited such Christian missionaries as Karl Reichelt to lecture on Christianity in his seminaries, the Chinese master's apparent openness of style was, in fact, more than matched by his unquestioned confidence in the superiority of the Buddhist Dharma. Although both these observations are essentially correct, they should not lead one to the conclusion that T'ai-hsii was religiously uncreative or dialogically insincere. In particular, they should not lead one to assume that he found nothing about Christianity valuable or worthy of incorporation into the practice of a new Buddhism. Indeed, at times he could even speak of why China needed Christianity.2 In his brief review of the reformer's career in The Buddhist Revival in China, Holmes Welch has given us a few clues about the manner in which T'ai-hsii related to Christians.3 Yet the question basically remains unanswered as to how the Buddhist master understood Christianity and its relation to the dilemmas posed by modernity. To offer a concise summary of the views on this subject expressed by T'ai-hsii, a controversial and yet influential leader within the Chinese sangha in the republican era, is my aim in this essay.4

Folklore concerning Tsong-kha-pa

The article is a selective translation of tales centering around Tson-kha-pa (1357-1419), the great Tibetan Buddhist reformer, and Taer Temple, the monastery near Xining, Qinghai, located on the spot where Tsong-kha-pa is believed to have been born and where his remains are kept and venerated. The tales, from the regions surrounding Taer Temple, relate the circumstances of Tsong-kha-pa's birth, his youth and development, and some of the miracles he performed. They also recount the origin of the highest offices of Tibetan Buddhism - those of the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama - and of some of the main rituals heald annually at Taer Temple. The tales present a picture of how the common people view the great Tibetan saint. A brief introduction describes the ethnic and geographical setting of the tales.

Reform Symbolism of a Thai Middle–Class Sect: The Growth and Appeal of the Thammakai Movement

The Thammakai movement in Thailand has won increasing attention over the past decade for its popularity, for the devotion of its supporters and the size of their contributions, and for its links with influential individuals in the Thai government, army, and business communities. This suburban monastery's ability to draw a congregation of 50,000 participants each year for its most publicized annual religious observance is perhaps unprecedented in Thai ecclesiastical history. Thammakai leaders see themselves heading a key Buddhist reform movement to improve the lives of their followers, to strengthen the religion, and to bring prosperity to the nation. But Thammakai's detractors criticize the meditation method around which the movement has been built, deplore the movement's expenditure rates and fund-raising techniques, charge that it uses hypnotic mind-control methods over its followers, and criticize its increasingly acquisitive tendencies. Thai observers of all persuasions have noted Thammakai's skilful use of positive national and religious symbols in its public relations, its abilities in organizing students and young urban professionals to work for organizational goals, and its skill at staging visually and emotionally appealing public displays.

Buddhist and Christian Movements for Social Justice in Southeast Asia

The 1960s and 1970s have seen the emergence of religious movements for economic justice and change, networks of protest, and reform groups. These have become significant characteristics of the cultural situation in South and Southeast Asia. Four movements which are examples of this phenomenon are discussed briefly in this paper. 1. Sarvodaya Shramadana is a Sri Lankan village Buddhist reform movement founded in 1958. It involves over two thousand villages and one million people nationwide. Its work has been in the poorest villages of Sri Lanka and it has an articulate Buddhist working philosophy. A. T. Ariyaratne, recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, is its founder and leader. It is well known for its work camps called Shramadana. The movement also deals with nutrition, health care, and land reform, as well as religious renewal. 2. The Asian Forum on Cultural Development is a Bangkok based interreligious and intercultural network founded in 1973 that includes Buddhists, Christians, and Muslims active in grass roots community development work in several countries in Southeast Asia. Its activities involve a wide range of people from fishermen to village monks. It is headed by Sulak Sivaraksa, a Thai Buddhist layman and social critic. 3. The Christian Workers Fellowship of Sri Lanka works among industrial workers, farmers, and tea plantation workers. They advocate the cause of some of the poorest in the nation, and they operate across religious and ethnic lines under a broad international economic philosophy. 4. The Thai Interreligious Committee on Development (TICD) is a network of religious leaders and students who work at grass roots educational and social projects primarily in rural areas. Its student participants are largely Buddhist, many of whom are influenced by the Buddhist Bhikkhu Buddhatat.

Reform and Segmentation in Monastic Fraternities in Low Country Sri Lanka

The Buddhist monkhood in each of the Theravāda countries of Southern Asia—Thailand, Burma, and Sri Lanka—is segmented into smaller fraternities(nikāyas). In Sri Lanka these fraternities have proliferated since the early nineteenth century. This proliferation has been interpreted as evidence of a Buddhist reform or return to orthodoxy and portrayed against the background of Sinhalese society as a whole. In this essay I argue that the establishment of twenty-five suchnikāyasin the Low Country of Sri Lanka can be better understood both as serving a variety of interests (of which reform is one) and in terms of regional groups of monks and lay people.