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Taiwan's Tzu Chi as Engaged Buddhism
Origins, Organization, Appeal and Social Impact
Author:
This book is the first comprehensive sociological account and in-depth analysis of a new Chinese Buddhist movement, known as Tzu Chi (otherwise, the Buddhist Compassion Merit Society). Based in Taiwan, it was founded in 1966 and still led by a female Buddhist master – Master Cheng Yen. Its members are laity, and women play a major role. The main focus of the movement is medical charity – to ease and if possible prevent suffering and to teach ethics to the wealthy; at the same time, it also offers members a religion and a way of life. Recruitment typically attracts people from the urban middle class. With some 3.5 million members and a very low drop-out rate, Tzu Chi is extraordinarily successful, and has spread to other parts of the world, not least mainland China where it is attracting the attention of the general public and the media.
The book stands in the Anglo-American tradition of the sociology of religion; it also draws on the author’s knowledge of Buddhist history. The data come from participant observation and many long interviews. It will be of particular interest to students of new religious movements, religious studies in contemporary China, and studies in ethics and social change in East Asia.
The book stands in the Anglo-American tradition of the sociology of religion; it also draws on the author’s knowledge of Buddhist history. The data come from participant observation and many long interviews. It will be of particular interest to students of new religious movements, religious studies in contemporary China, and studies in ethics and social change in East Asia.
Yu-Shuang Yao, Ph.D. (2001) in Sociology of Religion, University of London, is Associate Professor at Fo Guang University, Taiwan. She has published various articles in Chinese and won scholarships from the CCK, International Scholarly Exchange for Thesis Fellowship (1997), and the Fulbright American Study (2004).
"Anyone who teaches, writes, or has a tendency to generalize about NRMs should read this book...One of the many interesting arguments that Yao makes in her book is that Tzu Chi’s concentration on benefiting society as a whole and educating its members in ethical beliefs can be seen as 'bringing the practice of Eastern religion in line with that of Western Christianity, and thus as more suitable, and appealing, in a ‘modern’ era where ‘folk superstitions’ based on an unreasoning conformism are felt to be backward'." Roger B.Beck, Nova Religio 18.1, August 2014
All those interested in Buddhist studies, comparative religions, new religious movements in East Asia, and the post-war social history of Taiwan.