Buddhist Associations of China

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The first Buddhist associations in China emerged soon after the 1911/2 revolution, as a result of which, on the one hand, the ban on associations of the Manchu dynasty lapsed and, on the other hand, the new government, shaped by the ideas of the May 4th Movement, followed a sharply secularizing course. In the years that followed, the revolutionaries granted freedom of belief to five officially recognized religions; in addition to Buddhism, Taoism and belief in the Koran , these were also Catholic and Protestant Christianity. One of the developments caused by this was the emergence of Buddhist associations as lobby organizations for the ordained.

Freedom of religion as a basic constitutional right was nevertheless not provided for during the republic, and it is only mentioned for the first time in the short-lived constitution of 1947 . Only § 5 of the "joint program of the political consultative conference of the Chinese people " of Sept. 29, 1949 brought such a thing. This human right, as well as “the right not to believe”, was adopted in the constitutions of 1954 (§ 88), 1975 (§ 28), and 1982 (§ 36, amended in 1993).

Early republican era

After the state control mechanisms over the Sangha, which had existed more or less efficiently from the earliest times, only existed on paper in the last decades of Manchu rule, the young republic began, whose leading figures were anti-clerical or secularizing to regulate soon organized "religion" as such. On October 29, 1915, the first legal regulation regarding the Buddhist and Taoist temples ( 管理 寺廟 條例 , Guǎnlǐ sìmiào tiáolì ) was issued.

The “reformer” Tàixū ( 太虛 , Tai-hsü ) in particular brought many, often short-lived, small associations into being.

Organizations

There were a number of clubs, the following is an attempt to list them chronologically according to the date of foundation:

  • 1912, Jan. – Feb., Nanking : Fójiào xiéjìn huì ( 佛教 協 進 會 , Fo-chiao Yen-chiu Hui , English: “Association for the Advancement of Buddhism”). First in the Pílú Temple then briefly in the Jiāngtiān Temple .
  • Feb. 1912, Shanghai: Zhōngguó Fójiào huì ( 中國 佛教 會 , Chung-kuo Fo-chiao Hui , English: “Chinese Buddhist Ass.”). Ōuyáng Jiàn and Lǐ Yìzhuó ( 李翊 灼 ) dissolved April 1, 1912. Individual branches continued to exist as regional organizations. On the one hand at least until 1922 in Huángméi ( 黃梅縣 ), on the other hand in Canton until 1928, in order to then merge into the CBA from 1929.
  • ? Apr. 1912: Fójiào dàtóng huì ( 佛教 大同 會 , Fo-chiao Ta-t'ung Hui , "Buddhist Great Harmony Soc.")
  • ? 1912/3, Beijing: Zhōngyāng fójiào gōnghuì ( 中央 佛教 公會 , Chung-yang Fo-chiao Kung-hui , English: “Central Buddhist Confederation.”) Statutes published, activities unconfirmed.
  • ? 1912/3: Fójiào hóngshì huì ( 佛教 弘誓 會 , Fo-chiao Hung-shih Hui , English: “Buddhist Soc. Of the Great Vow.”) Statutes published, activities unconfirmed.
  • ? 1912/3 維持 佛教 同 X 會 , Wei-ch'ih Fo-chiao T'ung-meng Hui , English: “League for the Support of Buddhism.” Statutes published, activities unconfirmed.
  • ? 1912/3: Fójiào qīngnián xuéhuì ( 佛教 青年 學會 , Fo-chiao Ch'ing-nien Hsüeh Hui , English: “Young Buddhist Study Ass.”) Statutes published, activities unconfirmed.
  • ? 1912/3: Fóxué yánjiū huì ( 佛學 研究 會 , Fo-hsüeh Yen-chiu Hui , English: “Buddhist Research Soc.”) Statutes published, activities unconfirmed.
  • 1917- ?, Hángzhōu : Hángzhōu fóxué shè ( 杭州 佛學 社 , Hangchow Fo-hsüeh She ) Probably with the participation of Fàn Gǔnóng ( 范 古 農 ) and Wú Bìhuá ( 吳璧華 ).
  • 1917 Beijing: Zhōnghuá fójiào huì ( 中華 佛教 會 , Chung-hua Fo-chiao Hui , English: Chinese Buddhist Ass., 1917). June 1919 ex officio dissolved as not in accordance with association law.
  • 1918-21 ?, Shanghai: Jué shè ( 覺 社 , Chueh she , English: Bodhi Society). Gegr. by Tàixū and some lay people in Shanghai with the aim of spreading Buddhist literature. House sheet Hǎicháo yīn ( 海潮音 ; Ed. Shǐ Yīrú). At the end of 1919 he moved to Jìngfàn Yuàn ( 淨 梵 院 ) on the West Lake in Hángzhōu.
  • 1918-22, Shanghai: Shànghǎi shìjiè fójiào jūshì lín ( 上海 世界 佛教 居 士林 , Shanghai Shih-chieh Fo-chiao Chu-shih Lin ). Lay organization, which in 1922 split into the Shìjiè fójiào jūshì lín and the “Pure Karma Association” 上海 佛教 淨 業 社 . The board was the industrialist Wáng Yītíng ( 王一亭 , 1867–1938). It was based in Hardoon Gardens.
  • The Shànghǎi Buddhist Pure Karma Association (上 海 佛 教 淨 業 社) was located in Chángdé-Road (formerly Hart Rd.) ( 常德 路 ) in the "Garden of Enlightenment" (覺 園). From the beginning, a few monks lived on the 8000 m² site in a hermitage. The magazine Jìngyè yuèkān was published there ( 淨 業 月刊 1925 to October 1928). Huang Mao-lin († 1933, = Wong Mou-lam) was posted to Ceylon in 1930, and for a short time after his return he published an English magazine. In its early days, the Chinese Buddhist Association (CBA, see below), founded in 1929, had its headquarters here. The Buddhist radio station XMHB ( 佛 音 電台 , Fóyīn diàntái ) was then also located on the site from 1933-40 . It broadcasted with 500 W at 980 kHz. ) settled. The Shànghǎi pútí xuéhuì ( 上海 菩提 學會 ), a group devoted to the translation of Tibetan texts into Chinese, was also affiliated from 1935–37 . Until 1936 she was under the guidance of Chísōng . An orphanage was run as part of charitable activities and Chinese medicine and clothing were sold to the needy, and collections were made for victims of the inland provinces affected by famine and flooding.
  • 1920s, Shanghai: Fójiào qīngnián huì ( 佛教 青年會 ). House sheet: Juéxùn yuèkān ( 覺 訊 月刊 ).
  • 1920 / 1-39, Wuhan : Hànkǒu fójiào huì ( 漢口 佛教 會 , Hangkow Fo-chiao Hui , English: “Hangkow Buddhist Society”). Gegr. from the lay followers of Tàixū: Chén Yuánbái (陳 元 白 \ index [cjk] {陳 元 白}), Lǐ Yǐnchén (李 隱 塵), Wáng Sēnfǔ (王森 甫, President of the Chamber of Commerce and first board member until 1931). Since 1922 he has sponsored the seminar ( 佛教 講習 所 , Fójiào jiǎngxí suǒ ), led by Táng Dàyuán ( 唐 大圓 ). The annual fee of ch $ 10 was waived for the less well off. Renamed in 1928 to Fójiào zhèngxìn huì (佛教 正 信 會). Activities included an ambulance for the poor, elementary school, and New Years food donations. A retirement home for widows who had not been remarried was financed through another non-Buddhist charitable organization.
  • 1922, Shanghai: Shìjiè fójiào jūshì lín ( 世界 佛教 居 士林 , Shih-chieh Fo-chiao Chu-shih Lin ). Probably the most influential lay organization in Chinese Buddhism in the 20th century. Since 1954 under the name Shànghǎi fójiào jūshì lín (上海 佛教 居 士林). Wáng Yītíng was the board member from the beginning until his death. Fàn Gǔnóng ( 范 古 農 ) directed 1948--51 .
  • 1923, Beijing: Fóhuà xīn qīngnián huì ( 佛 化 新 青年會 , Fo-hua Ch'ing-nien Hui , English: “Association for the Buddhacization of the New Youth”). Lay organization, initially as Běijīng fójiào xīn qīngnián huì ( 北京 佛教 新 青年會 ). House sheet Fóhuà xīn qīngnián ( 佛 化 新 青年 ). By 1924 by 10,000 members. Branch offices in Xiàmén , Tàiyuán , Shanghai, Wǔhàn and Quánzhōu .
  • 1925 Beijing: Zhōngguó fójiào huì ( 中國 佛教 會 , Chung-kuo Fo-chiao Hui , English: “Chinese Buddhist Federation,” CBF). Officially founded April 6th (it may be that predecessor organizations existed in the provinces since 1924).
  • ? 1925 to? 1956, Beijing: Běijīng pútí xuéhuì ( 北京 菩提 學會 , Beijing P'u-t'i Hsüeh-hui , English: “Bodhi Study Soc. (Beijing)”). Mainly geared towards the study of tantric texts by Tibetan lamas. 1942 published the works of Tsongkhapa 's ( 密宗 道 次第 廣 論 ). In the early 1950s it was headed by Fǎzūn, whose works were also published.
  • 1927--1950s, Beijing: Sānshí xuéhuì ( 三 時 學會 , English: “ Three Ages [Times] Study Group”). Study group mainly concerned with “ consciousness only ”. Weekly lectures by an average of sixty members.
  • 1928: Chiang-Che Fo-chiao Lien-ho-hui (“Kiangsu-Chekiang Buddhist Federation”). Founded on the initiative of Yuányīng.
  • 1928, Apr. or Nov. 1929, Nanking: Chung-kuo Fu-hsüeh Hui (“Chinese Buddhist Studies Ass.”) One of Tàixū's organizations giving Sunday lectures that continued after the outbreak of war in Chungking.
  • 1935-37, Shanghai: Shànghǎi pútí xuéhuì ( 上海 菩提 學會 , Shanghai P'u-t'i Hsüeh-hui , English: “Bodhi Study Soc. (Shanghai)”). The aim was to spread Tibetan, tantric texts. Chísōng was in charge until 1936. The group also acted politically as lobbyists for the protection of Buddhist temples. The connections of the former interior minister Qū Yìngguāng ( 屈映光 , Ch'ü Ying-kuang , 1883–1973) helped . Also located in the "Garden of Enlightenment."

"Nanking Decade" 1927–1938

In 1929, the Nanking KMT regime issued a shorter version of the regulation from 1915. Proposed on November 30, this control regulation ( 監督 寺廟 條例 , Jiāndū sìmiào tiáolì ; 13 §§) came into force on December 7th . The introduction of the Civil Code in 1929/30 brought about the abolition of the “monastic family” as a separate civil status. Ordained were henceforth ordinary citizens with all corresponding rights and duties. The legal measures mentioned are only to be seen as minimal concessions by a dictatorial state whose ruling class could not allow itself to create even more internal enemies by taking too harsh measures, if only because of the large number of external enemies. To avoid expropriation, many temples allowed state-controlled elementary schools to be established on their premises.

Buddhist Association, founded in 1929

The Shanghai-based "Buddhist Association" ( 中國 佛教 會 , Zhōngguó fójiào huì , CBA), founded in 1929 , was primarily a representation of ordained persons. Laypeople were involved in the founding, but after 1936 they were excluded from office at the suggestion of “reform-minded” monks. As an organization of ordained people one had a certain authority, but remained internally divided. The headquarters in Shanghai was shared with the “Pure Karma Association” until 1937. Tàixū and his followers gained control of the association in 1945, and the more orthodox Yìnguāng was ousted.
From 1936 membership fees were fixed (previously one operated on a donation basis): ordained ch $ 1, laypeople $ 5. The statutes, revised again in 1947, raised the rate to a uniform $ 5000 of the heavily devalued Chinese currency.

Lay organizations

The numerous lay organizations, which above all achieved a greater participation in rites, cannot be listed here, since almost all of them only had local significance. They can be classified into "merit associations" ( 功 德林 , Gōngdélín ), which primarily propagated the advantages of a vegetarian diet, and study groups that also distributed corresponding tracts. The most common were “recitation groups” ( 念佛 林 , Niànfólín ), which met to recite (often for hours) the sutra texts or the name of Buddha - they were mostly close to the “ pure land ”. In their names there are often terms such as “Lotus Society” ( 蓮社 , Liánshè ) or “Pure Karma Society” ( 淨 業 社 , Jìngyèshè ).

Since 1949

Already in the early 1950s a ministerial department was set up in the capital to deal with religious issues (English: “Religious Affairs Bureau”). "Authorized sites for religious activities" ( 宗教 動 場所 , Zōngjiào huódòng chǎngsuǒ ) are designated by the Chinese government. The department known today as the State Office for Religious Affairs (SARA) uses registered associations as interfaces to the recognized religion; for Buddhism it is:

Buddhist Association

In 1953, Zhào Pǔchū speaks at the conference preparing the establishment of the Buddhist Association

Buddhist Association ( 中國 佛教 協會 , Zhōngguó fójiào xiéhuì , English: “Buddhist Association;” BAC). The association, which was founded in Beijing in November 1952 after a two-year preparatory phase, is the central organization of Chinese ordained people. The preparatory conference was chaired by Zhào Pǔchū and Sherab Gyatsho .

The actual founding assembly met from May to June 1953. The elderly Yuányīng, who had already been active in a leading position in the association founded in 1929, was elected chairman, and Sherab Gyatsho became the highest vice-chairman. The general secretary Zhào Pǔchū exercised the real control over the association. Other founding members in leading positions were Lǚ Chéng ( 呂 澂 ), Zhōu Shjiā ( 周 叔 迦 ) and Jùzàn ( 巨 贊 ). The only woman in the circle was the nun Lónglián.

Individual memberships were not planned during the first few years, at the beginning the association only consisted of the 93 members of the founding assembly. Delegates were later appointed at the regional level. Tibetan and Mongolian monks were proportionally over-represented. Both the Dalai and the Panchen Lama were honorary presidents in the 1950s.

In 1957 the second general assembly took place. At the time, nearly forty people were working full-time for the organization in Beijing. The third general assembly was held in 1962 and the number of Tibetan representatives fell, probably as a result of the rebellion there .

The " Hausblatt " Xiàndài fóxué ( 現代 佛學 , Hsientai Fo-hüe , English: Modern Buddhism ) was founded in 1950 and then in 1953, until 1964, taken over by the association. In 1957 this magazine had a circulation of 5000 copies. Later edition numbers are not known. About two-thirds of the volume of each booklet was devoted to Buddhist teaching. The remaining third was dominated either by political issues - mostly in the form of reprints from the Chinese press or reports on progress made by the Buddhists in coping with the tasks assigned to them by the government - mostly participation in manual labor or in production .

The organization was also active in the context of international understanding . The "loan" of the tooth relic to various southern Buddhist countries can be seen in this light . and the new building of a pagoda for it, in 1956 near Beijing. Above all, they worked to represent China in the context of the 2500th anniversary of the Buddha .

At the provincial and local level, corresponding, independent associations were created that looked after the support of temples and monks and acted as an interface to local administrative offices. Especially in large cities, the associations took over the management of the temple grounds and paid the monks a salary from it during the 1950s. 1966–72 there was no need for such groups. However, they were already active again in the summer of 1972, which belies the widespread revisionist portrayal of the “cultural revolution” that had lasted until the 1976 coup. The end of this was decided at the 9th party congress in 1971 to disband the Red Guards . During these years, Zhào did not go public, but kept his post and in any case came back in 1972 as a member of the executive committee of the BAC. Han Buddhist temples, of which there were around 15,000 officially registered in 2008, are now also members of the regional associations.

seminar

As early as 1955, a twelve-person commission was set up to prepare the establishment of a "seminar for Buddhism" ( 中國 佛 學院 , Zhōngguó Fóxué yuàn ) for the training of monks. As recently as the 1930s, nearly seventy percent of monks and nearly ninety percent of rural nuns were illiterate. This institute of higher education was nominally headed by Sherab Gyatsho after it was founded in 1956 in the Beijing Guǎngjì Temple ( 廣濟寺 , Kuang-chi Ssu ). The management took over 1956–66 Fǎzūn ( 法 ; 1902–80), who also became one of the vice-presidents of the BAC and also took over management shortly before his death in 1980. Important lecturers of the early period were Zhōu Shūjiā ( 周 叔 迦 ; 1899–1970) and Guānkōng ( 觀 空 ; 1903–89). For reasons of space, the Buddhist seminary was relocated to Fǎyuán sì ( 法源寺 , Fa Yüan Ssu ) six kilometers away .
Even in China, which is ruled by revisionists today , one hardly has a chance to become abbot of an important temple without having completed training at what is now called the Academy for Buddhism of China . More recently, institutes for Pali studies and Lamaism have also been established.

In the summer of 2018, the association had around 240,000 ordained members.

President of the Beijing Association

  • Yuányīng ( 圓 瑛圆 瑛) Founding President, † 1953
  • Sherab Gyatsho ( 喜饶嘉措 ) first provisionally from 1953, then until 1966
  • Fǎzūn ( 法 尊 ) served a short time before his death in 1980
  • Zhào Pǔchū ( 趙朴初 ) Secretary General since 1953, 1980 - † 2000
  • Yīchéng ( 一 誠 ) 2002-10
  • Chuányìn ( 傳 印 ), 2010–15
  • Xuéchéng ( 學 誠 ), Apr. 2015 to Aug. 2018
  • Yǎn Jué ( 演 覺 , * 1956), since 2018

Taiwan Province

It was estimated that in the first time after the liberation of the mainland, at most 100 monks came to the island, about half of them with adequate education.

A more recent establishment is the Theravada Association of Taiwan ( 台灣 原始 佛教 協會 ).

Buddhist Association in Taiwan

BAROC headquarters (2012)

The “Buddhist Association” ( 中國 佛教 會 , Zhōngguó fójiào huì , English: “Buddhist Association of the Republic of China,” BAROC), which was established in the breakaway province of Taiwan in 1949, joined forces with the organization that existed under the same name in Shanghai nothing in common. However, one saw oneself in the tradition of the organization founded by Tàixū in 1929. Lǐ Zǐkuān ( 李子 寬 , also parliamentarian), a Mongolian Tulku Zhāngjiā Huófó ( 李子 寬 章嘉 活佛 , † 1957) and the layman Sūnzhāng Qīngyáng ( 孫 張清揚 ) had been working towards a re-establishment
since 1945 , which took place in Nanking in 1947.

Initially, the organization was run by a three-person committee. Since 1955, until today, the conservatives have had the upper hand. Its first president after restructuring in 1960 was Wùmín ( 悟 明 ), Nántíng ( 南 亭 ) acted as general secretary, the headquarters were initially set up in the Shípǔ sì ( 十 普 寺 ) of Taipei.

The government-controlled organization was the only approved Buddhist association until 1960, and its influence has declined sharply since 1987. Until then, d. H. the end of martial law , z. B. Any monk who wanted to travel abroad should get a permit.

In the early days, the abolition of the possibilities of monastic marriage and non-vegetarian food introduced under Japanese administration. Likewise, the installation of deities of Chinese folk beliefs together with Buddhist images was prohibited . The dominance of the monks coming from the mainland, who ruled the organization, also led to the fact that the "pure" type of ordination of the Bǎohuá Shan ( 寶 華山 , Pao Hua Shan main temple: Lóngchāng sì 隆昌 寺 ) was introduced in the province after 1952 . The Beijing counterpart was referred to in the Cold War as a compassionate Buddhist "criminal pseudo-Buddhist organization" ( Chinese  偽 匪 佛教 協會 ).

Hong Kong

There is an independent Buddhist association in Hong Kong ( 香港 佛教 聯合會 ).

See also

literature

  • Krause, Carsten; Interdependencies between state and Buddhism in the People's Republic of China; in: Koenig, Wiebke; Daiber, Karl-Fritz (ed.); Religion and Politics in the People's Republic of China; Würzburg 2008 (Ergon); Pp. 139-168.
  • Goossaert, Vincent; Détruire les temples pour construire les écoles: reconstitution d'un objet historique; éxtreme orient - éxtreme occident, No 33 (2011), pp. 35–51
  • Goossaert, Vincent; Religious Question in Modern China; Chicago 2011; ISBN 978-0-226-30416-8
  • Hammerstrom, Erik J .; Science of Chinese Buddhism: Early Twentieth-Century Engagements; New York 2015 (Columbia Univ. Pr.); ISBN [eBook] 978-0-231-53958-6
  • Prip-Møller, Johannes; Lohner, Henry; Buddhist temples in China, 中原佛寺 圖 考 [ Zhōngyuán fósì túkǎo ]; Norderstedt 2017; Vol. II: ISBN 978-3-7448-7273-7

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Prip-Møller, Johannes; Lohner, Henry; Buddhist temples in China,中原 佛寺 圖 考; Norderstedt 2017; Vol. II: ISBN 978-3-7448-7273-7 Chapter: Buddhism in Republican times.
  2. ↑ On his concepts cf. Ritzinger, Justin To Renew Buddhism and Save the Modern World .
  3. ↑ Ts'ung Pao, № 6 (March 1913), hence branches in seven provinces.
  4. ↑ Fo chiao yüh-pao, № 1 (May 1913); also for the following three groups.
  5. ↑ Welch, Holmes; Buddhist Revival in China: with a section of photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson; Cambridge 1968, pp. 77-81.
  6. ↑ 水 野 梅 曉 [Mizuno Baigyō]; 支那 佛 敎 近世 史 の 研究 [Shina Bukkyō kinseishi no kenkyū]; Tokyo 1925 (發 賣 元 森 江 本店)
  7. ↑ Welch, Holmes; Buddhist Revival in China: with a section of photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson; Cambridge 1968, p. 179.
  8. ↑ The statutes can be found in the house sheet 中國 佛教 會 公報 , Vol. 1, No 2 (July 1930).
  9. ^ About the organization: 1) Erik Zürcher ; Buddhism in China, Korea, and Vietnam; in: Heinz Bechert, Richard Gombrich (Hrsg.): Buddhism: history and present; Munich ³2008, pp. 215-251, here pp. 249f .; 2) Prip-Møller, Johannes; Lohner, Henry; Buddhist temples in China,中原 佛寺 圖 考; Norderstedt 2017; Vol. II: ISBN 978-3-7448-7273-7 , pp. 642f., 647.
  10. ↑ The more recent works by V. Goossaert and Hammerstrom, which have also been incorporated into the Database of Modern Chinese Buddhism ( 近代 中國 佛教 檢索 ), provide a certain overview . Also: Prip-Møller, Johannes; Lohner, Henry; Buddhist temples in China,中原 佛寺 圖 考; Norderstedt 2017; Vol. II: ISBN 978-3-7448-7273-7 , p. 647.
  11. ↑ The legal basis is 宗教 活动 场所 管理 条例 of Jan. 31, 1994.
  12. ↑ Welch, Holmes; Buddhism under Mao; Cambridge 1972; ISBN 0-674-08565-5 , p. 15, estimates 3000.
  13. ↑ Described in Buddhists in New China; Beijing 1956.
  14. ↑ Strong, John; Strong, Sarah; Report from China: A Post-Cultural Revolution Look at Buddhism; China Quarterly No 54 (1973), pp. 321-30.
  15. ↑ 台灣 原始 佛教 協會
  16. ↑ Described in detail in: Prip-Møller, Johannes; Lohner, Henry; Buddhist temples in China; Norderstedt 2017; Vol. I, chap. V.