In contemporary Buddhism, Taiwan stands out as home to the greatest number of female monastics(about 15,000) and to the most diverse female monastic sangha in the world. Taiwanese Buddhist nuns outnumber monks three to one, which is unprecedented in Buddhist history. Buddhist women in Taiwan have contributed substantially not only to Dharma outreach, social welfare, education, art, and culture but also to the development of civil society in Taiwan and of global Buddhism. In contrast to the inferior and minority status of Buddhist nuns in premodern China, the disproportionate number of female monastics in Taiwan―along with their outstanding accomplishments ―attracts scholars to discuss the underlying reasons for this “Taiwan miracle,” a phrase used to refer to the rapid industrialization and economic takeoff in Taiwan in the postwar period (1945 onward). The astonishing contribution and leadership of Buddhist women, the unprecedented number of prominent and highly educated nuns compared with the rest of Buddhist history, and the unusual institutional space opened to women’s leadership in postwar Taiwan did not appear in a vacuum. Both structural conditions and women’s agency have contributed to this unique phenomenon in TaiwaneseBuddhism. This paper explores a historically and theoretically significant phenomenon of women’s religious leadership in contemporary Taiwanese Buddhism: bhikshuni sanghas in relation to the modern Buddhist revival movement in Taiwan. The four largest Buddhist organizations in Taiwan are: Tzu Chi Foundation(Ciji 慈濟), Fo Guang Shan Monastery(Foguangshan 佛光⼭), Dharma Drum Mountain(DDM, Fagushan 法⿎⼭), and Chung Tai Chan Monastery(Zhongtaishan 中台禪寺). My research draws bhikshunis in Fo Guang Shan Monastery, Tzu Chi Foundation, and Dharma Drum Mountain, the three internationally best-known transnational Buddhist organizations in Taiwanese Buddhism, to discuss the development of bhikshuni sangha in postwarTaiwan, which was a time of innovation and expansion inBuddhist organizations, as modern Chinese Buddhist reformdeveloped in Taiwanese society. I will also reflect on how thisBuddhist reform ovement in Taiwan, though giving tremendous space for bhikshunis to develop, might possible bring bhikshunis an imbalance between personal cultivation time and socially engaged activities.
In contemporary Buddhism, Taiwan stands out as home to the greatest number of female monastics(about 15,000) and to the most diverse female monastic sangha in the world. Taiwanese Buddhist nuns outnumber monks three to one, which is unprecedented in Buddhist history. Buddhist women in Taiwan have contributed substantially not only to Dharma outreach, social welfare, education, art, and culture but also to the development of civil society in Taiwan and of global Buddhism. In contrast to the inferior and minority status of Buddhist nuns in premodern China, the disproportionate number of female monastics in Taiwan―along with their outstanding accomplishments ―attracts scholars to discuss the underlying reasons for this “Taiwan miracle,” a phrase used to refer to the rapid industrialization and economic takeoff in Taiwan in the postwar period (1945 onward). The astonishing contribution and leadership of Buddhist women, the unprecedented number of prominent and highly educated nuns compared with the rest of Buddhist history, and the unusual institutional space opened to women’s leadership in postwar Taiwan did not appear in a vacuum. Both structural conditions and women’s agency have contributed to this unique phenomenon in TaiwaneseBuddhism. This paper explores a historically and theoretically significant phenomenon of women’s religious leadership in contemporary Taiwanese Buddhism: bhikshuni sanghas in relation to the modern Buddhist revival movement in Taiwan. The four largest Buddhist organizations in Taiwan are: Tzu Chi Foundation(Ciji 慈濟), Fo Guang Shan Monastery(Foguangshan 佛光⼭), Dharma Drum Mountain(DDM, Fagushan 法⿎⼭), and Chung Tai Chan Monastery(Zhongtaishan 中台禪寺). My research draws bhikshunis in Fo Guang Shan Monastery, Tzu Chi Foundation, and Dharma Drum Mountain, the three internationally best-known transnational Buddhist organizations in Taiwanese Buddhism, to discuss the development of bhikshuni sangha in postwarTaiwan, which was a time of innovation and expansion inBuddhist organizations, as modern Chinese Buddhist reformdeveloped in Taiwanese society. I will also reflect on how thisBuddhist reform ovement in Taiwan, though giving tremendous space for bhikshunis to develop, might possible bring bhikshunis an imbalance between personal cultivation time and socially engaged activities.
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