-- Elise Anne DeVido --
Introduction
Since the mid-1980s, Taiwan has experienced a large-scale religious revival, not only within the traditional popular religious sphere, but also within institutionalized Buddhism and Taoism. This profound cultural phenomenon, heretofore overshadowed by worldwide scholarly and media attention to Taiwan’s economic and political developments, deserves attention in its own right. One striking aspect of Taiwan’s religious efflorescence is the rapid development of Buddhist nuns, unprecedented in world history. The present number of fully ordained nuns and monks number about 30,000, with nuns constituting about 75% of this cleric population. This statistic is the one commonly cited by scholars of monastic Buddhism in Taiwan, based on field work observations and by estimating annual ordination records. It is an extremely difficult task to gather and verify statistics about Taiwan’s Buddhist monastics and their communities and activities, especially for the period after the end of martial law, 1986[1].
I submit that Taiwan has become the heartland of the Mahayana monastic world, not only because of its open environment conducive to the development of Buddhist doctrine, practice, and autonomous monastic communities, but in particular, Taiwan has become a center for female Buddhist novitiates, Asian and non-Asian, from all Buddhist traditions (Theravadin, Tibetan, Zen) to receive training and full ordination which does not exist elsewhere, not even in India, due to male monastic opposition over the centuries. For example, female monastics (both Asian and non-Asian) of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition are widely known as “Buddhist nuns;” however, they are in fact “novices,” (sramanerika), not fully ordained nuns, unless their lamas grant them permission to become ordained by Taiwanese or other Chinese monastics. For over fifteen years, the Dalai Lama has advocated the establishment of a fully ordained nuns’ order within Tibetan Buddhism, and sent a special envoy to Taiwan in November 1997 to investigate the Taiwanese system. Whether any concrete progress has been made still remains to be seen.
Thus, the impact of the Buddhist Renaissance in Taiwan, and in particular the contributions made by female monastics, are profound: not only will Taiwanese institutionalized Buddhism continue to transform and invigorate world Buddhism, but also this Buddhist renaissance, inspired by the mission to create a “Pure Land on Earth,” through its notable contributions to charitable and philanthropic causes, secular and spiritual education, publishing, mass media, the arts, environmentalism, opposition to nuclear power, animal rights, and disaster relief, plays a crucial role in the construction of a civil society in post-authoritarian Taiwan. Lastly, the preponderance of women, both monastic and lay, in these developments is at once a product of the liberalization of traditional gender roles in Taiwan since the 1970s, and, is itself a force that is creating more diverse life opportunities and choices for women in Taiwan. However, whether and how the phenomenon of Taiwan’s Buddhist nuns can be explained via the categories and theories of “feminism” is a complex enterprise, and will be discussed further below.
Oddly, as yet there are no full-length monographs on Taiwanese Buddhist nuns in Chinese, English, or any other language, though it is the subject of ongoing doctoral research in Taiwan and abroad. Recently as well, scholars of religion in Taiwan such as Jiang Canteng, Ding Min, Lu Huei-syin, Chen Meihua, and Li Yuzhen, have published articles and participated in conferences organized by Buddhist seminaries on this subject.
Charles B. Jones’ path-breaking book, Buddhism in Taiwan: Religion and the State, 1660-1990 (1999) gives an excellent overview of Buddhism in Taiwan, and as such, it does not concentrate on Buddhist nuns in particular, though he discusses “the vitality of the nun’s order [in Taiwan] after 1952.”[2]
This paper, then, is but an introduction, part of a larger study-in-progress in which I will compare a number of all-nun monasteries in Taiwan that vary in terms of geographical placement; size; generation of Masters and disciples; monastic education and training programs; and particular mission(s).
“The ‘Infinite Worlds’ of Taiwanese Nuns” (Taiwan biqiuni de tiankong)
Both in written accounts and in interviews, nuns often speak of how Taiwan is the tiankong (literally, “heaven; “the firmament,”) for Buddhism and in particular, for nuns. I translated this as “infinite worlds” for two reasons: first, to indicate Taiwan is a free and open space for Buddhist nuns’ development; second, because there is not simply one “ideal type” of Buddhist nun in Taiwan; significant differences exist within one monastic community (generation, family and educational background, talents and temperament), let alone among different monasteries. Although there are all-nun, all-monk, and syneisactist communities in Taiwan, my study focuses on all-nun monasteries[3].
Mention should be made here of the most visible and “charismatic” nun in Taiwan, Master Zheng Yan, head of the large international NGO entitled the “Buddhist Compassion Relief [Ciji] Foundation,” primarily a lay organization. Although over the past decades Zheng Yan has cultivated a small core of nun disciples, the Ciji Foundation focuses on its philanthropic activities undertaken by its numerous lay followers, not on female monastic education and training. I will not, therefore, concentrate upon this organization.[4]
For this paper, I have drawn upon the following sources: interviews with a number of female monastics and scholars of Taiwan Buddhism; a phone survey of all officially-registered Buddhist monasteries in Taipei; Chinese primary and secondary sources; and the few English sources on Buddhism in Taiwan, and women in Buddhism as a global movement[5].
A Series of Questions
Many factors have contributed to the fact that Taiwan has the greatest number of fully ordained Buddhist nuns in the world. During my interviews with Buddhist nuns and scholars of Taiwanese Buddhism, I put forward a number of possible factors (historical, economic, educational, political, and social, including changes in gender roles):
A. Taiwan’s heritage: the “vegetarian women” sects (Buddhist-inspired popular religious sects) in the Qing dynasty and during the Japanese colonial period, 1895-1945, as well as Japanese Buddhist developments in Taiwan. The majority of these women were laypersons, not fully ordained nuns, and if so, were ordained in the Japanese tradition (there were no nuns in Taiwan under the Qing). At any rate, Taiwan had a large pool of women “Buddhist” believers, many of whom became fully ordained in the Chinese tradition after 1952.
B. Overall high level of co-education in Taiwan (compared with other nations with a Buddhist heritage) ever since the promulgation of public schools during the Japanese period, and especially after post 1949 modernization of the education system (a compulsory, universal, nine-year education system)
C. The post-1949 situation in which monks newly-arrived from mainland China, being relatively few in number and without contacts in Taiwan, had to rely on and cooperate with Taiwan “nuns” and the extensive networks of female layperson organizations, unless they had political ties with the Nationalists and BAROC.
D. The post-1949 situation in which these same monks brought to Taiwan for proselytization the Chinese Mahayana tradition, including the formal monastic rules for monks and nuns, thus beginning the Sinicization and institutionalization of Taiwanese “Buddhism.” Under the harrowing conditions of martial law and the “White Terror,” these monks often proselytized in secret, and were arrested and silenced unless they had political protection.
E. The overall influence of Yin Shun’s Earthly Buddhism doctrines that has modernized and rejuvenated Mahayana~Pure Land Buddhism.
F. Following the practice of Catholic and Protestant proselytizing methods among Taiwan’s young people, the Buddhists, from the 1960s, began to establish “Study Groups” and scholarships, in vocational schools, high schools and universities, issued popular publications, tapes of instructional lectures and Buddhist sutras, prayers, and songs, etc. Many potential nuns and monks were and are recruited in this way.
G. In the 1960s and 1970s, leading monks in Taiwan encouraged the development of the nuns’ order, particularly their education and training. For example, the leading Masters Yin Shun and Sheng Yan in 1965 declared that in Taiwan, it was “unnecessary” to stress the “Eight Chief Laws” which historically kept nuns in an inferior and subservient position to monks; these Masters, on the contrary, argued for equal status of monks and nuns.
H. Dramatic societal transformations in the 1970s and 1980s: This was the period of Taiwan’s remarkable and rapid economic take-off; also, Taiwan’s citizens gained more freedom to leave the county for tourism and study abroad; end of martial law allowed development of civil society; end of the Ministry of the Interior and BAROC’s ability to strictly monitor Taiwan’s Buddhist world.
I. The influence of “Western” feminism in Taiwan and upon nuns studying abroad (this is complex; some male academics cite this as an “obvious main factor” but the nuns’ responses were ambivalent and contradictory, as will be explained in a separate section below)
J. Due to the hard efforts over the years of nuns and leading monks sympathetic to their development since the first formal ordination of nuns in 1952, now nuns enjoy a high social position in Taiwan unlike the case historically in China, and play not only active but leadership roles in monastic affairs and society at large, and in education, charity, publishing and mass media. In addition, through sponsorship by her monastery, a nun may have opportunities for pursuing graduate studies both in Taiwan and overseas[6].
As top factors, the nuns chose: B and D through I, and J. This seems to reflect the nuns’ desire to affirm their rightful place in the orthodox Buddhist heritage (established in Taiwan only after 1949) and their long years of training, hard work and sacrifices offered for the advancement of this centuries-old Mahayana~Pure Land heritage, rather than credit Taiwan’s “unorthodox” and “superstitious” (sic) popular religions, or an imported “Western feminism,” or, political maneuvers by the state such as ending martial law, as commonly cited in the analyses of historians and social scientists.
Why Become a Nun ?
Though some potential nuns may have grown up in so-called “Buddhist” families, this form of worship is in fact properly characterized as Taiwanese “popular religion,” often centering on worship of Guan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy. The actual point of entry into the orthodox Buddhist world for many nuns was, as mentioned above, by having previously participated in formal Buddhist “Study Groups” in vocational schools, high schools and universities. The first attraction is religious and idealistic; these young women, from arts and sciences, business, computers, or vocational backgrounds, then hope to pursue more intensive study of Buddhism as a means of self-cultivation, towards the goal of enlightenment: Yi xiuxing wei zhu.
As these are young women moving from the secure and highly-protected moorings of the Taiwanese family and the education system into the world, those grappling with personal crises involving identity, family, and relationships also may consider the monastic life, but this type of person will not succeed through the intensive and multi-step process of observation, examination and evaluation which the women must pass through before reaching even the novitiate stage. Other young women drawn to the possibility of the monastic life are those who possess talents in the areas of counseling, medicine, and children’s education, while others were already teachers, who felt that they had reached a limit in the significance and effectiveness of their pedagogy, so only religion, and Buddhism in particular, would allow them to explore beyond the limits of secular knowledge. Yet others are considering careers in academia, publishing and other fields of communication, the arts, social work, adult/community education, NGO work, and active social movements, all of which are possible by joining one or another monastic community, each of which stresses its own “mission(s),” zhiye.
Another attraction is that monasteries often will sponsor the
graduate studies of their nuns, whether in Taiwan or abroad: for some young
women, lacking economic means or family encouragement, this would be their only
chance to obtain advanced degrees. The Master of the Luminary Buddhist Temple,
Ven. Ming Jia, for example, obtained her masters degree in business
administration in the United States. However, one need not become a nun in
order to develop one’s individual career path; one can always remain a lay
practitioner of Buddhism. Therefore, the purpose of the extended period of
pre-novitiate and novitiate screening process is to identify those who are
suited to living and working in a disciplined, communal setting, sworn to
celibacy, for a lifetime: those who are primarily dedicated to furthering the
interests and missions of one’s particular monastery, whose central purpose, no
matter what secular form the missions may take, is to propagate the Dharma, the
Buddhist teachings, hong fa wei zhu[7].
And, before scholars draw hasty conclusions about “Taiwanese nuns” based on observation of high-profile, resource-rich, and socially-engaged monasteries, styled the “mountain-tops,” shantou, of “Earthly Buddhism,” there are indeed numerous smaller monasteries, many in central and southern Taiwan, outside of major cities, that still attract some young women to join. These monasteries, often with nuns over 50 years of age in central and southern Taiwan, stress the contemplative life; their nuns rarely venture out into society unless they are called to perform traditional Buddhist rituals such as for funerals and the mourning period. Thus, more extensive inquiry into the differences among Taiwan’s all-nun monasteries is crucial, in order to ascertain to what extent the “Earthly Buddhism” body of doctrines and practice has now indeed become the mainstream, zhuliu, in the Taiwanese Buddhist world, or, will, in the next generation.
The Questions of Feminism
There are two main questions here: do nuns in Taiwan identify with, or are linked up with, the worldwide Buddhist nun movement (defined as working for strengthening the nun’s monastic order and working for equality of nuns with monks), and second, do Taiwanese nuns identify themselves with the feminist movement in Taiwan? (the latter defined as working for equal opportunity for women, improving their legal status and quality of life, etc) In recent years, there has been a movement among nuns from all Buddhist traditions for greater equity within the Buddhist world. The debate centers around the contradictions about the status and nature of women and nuns inherent in Buddhist scripture and historical commentaries, while others in the meantime focus on establishing and strengthening nuns education, training, and full-fledged ordination, which, as mentioned previously, exists only in the Mahayana tradition.
In Buddhist scripture and monastic practice, on the one hand, there are such beliefs as “all can reach enlightenment;” “in Buddhahood, there is no gender;” and, both monks and nuns wear similar clothing, are tonsured, and receive burn-marks upon ordination; their “Buddhist” names and titles are not gender-specific. Following historical precedent, one can use the sobriquet “a virtuous man,” da zhangfu, to describe both monks and nuns. And monks and nuns alike (unlike the case in the Catholic Church, for example) have the right to participate in and officiate at Buddhist ceremonies; take disciples; hold the position of “Master;” vote on Buddhist affairs; continue their education; and proselytize.
Yet, examples of misogyny and discrimination against nuns may also be cited: Besides negative descriptions of women’s “bad karma” and various weaknesses and inclinations to sin that bar them from reaching enlightenment, there are also strictures such as: Monks are required to abide by 250 precepts, while nuns must obey 348; male Masters can take both male and female disciples, but female masters only female; and the “Eight Chief Laws” that place nuns in an inferior position to monks.
In Taiwan, however, due to the factors discussed earlier in this paper, the nuns’ order has flourished in Taiwan, and nuns not only outnumber monks, but also are a leading stratum in Taiwanese civil society. So do they, then, identify with, are congruent with, the Taiwanese feminist movement? One might first draw this conclusion after observing various self-reliant, self-administered communities of highly talented and hard-working women. To see small, slightly-built Taiwanese women, under the blazing sun, slicing lumber with power tools into fuel suitable for their kitchen ovens, or to notice the great degree of strength and stamina needed to play the drums and bells throughout the long Buddhist morning and evening services, one immediately thinks of the Chinese phrase for a “untraditional” woman, nu qiangren.
In my interviews, the Masters repeatedly stressed that the “modernization” and “liberalization” of Taiwan society has opened up more opportunities and choices (pursuit of higher education and career) for young women besides the one path of marriage and family. As they put it, young women can “come out of the kitchen to get an education and become self-reliant; there is no need anymore to rely on one’s family and husband.” And when I asked newly-ordained nuns why they chose the monastic life, a standard answer was: “In this way, I can contribute my time, energy, and talents to far more people, to society at large, rather than devote myself to my husband, children, and in-laws.”[8]
Yet when
one probes further, we find that these nuns, at least those over forty years of
age, still retain essentialist notions of “Chinese” femininity[9].
When asked why are there so many nuns in Taiwan, one hears:
l *Women possess a compassionate and warm heart (Ven. Shan Hui)
l *Women are especially suited to undertake the rigorous path of Buddhist studies and training, due to their patience, endurance, and attention to detail (Ven. Ming Jia)
l *Due to familial and social expectations thanks to the Confucian legacy, men in Taiwan are under far more pressure to succeed in career and family life, so fewer men than women can choose the monastic life. (Ven. Ming Jia)
l *By their nature women are particularly suited as caregivers, and excel in healing and counseling roles. (Master Wu Yin, interview)
l *Women are more suited than men to live in communal groups due to their self-effacing, sacrificial nature. (Master Wu Yin)
l *Women by nature are inclined to excel in the fields of culture, (secular) higher education and scholarship, Buddhist education, and adult/community education.[10]
l *Nuns manifest the “steadfast, persevering, hardworking” character of “Taiwanese women.”[11]
l *Nuns have succeeded in Taiwan in propagating Buddhism due to their “gentle feminine nature which makes people feel like they’ve been bathed by spring winds.”[12]
Thus, according to these nuns, their strength lies precisely in “difference.” These so-called “feminine traits” such as warmth, compassion, desire for harmony and peace, patience, endurance, sacrifice, correspond to Buddhist ideals, and thus women possess natural advantages over men in the calling to monasticism. The nuns distinguish the Taiwanese experience from “Western” feminist notions of “self-awareness” and “fighting” for gender equality. Nor, at least yet, do the nuns’ missions converge with the content and goals of the Taiwanese feminist movement: the nuns work for the good of Taiwanese society overall, and do not particularly highlight women’s issues, except of course, the women’s higher education, and helping women realize their individual potentials.
It is likely that in the future, as the older generation of nuns who were ordained in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s become less active, the under 40 generation might very well align themselves closer with the Taiwanese feminist movement. Some younger nuns and novitiates have backgrounds in women’s studies and many have study abroad experiences. However, another scenario may present itself: As Taiwan’s society undergoes further liberalization, it may become socially acceptable to remain as unmarried career women, with or without children; there would be no need to make the sacrifices required by the monastic life.
Perhaps the sudden rise in numbers of young women becoming nuns was simply a passing phase of the 1980s, some of whom were attracted by major pioneering “charismatic” Buddhist Masters? Ven. Ming Jia of the Luminary Buddhist Temple answers: In the future, young people drawn to the monastic life would do so not due to the compelling charisma of any Master, but for the appeal of living and working in a Buddhist community, as a member of a collective team. She/he would have to be drawn first for religious reasons, because in our modern information society, the enticements and pressures of the secular world are only increasing. Although she stated that the number of newly-ordained nuns was steadily rising, more important than actual numbers was to continue to improve the quality of nuns, by providing ever more thorough, comprehensive, and professional education and training. And as Buddhist communities continue to expand abroad and become socially-engaged NGO’s, this will also attract young people.
When and how is Taiwanese Buddhism going to answer the criticisms and grievances of the global Buddhist women’s movement? Already, Taiwanese Buddhism plays a central role in the development of the nuns orders worldwide, by having preserved and furthered the monastic rules and full ordination ceremonies, and building outstanding nun communities. Ven. Sakya Chiao Fei, calls herself a feminist Buddhist (yige Fojiao de nuxing zhuyizhe) is a influential voice in Taiwan of celebrity status who indefatigably works for animal rights and environmental protection; she recently published a long Chinese essay entitled “Deconstructing Male Chauvinism in Buddhism.” “The future of Taiwan’s Buddhism belongs to the nuns,” declares Ven. Ching Hsin, a monk and director of the Chinese Buddhist Studies Association in Taiwan. Most probably, this will also be true for the future of world Buddhism.
NOTES
1. Before 1986, all religious groups had to register as lawful organizations with the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) while each year the number of newly-ordained nuns and monks were registered with the Buddhist Association of the Republic of China (BAROC), an official arm of the Nationalist party-state. After 1986, however, monasteries holding annual ordination ceremonies were no longer required to register with BAROC, and the MOI’s statistics are vague and do not distinguish institutional Buddhism from the popular religions, let alone relate reliable numbers of ordained clergy. In addition, the monasteries themselves are reluctant to reveal their own statistics. As for mainland China, the Pure Land monastic tradition has been revived in recent years but remains ideologically and institutionally fettered, while the opportunities for monastic education are limited. I have not yet found a number for fully-ordained nuns, only the number 80,000 for total number of monks and nuns (Pure Land Tradition). But I suspect that this number includes students, novitiates, and self-styled “monastics” who are in fact laypersons. I have also been told the following estimates, from a scholar who wishes to remain anonymous until the figures can be proven: 1500 fully ordained nuns in Mainland China; 9805 fully ordained nuns in the world, excluding Taiwan.
2. The American scholar of Buddhism, Yu Junfang, has a book forthcoming on the Luminary Buddhist temple, the all-nun monastic community and seminary in southern Taiwan noted for its high scholastic standards and rigorous monastic training process.
3. As stipulated by the Vinaya, the monastic rules, a male Master can take both monks and nuns as disciples, but a female Master can only take nuns. A comparison of all-nun with syneisactist communities might reveal different institutional patterns and teaching and leadership styles, as well as the problems special to mixed gender celibate communities.
4. See the article by Chien-yu Julia Huang and Robert P. Weller, “Merit and Mothering: Women and Social Welfare in Taiwanese Buddhism,” Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 57, No. 2, May 1998, pp. 379-96.
5. I interviewed Master Wu Yin, head of the Luminary Buddhist Seminary; Ven. Ming Jia, head of the Luminary Buddhist Temple, and their nun disciples; Ven. Heng Ching, professor of philosophy at National Taiwan University; Ven. Jien Shen, professor of education, Hsuan Chuang University; Ven. Shan Hui of the Chien Kuang Temple; Vens. Guang Guo and Xianyue of Ling Jiu Mountain Monastery; Prof. Jiang Canteng, National Tsinghua University; and Ms. Li Yuzhen, doctoral candidate in religion, Cornell University. Many thanks to Prof. Dominique Tyl of the Socio-Cultural Research Center, Fujen University, who organized and carried out the phone survey, August 1999. The number of Chinese sources is growing and includes “official” publications by the temples and monasteries themselves, as well as scholarly articles by monastics and laypersons. There are a vast number of English sources from many disciplines about women and the female in Buddhism, but they rarely, if ever, mention Taiwan’s nuns and the Buddhist renaissance. International organizations such as “Sakyadhita” and “Women Active in Buddhism” offer some general information about Taiwan’s nuns.
6. In late Imperial China, “convents” were commonly stigmatized as repositories for orphans, abandoned girls and wives, runaway wives, widows, and other women without means of support. And according to Neo-Confucian moralists, to choose the monastic life was to commit the sin of unfiliality, which damages the honor and well being of one’s family (ancestors and future descendants included). The phrase for becoming a monastic is “to leave the family,” chu jia, which is unfilial in itself. Then, to renounce marriage and children one failed in one’s duties to continue the descent line. In addition the rituals of tonsure and marking the scalp with burns, upon ordination, also is unfilial, as these rituals mutilate the original body given by one’s parents.
7. Though each monastery must obey the Vinaya for general guidance, the details about daily operations, fiscal and personnel administration, and long-term missions are decided by each Master and disciples. Monastic education and training is also based on the Vinaya, but the actual courses of study, length of novitiate period, selection process, etc, is also decided by each monastery. Each monastery is an autonomous authority unto itself, according to the principles of “self-regulation, self-examination,” zilu, ziqing. Each monastery forms its own customary laws as well as Constitution and By-laws (mufa, zifa, literally, Mother and Child laws) usually reached through group consensus. This aspect of monastic life deserves further inquiry, especially because the requirements of the modern world demand modification to, or liberal interpretation of, the Vinaya.
8. Even if this is a generic answer that echoes their Master’s voice, we should not dismiss the kernel of authenticity that may lie within.