Explores the milieu of Taiwan’s Buddhist nuns, who have the greatest numbers in the Buddhist world and a prominent place in their own country. Taiwan’s Buddhist nuns are as unique as they are noteworthy. Boasting the greatest number of Buddhist nuns of any country, Taiwan has a much greater number of nuns than monks. These women are well known and well regarded as dharma teachers and for the social service work that has made them a central part of Taiwan’s civil society. In this, the first English-language book on Taiwanese women and Buddhism, author Elise Ann DeVido introduces readers to Taiwan’s Buddhist nuns, but also looks at the larger question of how Taiwan’s Buddhism shapes and is shaped by women--mainly nuns but also laywomen, who like their clerical sisters flourish in that country. Providing an historical overview of Buddhist women in China and Taiwan, DeVido discusses various reasons for the vibrancy of Taiwan’s nuns’ orders. She introduces us to the nuns of the best-known of order, the Buddhist Compassion-Relief Foundation (Ciji) as well as those of the Luminary Buddhist Institute. Discussing “Buddhism for the Human Realm,” DeVido asks whether this popular philosophy has encouraged and supported the singular strength of Taiwan’s Buddhism women.
"DeVido show an intimate familiarity with both her book's subjects and the social cultural context in which they live and practice."-Beata Grant, author of Eminent Nuns: Women Chan Masters of Seventeenth-Century China
"Taiwan's Buddhist nuns are as unique as they are noteworthy. Boasting the greatest number of Buddhist nuns of any country, Taiwan has a much larger number of nuns than monks. These women are well known and well regarded as dharma teachers and for the social service work that has made them a central part of Taiwan's civil society. In this, the first English-language book exclusively devoted to the subject of Taiwanese women and Buddhism, Elise Anne DeVido introduces readers to Taiwan's Buddhist nuns, but also looks at the larger question of how Taiwan's Buddhism shapes and is shaped by women---mainly nuns but also laywomen, who, like their clerical sisters, flourish in that country. Providing a historical overview of Buddhist women in China and Taiwan, DeVido discusses various reasons for the vibrancy of Taiwan's nuns' orders. She introduces us to the nuns of the Buddhist Compassion-Relief Foundation (Ciji), as well as those of the Luminary Buddhist Institute. Discussing "Buddhism for the Human Realm," DeVido asks whether this popular philosophy has encouraged and supported the singular strength of Taiwan's Buddhist women."--BOOK JACKET.
目次
[Table Contents]
List of Maps and Illustrations p.vii-viii Preface p.xi-xii Credits and Acknowledgments p.xiii-xiv Note on Romanizations and Names p.xv-xviii
Introduction p.1-5 Chapter 1: The Infinite Worlds of Taiwan’s Buddhist Nuns p.7-28 Chapter 2: An Audience with Master Zhengyan p.29-47 Chapter 3: “Project Hope”: The Ciji Compassion-Relief Foundation’s Post-'9.21 Earthquake’ School Reconstruction Plan in Taiwan p.49-61 Chapter 4: The Women of Ciji: Nuns, Laypeople, and the Bodhisattva Guanyin p.63-78 Chapter 5: Jueshu renhua—“Cultivating Buddhist Leaders, Awakening Humanity’s Essence through Education”: The Nuns of Luminary Buddhist Institute p.79-92 Chapter 6: “Buddhism for the Human Realm” and Women p.93-110 Conclusion: Buddhism, Women, and Civil Society in Taiwan p.111-118
Notes p.119-157 Glossary of Selected Chinese Characters p.159-162 Bibliography p.163-179 Index p.181-188
