Confucian Family Ethics Intersecting with Pure Land Soteriology: The Discursive Structures of the Lay Education of ‘The Corporation Republic of Hwa Dzan’=淨土解脫觀會通儒家家庭倫理—— 中華華藏淨宗學會居士教育之論述結構
中華華藏淨宗學會=The Corporation Republic of Hwa Dzan; 淨空法師=Jingkong; 淨土法門=Pure Land Buddhism; 當代臺灣佛教=Contemporary Taiwanese Buddhism; 居士佛教=Lay Buddhism; 論述分析=Discourse Analysis
摘要
The present thesis seeks to shed light on a religious group that has not yet been the focus of comprehensive research and was overshadowed by the founding figures of “Buddhist Empires” such as Buddha Light Mountain, Dharma Drum Mountain and Tzu Chi, but plays a vital role in the religious ecology of Taiwan beneath the afore mentions salient Buddhist groups – ‘The Corporation Republic of Hwa Dzan’ (zhonghua huazang jingzong xuehui 中華華藏淨宗學會). Founded by Ven. Jingkong (1927 - ) in 1989 and run by Ven. Wudao (1951 - ), this Pure Land Group displays distinct characteristics in terms of its advocated path towards rebirth into Amitābha’s Pure Land. The mindful recollection or mere invocation of Amitābha’s name is not enough to realise rebirth, rather, monastics and laypeople have to focus on a this-worldly cultivation based on Confucian and Daoist scriptures. Jingkong and Hwa Dzan emphasise that the improvement of one’s fate – and therefore the chance to be reborn into the Pure Land – is not the result of humble worship or the potential effectiveness of rituals or even the renunciation of all worldly distractions, that is ‘going forth’ (chujia 出家), it is rather based on moral conduct in daily life, through acts of filial piety, loyalty, honesty, and humility – which are de facto Confucian values. These ‘Buddhicised’ Confucian values are propagated through various channels (online media, press, dharma talks etc.) and address specifically the sphere of family ethics. Thus, it can be concluded that its target audience are laypeople who are trained and educated to further spread these values. Fieldwork has shown, that the majority of these lay people are middle age and older women who serve as the main conduit through which Jingkong and Hwa Dzan can exert influence on family ethics. Furthermore, on one hand, Hwa Dzan’s propagation of (their) dharma reflects a strong centripetal inclination towards the centre of authority (Jingkong) and by this creates an exclusive discursive community and certain narratives manifesting a word of mouth communication. On the other hand, Hwa Dzan’s incorporation of certain non-Buddhist scriptures reflects a relative openness towards other traditions which are interpreted from a Buddhist perspective and ultimately ‘buddhicised’ if they support specific aspects of their interpretation of the dharma, if not they are rejected. Thus, this thesis aims at analysing the creation of this exclusive discursive community in light of Hwa Dzan’s lay education. Previous works of German, English and Chinese academia have not yet comprehensively addressed this phenomenon because it mainly focused on prominent Buddhist groups and figures. Even Ven. Jingkong himself – the founder of the yet to be investigated group – was only covered in paragraphs and few articles, even though there is a large number of people inspired by his teachings. Thus, it is the aim of this study to fill the blank spot on the religious tableau of Taiwan through extensive fieldwork (interviews, participant observation, participation etc.), literary research to explain the centripetal tendency on the membership level and the centrifugal inclination towards Confucian and Daoist thought through which an exclusive discourse community is created. This discourse will be analysed by applying Michel Foucault’s theoretical concepts of ‘discourse’ to explain internal power and communication structures.
List of Figures VII Conventions VIII 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Research Motivation and Background 1 1.2 Research Questions and Methodology 2 1.3 Literature Review 6 1.4 Chapter Outline 9 2 Regulation or Renunciation of the Family: Confucianism and Buddhism on Family Ethics 11 2.1 Regulating the Family 11 2.2 Renouncing the Family 16 2.3 Jingkong: Regulating the Family by Renouncing the Mind 24 3. Jingkong: A Chinese Monk in Contest with Modernity 30 3.1. Jingkong’s Life Trajectory 30 3.2. Jingkong’s Intellectual Lineage 54 4. Hwa Dzan: History, Development and Context of a Pure Land Learning Association 70 4.1. From Lotus Society to Pure Land Learning Association 70 4.2. Organisation and Ideals 75 4.3. In Search of a Pure Land: General Context of Contemporary Taiwanese Pure Land Practice 84 5. Deeply Penetrate one Gate, Constantly Cultivate: Hwa Dzan’s and Jingkong’s Propagation of the Dharma 104 5.1. The Five Great Subjects – A Path towards Salvation 104 5.2. Historical Context Hwa Dzan’s Lay Education 116 5.3. Structure and Normative Design of Hwa Dzan’s Weekly Dharma Talks 128 5.4. Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism – A Syncretic Dharma? 141 6. Construction of an Exclusive Discourse Community – A Discourse Analysis 150 6.1. Moving Along Discursive Structures: the Individual and Discourse 150 6.2. Discussion and Discourse Analysis 159 7. Conclusion 168 8. Bibliography 184
