殖民時期獅巖洞元光寺修行者群像 -- 兼論曹洞宗在獅頭山的活動=Portraits of Practitioners at the Yuan Guang Temple of Lion Rock Hole during Japanese Colonial Period : with Discussions on the Activities of Cao Dong School at Mt. Shitou (Lion's Head Mount)
The paper deals with the founding members of the Lion Rock Hole’s “Good Tao Hall” (Yuan Kuang Temple) from Japanese occupation to the post war period. The founder is Qiu Pu-jie, often called Qiu the great Nirvana, who came from Yi Shi Hall of Fu Qian’s Long Hua Sect at Fu Jian Province. He introduced to Mt. Shitou characteristics of the Jhai Jiao 齋教 (also called Vegetarian Religion, or Lay Buddhism) prevailing in the late Qing Dynasty. His successor Yie Pu-lin governed the followers with a ninerank system basing on Long Hua Sect classification. Most of the practitioners there have been couples, brothers, or relatives even since the time of Yie. The “group discipline” structure at Good Tao Hall was quite different from that of other diet halls open to worship. It also offered a “pension service system” for those who had paid certain amount of money to stay for life, regardless of their gender or age. However, in exchange, these people should devote part of their time to productive labor in agriculture. The second abbot, Yie Pu-lin tended to convert the organization's practices from vegetarianism into Buddhism. The conversion was achieved after the war, under the leadership of Zuo Jiou Jian from Japanese Cao Dong school, along with its close interactions with other temples such as Yue Mie Mount and Fa Yun Temple. Yuan Guang Temple used to be a part of Long Hua Sect. Its conversion from vegetarianism to Buddhism can be traced in historical documents. With an attempt to give an overview of the sectarian practices during the Japanese Colonial period, this paper tries to describe such a development basing on two major documents newly unearthed, The Residential Records from the Yuan Guang Temple in the Japanese Colonial Period, and the Records from the Worshippers at Fu Hai Lin Tower.
