This ethnographic study investigates the Maitreya Lay Buddhist Lodge 慈氏居 士林 , a small working class Taiwanese lay organization inspired by the Humanistic Buddhism of Yinshun. Though small, the group is impressive for its strong sense of community and the comparative youth of its membership. What accounts for its success? Several factors are at play, but my paper identifies the group’s karmic storytelling practices as one key element. This storytelling often takes the form of personal testimonials of lives transformed. The sources of woe may be profound or quotidian. The turning point of the story, however, is always the same: an encounter with the Dharma through the Lodge’s lay preacher Brother Zhong. Zhong helps them to identify the true source of their woe in karmic debts and shows them how to resolve these debts through repentance, merit-making, and appeal to the saving power of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Such testimonials appear on the Lodge’s website, are told frequently in conversation, and, importantly, are retold by Zhong, whose preaching relies heavily on karmic narratives. Based on ongoing fieldwork, Iargue that these practices serve to validate the teller, integrate the community, and augment the charisma of its preacher.
目次
Introduction 205 Background 207 Testimonials 212 Sister Juejia 213 Sister Secrets 214 Brother Juewei 214 Common Features 215 The Role of Testimonials in the Community 219 Functions of Narration 221 Non-exemplary Cases, Failures, and Intractable Problems 223 Conclusion 225
