Localization; Humanistic Buddhism in Australia; Nan Tien Temple; Fo Guang Shan; Master Hsing Yun
摘要
When Humanistic Buddhism is being brought to a new country, inevitably, it will change and adapt to the needs of the local people. For Australia, it all began in 1989 when the first venerable was sent to Australia with a mission to build a temple at Wollongong. Master Hsing Yun has the vision that within twenty to thirty years, the overseas FGS branch temples will be in charge by the local people of that country. As NTT is approaching its twentieth next year, it seems there is a gap between reality and Master Hsing Yun’s vision. This thesis research hopes to achieve three purposes. One is to discuss the challenges for the ‘Western Australians’ that are currently volunteering and working at NTT. Two is to find out how will ‘Western Australians’ stay on to become ‘Long-term Devotees’. Three is to provide guidelines to localize Humanistic Buddhism for FGS branch temples in Australia with a focus on ‘Western Australians.’ In conclusion, I will make reference to Master Hsing Yun’s ‘Thirty-year plan’ of localization to evaluate NTT.
目次
ABSTRACT I DEDICATION II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS III CONTENTS IV ABBREVIATIONS VII CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. Brief Historical Background 1 1.1.1. About Fo Guang Shan 1 1.1.2. About Master Hsing Yun 2 1.1.3. About Nan Tien Temple 4 1.2. Definitions of Terms 5 1.3. Motivation 7 1.4. Purpose 8 1.5. Problem Statement 8 1.6. Literature Review 9 1.7. Research Scope and Limitations 17 CHAPTER 2: LOCALIZING HUMANISTIC BUDDHISM IN AUSTRALIA 18 2.1. Buddhism in Australia 18 2.1.1. History 18 2.1.2. Multiculturalism and Buddhism Today 20 2.2. Localization of Humanistic Buddhism 23 2.2.1. Definitions and Ideals of Humanistic Buddhism 24 2.2.2. Ideals and Methods of Localization 26 2.2.3. Localizing around the Globe 29 2.3. Localizing in Australia 31 2.3.1. Stepping into Australia 31 2.3.2. The Establishment of NTT and its Roles Today 35 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHOD 39 3.1. Structure 39 3.1.1. Details of Sample Groups 39 3.1.2. Survey Design 45 3.1.3. Interview Design 46 3.2. Data Collection 48 3.2.1. Conducting Surveys 48 3.2.2. Conducting Interviews 48 3.3. Data Processes 51 3.3.1. Procedures for Data Analysis and Interpretation 51 3.3.2. Coding 54 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS 56 4.1. Data Analysis and Interpretation 56 4.1.1. Survey Results for Volunteers 56 4.1.2. In-depth Semi-interview Results for Staff 59 4.1.3. In-depth Semi-interview Results for Venerables 64 4.2. Discussions 69 4.2.1. Challenges 70 4.2.2. What has worked for ‘Western Australians’? 73 4.2.3. Becoming ‘Long-term Devotees’ 75 4.2.4. Localizing issues 78 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS 80 5.1. Conclusion 80 5.2. Suggestions 86 5.2.1. Guidelines for localization 86 5.2.2. Future Research 90 BIBLIOGRAPHY 91 Primary Source 91 Books 91 Journal Articles 92 PhD Dissertation 94 Master Theses 94 Websites 94 APPENDIX A 95 Letter to Nan Tien Temple 95 APPENDIX B 96 My Promise Statement 96 APPENDIX C 97 Consent Form 97 APPENDIX D 98 Survey Form for Volunteer 98 APPENDIX E 100 Survey Form for Staff 100 APPENDIX F 101 Survey Form for Venerable 101 APPENDIX G 102 In-depth Interview Questions for Staff 102 APPENDIX H 103 In-depth Interview Questions for Venerable 103
