Chien-Yu Julia Huang and Robert P. Weller trace and explain the rise of the Buddhist Compassion Relief Foundation (Ciji Gongdehui) from a small group in 1966 to its emergence as the largest civic organization in Taiwan with a worldwide membership of four million people who are predominantly female. They provide a historical context for the organization by comparing it to earlier popularizing Buddhist movements in China and to various Christian charitable organizations that emerged in nineteenth-century Europe and North America to do "good works." In their estimation, the significance of the Ciji lies in its capacity to reinvigorate Taiwanese Buddhism and to establish "a new public sphere in Taiwan's transition from authoritarian rule."
目次
A Brief History of Ciji 381 Leadership 381 Organization 382 Recruitment and Appeal 385 Religious Choices for Women 387 Ciji, Chinese Philanthropy, and the State 390 Women and Charity: Comparative Cases 392 List of References 395
