會議地點：越南胡志明市；時間：2009.12.18 - 2010.01.03；大會主題：傑出的女性修行者與典範=Eminent Buddhist Women
摘要
This paper examines Bhiksuni Daehaeng (b. 1927), who in 1972 established the One Mind Zen Center, one of the most successful urban mega-centers in South Korea. The center is located in Anyang, near Seoul, and has 15 domestic and nine overseas branches, with 22,000 families as lay followers. The center’s success can be attributed to the charismatic leadership of Daehaeng.
Daehaeng’s charisma is seen in her legendary ascetic practices in the forest and her supernatural abilities, i.e., to communicate with the dead and to call upon the protection of Buddhist deities. She has dedicated her life to teaching laypeople and has begun attracting a huge following of males and younger individuals, which stands in contrast to the majority of laypeople, who are mostly female and older. Her emphasis on daily practice and a belief in one’s own nature as Buddha-like, in addition to her charismatic power, had caused the center to be a huge success in terms of conversions in urban settings.
It is unusual for a bhiksuni to establish herself as a spiritual leader in Korea, where Confucian ideology still holds power over gender relationships, let alone to have a huge following of intellectual males. Even more impressive, she is the first bhiksuni in modern Korea to have bhiksu disciples. The status of a bhiksuni is relatively equal to that of a bhiksu in Korea; nuns can receive full ordination from their teachers and have their own doctrinal schools and meditation halls, independent of those of monks. Korean nuns still suffer inequalities in relation to monks, however, and have to observe the Eight Chief Rules, which have long subjugated nuns to monks. Under these circumstances, having male disciples, as in the case of Daehaeng, is an unprecedented and phenomenal occurrence. This attests to Daehaeng’s status in Korean Buddhism.
Daehaeng has produced many publications, many of which have been translated into English as well as other languages, based on the efforts of her lay followers at the One Mind Center. This paper will present an analysis of the reasons for her success by focusing on her teachings and the operation of the One Mind Center.
