Justice is a crucial concept in moral and political philosophy and cannot be ignored when one reflects on the evolution of Buddhism in postwar Taiwan. Historically speaking, the concept of justice was closely related to social systems and values in a specifically given time frame. It was also sometimes in conflict with legal, ethical and religious implications. Issues surrounding Buddhist justice in postwar Taiwan stemmed from two aspects. The first is a surge of challenges from outside the Buddhist realm, leading to moves aimed at preserving Buddhist stance or responding to a variety of social unreasonableness, such as environmental protection, animal rights, and anti-gambling movement. The second aspect concerned dissatisfaction from within the Buddhist circle itself, involving such issues as relationship between Buddhist clergy and lay people, equal rights for men and women, violation of temple constructions, and over-development of Buddhist sangha. This article seeks to examine the issue of Buddhist justice in postwar Taiwan not from moral reasoning or philosophical arguments, but from a reflection and review of past history and previous studies on related issues.
