Humanistic Buddhism; karma, narrative; Taiwan; lay Buddhism; working class
摘要
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 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 Zhong Mengzheng. 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 most importantly, are retold by Zhong, whose preaching relies heavily on karmic narratives. Based on ongoing fieldwork begun in the fall of 2016, I argue that these practices serve to testify to the power of the Dharma, offer social validation to the tellers, and constitute an important source of the founder’s charisma as a preacher.
