華人佛教圈=Chinese Buddhist community; 繼程= Ven. Chi Chern; 馬來西亞華人佛教=Malaysian Chinese Buddhism; 臺灣佛教國際化= the globalization of Taiwanese Buddhism; 法鼓山= Dharma Drum Mountain(Fagu shan)
In this paper, I take Ven. Chi Chern's (1955-) course of carrying forward the Buddha's teachings as a case study to study the international Chinese Buddhist community established by Malaysian and Taiwanese Buddhists. Chi Chern is a leader of the Malaysian Chinese Buddhist community, tonsured by Ven. Zhumo竺摩, and the dharma heir of Ven. Sheng Yen. He is active in Malaysia, Taiwan, America, and Europe, leading Chan meditation as well as promoting Buddhist art and literature. He was tonsured in Penang and, in Taiwan, received the precepts and studied. As a part of at least 25% of Malaysian students of Taiwanese Buddhist seminars and colleges, he is representative of a long period of cooperation between Malaysian and Taiwanese Buddhists. This testifies to the fact that the globalization of Taiwanese Buddhism is not a one-way expansion. It is a transnational alliance as opposed to the globalization or localization two opposing frameworks. This research helps to explain the formation of a contemporary international Chinese Buddhist community.
