Protecting the Country and Preventing Calamities: The Pure Land Practice of the Amitābha Buddhist Society in the Physical and Virtual Realm=護國息災：華藏淨宗學會在現實與虛擬空間中的淨土修行
Taiwanese Buddhism=台灣佛教; Pure Land Tradition=淨土法門; Amitabha Pure Land=淨宗學會; Society; Digital Religion=數位宗教; COVID-19
摘要
This case study explores the influence of a global health crisis on contemporary.Taiwanese Buddhism, concentrating on the Chinese Pure Land practice of ‘Buddharecitation’ (nianfo 念佛) advocated by the ‘Amitābha Buddhist Society’ (jingzong xuehui 淨宗學會). Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the founder Jingkong 淨空 (b. 1927)and his disciples Wudao 悟道 (b. 1951) and Wuxing 悟行 (b. 1962) encourage layfollowers to practice ‘Buddha-recitation’ and participate in dharma ceremonies to create‘merit’ (gongde 功德) as means to cure illnesses of body and mind, for it removes armic hindrances which are the reason for constant rebirth in saṃsāra leading to suffering in general and to physical illnesses of sentient beings specifically. Based on the teachings of the thirteenth Pure Land patriarch Yinguang 印光 (1861-1940), this practice can evoke miraculous healing experiences as exemplified by Yinguang and Jingkong themselves as well as by various stories of ‘sympathetic response’ (ganying 感應) of lay followers. It is an essential practice to achieve liberation from saṃsāra (in a transcendent understanding) and to cure illnesses in saṃsāra (in a mundane understanding). To render ‘Buddha-recitation’ efficacious, Jingkong emphasises the daily practice of nianfo and cultivation of traditional Chinese culture in general and the Confucian concept of filial piety in particular. In this way, liberation from saṃsāra and karmic hindrances – this includes all sorts of illnesses – is based on a ‘this-worldly’ (cishi 此世 or shijian 世間) Buddhist-Confucian practice. That means, alleviating the suffering caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic can be realised on an individual and communal level.As prevention and control measures of COVID-19 enforced by the Taiwanese government constitute challenges and opportunities for religious actors and religiouspractice, in this paper I will examine how ‘Hwadzan Pure Land Association’ (huazangjingzong xuehui 華藏淨宗學會) has responded to the pandemic by skilfully utilisingdigital technology to relocate ‘communal cultivation’ (gongxiu 共修) and rituals from the physical realm into the virtual realm. Before the national epidemic alert was raised to level 3 by the Center for Disease Control starting from May 15 (until July 27, 2021), thus suspending all religious gatherings and activities temporarily thereafter, Hwa Dzan continued to hold small scale activities, such as an ‘Amitābha Chanting Bell Course’ (dizhong kecheng 地鐘課程) and daily dharma lectures. Nevertheless, even before May 15, an emphasis was clearly put on the online dissemination of content regarding the current pandemic. Even more so after May 15, as exemplified by Wudao’s daily ‘Online Dharma Talks on Protecting the Country and Preventing Calamities’ (huguo xizai wangle jiangzuo 護國息災網路講座), his daily ‘Global Simultaneous Buddha-recitation [Practice] to Protect the World from Disasters’ (quanqiu tongxiu tongbu nianfo hushi xizai 全球同修同步念佛護世息災), and other dharma ceremonies such as the frequently held ‘Amitābha Triple Contemplation Service’ (sanshi xinian fahui 三時繫念法會), the ‘Qingming Ancestor Worship Service and Amitābha Communal Chanting Ceremony’ (qingming jizu foqi nianfo gongxiu fahui 清明祭祖佛七念佛共修法會), and collective practice titled ‘Morality Preaching Hall’ (daode jiangtang 道德講堂). Compared to on-site participation in these ceremonies, live streaming enables the practitioner to tune in simultaneously from every part of the world – be it at home, at work, or on public transport – and even after the event has concluded since all videos are uploaded to YouTube. While on-site participants recite and chant sutras, bow and prostrate in front of Buddha statues, and make offerings, they are temporally, spatially, and bodily integrated into each part of a ritual, off-site participants are detached from it in all three aspects. The communal practice viewed on the screen essentially becomes an individual practice in a secular environment far away from the sacralised space and time during the ritu
目次
1 Introduction 5 2 Religious Practice in a Digitalized World 8 (1) A General Context 8 (2) Buddhism and Digital Media 10 3 The Dharma goes Digital: Off-line and On-line Practice at Hwa Dzan Pure Land Association 18 (1) Dharma Lectures 20 (2) Dharma Ritual and Worship 26 4 Conclusion 31 5 Bibliography 34
