The headquarters of the group near Puli in Central Taiwan is certainly the most impressive and expensive Buddhist temple site on Taiwan. Its Sangha however seems to play a less active part in society than those of the other three “Big Mountains”. Nevertheless, in 1996 Zhongtai Shan had 40 branch centres and temples and the aim is to create altogether 108 branch centres on Taiwan.

2.2.3 Ciji (Tz’u chi) Foundation

Ven. Zhengyan (*1937), one of the few ordination disciples of Ven. Yinshun, founded her organisation in 1966. Among the community leaders Zhengyan – as woman and Taiwanese – is the exception. The leaders of the other three mountains, Xingyun, Weijue, and Shengyan, were born on the mainland.

The Ciji foundation can be described as a Buddhist philanthropic society that is deeply involved in charitable works especially in the medical field. As such, it has been the object of several studies.[29] In the last 20 years the Ciji Foundation has became the largest religious organisation in Taiwan.[30] It differs from the other three “Big Mountains” in that it is not a Sangha- but a lay-organisation led by a monastic. There are a small number of nuns involved, but most of the responsibility lies with the lay-followers. These are often highly motivated professionals who are convinced of their contribution to society. Over the years, a hospital, a medical college and a nursing school were built near the Ciji headquarters in Hualian (East Taiwan), an area that previously lacked sufficient medical facilities. The fund-raising success that made these projects possible is indeed amazing. In one incident, <pb n="134"/>Ven. Zhengyan once refused the massive sum of 200 million US $ from a Japanese donor, because she wanted the Taiwanese to contribute the money themselves. Like Foguang Shan the foundation has a large number of international offices that are, however, not mainly involved in religious activities, but in relief efforts and development aid.[31] The foundation also has its own TV station called “Great Love” (daai).

 

2.2.4 Dharma Drum Mountain

The founder and leader of Dharma Drum Mountain is Ven. Shengyan (*1930). Like Ven. Zhengyan he is widely known and respected. Shengyan came to Taiwan as a member of Chiang Kai-shek’s army in which he served as communication officer. After he returned to monastic life in 1959, he practised under Ven. Dongchu (1908-1977). Between 1962 and 1966 he spent some time in solitary retreat. In 1969 Shengyan went to Japan to study Buddhism at Risshō University. When he got his PhD in 1975 for his Buddhist studies of late Ming dynasty, he was the first Chinese Buddhist monk to achieve this, a fact that clearly helped his career. Always an avid writer, he has published more than 90 books, fifteen of which were translated into English.

Dharma Drum Mountain was founded relatively late in 1989. In 1997 it had 65 nuns and 12 monks.[32] The emphasis of Dharma Drum Mountain is the practice of Chinese Chan meditation and the promotion of the academic study of all forms of Buddhism. Chan retreats of varying length are offered to the general public, to provide lay-people with an opportunity to meditate.

Dharma Drum Mountain’s biggest contribution is perhaps in the field of Buddhist education. Centrepiece of this effort is the Chunghwa Institute of Buddhist Studies that was founded in 1985, and is now a well-established institute in Taiwan. It is strongly involved in international academic exchange, inviting foreign scholars to teach and study. It has organised several national and international conferences on Buddhism and during the last 15 years more than 400 graduate students received their training in advanced Buddhist studies at the Institute. The faculty consists of a number of renowned Buddhist scholars, although most of them teach only on a part-time basis.

<pb n="135"/>The organisation is in the progress of moving its headquarters as well as the Institute of Buddhist Studies from Taipei to a larger site on Jinshan Mountain, 40 minutes north of Taipei, where it plans to open a university college of humanities.[33] First attempts have been made to extend the reach of Dharma Drum Mountain internationally, but so far there are only few centres outside Taiwan.

 

The organisational structure of the “Four Big Mountains” a hybrid from between the large traditional temple estate and the modern company raises many questions. Viewed as another example of Buddhism trying to adjust to a new environment, it is probably too early to say how they will continue their development as the standard bearers Xingyun, Weijue, Zhengyan and Shengyan are still alive, a certain stability seems guaranteed, but given their central importance for the decision- making process, it is a mere guesswork how the situation will change when these four individuals (now in their sixties and seventies) are gone.