The stance these organisations will take vis-à-vis a changing secular society on issues of gender, politics, economy, education and last not least Buddhist doctrine, will strongly influence the future of Chinese Buddhism.

 

2.3. Other forms of Buddhism in Taiwan

 

During the last decade Buddhists on Taiwan have opened their doors to other forms of Buddhist practice, in particular Tibetan Buddhism. In Taiwanese society today great religious tolerance is paired with curiosity and readiness to experiment with spiritual practices. No wonder Tibetan Buddhism that was forced to ‘adopt a global attitude’ in the fifties was given a friendly welcome. It did not come as a complete stranger. Esoteric Buddhism had once been part of Chinese Buddhism and the Tibeto-Mongolian Lamaism that was promoted under the Qing dynasty was similar enough to Tibetan Buddhism to allow a certain familiarity. The success of Tibetan Buddhism in Taiwan has already attracted the attention of researchers.[34]

 

To date there are more than 30 Tibetan Centres in Taipei alone. Some of these have resident teachers, while some groups only convene when <pb n="135"/>their teacher visits. These teachers are coming to Taiwan on a regular basis to give teachings. The Dalai Lama himself visited twice, the last time in 2001. According to knowledgeable sources, Taiwan has become an important source of revenue for many Tibetan monasteries in India, Nepal and Bhutan. The contributions must run to several million US every year, though it is impossible to calculate them exactely. The reaction of the Chinese Buddhist Sangha is generally begin, considering that the situation is indeed one of competition for devotees and resources between two clearly distinguishable forms of Buddhism. There is the occasional negative comment or attack in the field of doctrine, but, as far as one can assess from the outside, there are in general no objections to the fact that the Tibetan Buddhists are increasingly active in Taiwan. However, the so-called inter-religious or inter-confessional dialogue, much touted in the Christian world (and in fact invented there) is almost absent. The Chinese Buddhist associations hardly communicate with each other, much less so with other denominations. An exception is Ven. Shengyan, who held highly publicised and amiable talks with the Dalai Lama during his first visit. Also the Chunghwa Institute of Buddhist Studies runs an exchange program, under which several Tibetan lamas come to study at the institute every year. The Chunghwa Institute has also organised two cross-straits academic conferences on Buddhist education, which, given the political climate, is major success.

 

Theravada Buddhism, generally the ‘shiest’ among the three great traditions, is much less represented in Taiwan. There are a Thai and a Burmese temple in Taipei, but it seems mainly to cater to the overseas communities of these countries. In 1998, the Goenka school of Vipassana has established a centre near Taizhong in Central Taiwan. It is running strong and offers courses throughout the year.

 

Japanese Buddhism, in Taiwan somewhat discredited by its missionary activities during the occupation, does not seem to be even a minor player anymore. There are, however, strong academic contacts between the two countries in the field of Buddhist studies.

 3. Current Doctrinal and Academic Developments on Taiwan

 

3.1. The influence of Yinshun

 

Ven. Yinshun (1906*) is without doubt the scholar-monk that has exercised the greatest influence on the doctrinal development of Chinese Buddhism during the second half of the 20th century. Yinshun has reached an unprecedented large audience among Chinese Buddhist and has served as bridge between the academic community and the religious world of Buddhist devotees.

His academic or semi-academic writings continue the paradigm-shift towards a more academically acceptable view of Buddhism doctrine and history that his teacher Taixu (1889-1947) had started but left largely unfinished. Yinshun, together with Lü Cheng and Tang Yongtong, has laid the groundwork for the academic study of Buddhism in China. He inspired a large number of contemporary Chinese Scholars, most of who read Yinshun’s works early in their career. Yinshun can be considered the first member of the Sangha who seriously entered the academic discourse on Buddhism. His work was recognised internationally when the Taishō University (Kyoto) awarded him a PhD of honours in 1973. Between his Yindu zhi fojiao [Indian Buddhism] (1942) and the publication of his last major work in 1989, in which he returned to the same topic, Yinshun’s output was prolific. His works are widely read in Taiwan, China and among the overseas Chinese. Chinese Buddhists still consider them as an authoritative standard, albeit a slightly outdated one.

Yinshun has also written a large number of popular works that aim to explain Buddhism in more rationalistic terms than the religious discourse of traditional Buddhism usually does. Moreover his concept of “Buddhism of the Human Realm (renjian fojiao),” also taken from his teacher and further modified, has become one of the leading doctrines in the practice of Taiwanese Buddhism.