Taiwanese Buddhism

Long Term Research

I have been doing research on Buddhism in Taiwan since the late 1990s. I spent several years in Taiwan in my study years, as both my MA and PhD dissertations were about living communities on the island, and returned regularly after my doctoral degree. I have so built extensive networks among local academics and religious groups.

Researching Buddhist women in the history of Taiwan

My MA research (2000) explored Buddhist women in Taiwan, from 1895 up to late 20th century. I have explored the history of nuns, while also analysing other Buddhist female communities, from lay patrons to ‘vegetarian women’ (齋姑). Most of my MA dissertation have focused on ‘Humanistic Buddhism’ (renjian fojiao 人間佛教), and Buddhist women operating under that label. Foguangshan nuns, as well as Tzu Chi Foundation and the founder Cheng Yen 證嚴 became my main case studies. 

Recently, I have been invited to present my research on Buddhist women at prestigious talks, like the 2023 Chuan Lyu Lectures in Taiwan Studies (Cambridge, May 2023).

The monk Yinshun 印顺 (1906-2005): Thought, Works, Context

My PhD (2010) addressed the monk Yinshun 印順 (1906-2005) and his interpretation of the Madhyamika school, especially the texts Zhonglun 中論, Da zhidu lun 大智度論, and Shizhu piposha lun 十住毗婆沙論. 

Sample publication include “What is behind Yinshun’s Re-statement of Mūlamadhyamakakārikā? Debates on the Creation of a New Mahāyāna in twentieth-century China” (Buddhist Studies Review 29 (2012), no.2: 251-272); “Yinshun’s Re-Assessment of Shizhu piposha lun 十住毗婆沙論: A Madhyamaka-based Pure Land Practice in Twentieth-century Taiwan” (Contemporary Buddhism 14, no.2 (2013): 320-343); “Reception History and Limits of Interpretation: The Belgian Étienne Lamotte, Japanese Buddhologists, the Chinese monk Yinshun 印順 and the Formation of a Global ‘Da zhidu lun 大智度論 Scholarship’” (Hualin International Journal of Buddhist Studies 1, no.1 (2018): 248-277).

My research on Yinshun also extended on his interpretation of Pure Land and the Agamas, besides the analysis of his community and his role in the development of Chinese and Taiwanese Buddhism.

Humanistic Buddhism and Buddhist Humanitarianism

Humanistic Buddhism has been in my research agenda for more than twenty years. As for Taiwan, I have conducted more in-depth research at Foguangshan 佛光山 and Tzu Chi Foundation 慈濟功德會. I have participated in several symposia on Humanistic Buddhism held at Foguangshan from 2016 to 2023, and my latest article on Humanistic Buddhism has been published in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Buddhism (November 2022).

I have been invited to join a research project on Master Cheng Yen’s Philosophy and Leadership, to which I contributed my long-term study of Cheng Yen’s talks (kaishi 開示) and her view on ‘religion’. I have presented preliminary parts of the paper in Chinese at Tzu Chi in Hualian (June 2023) and later in English at a major conference held in Harvard (September 2023).

About Tzu Chi, I have been researching the global humanitarian activities, focusing especially on members and volunteers who are neither Chinese/Asian nor Buddhist.