Buddhist China at the Century’s Turn.pdfVIP

Buddhist China at the Century’s Turn Raoul Birnbaum ABSTRACT Based on ?eldwork and studies of historical and contemporary materials, this article investigates several issues key to Buddhist life in the present-day PRC, focusing on Han Buddhists, especially the monastic tradition. It argues that many current practices take their shape from the innovations that transformed Chinese Buddhist life in the late Qing and Republican periods. While profound political, economic and social changes have occurred in the past few decades, some of the most pressing issues are extensions of questions raised at that time. The most signi?cant question of the earlier period – what is the Buddhist monastic vocation, and what training and leadership are required to safeguard that ideal? – remains central to present-day activities and conceptions. To consider how to answer this question, or indeed how it is posed within present circumstances, three interconnected matters are investigated: current training methods, the economics of monasteries and the issue of leadership. In this context, Han–Tibetan interchange in the Buddhist ?eld and the in?uence of overseas Chinese Buddhists on the mainland are also considered. This article is not a “report” so much as an inquiry. Based on ?eld experience and historical studies, I would like to raise some key issues regarding the state of Buddhist life in the People’s Republic of China at the beginning of the 21st century. A simple question strikes as the basis for this discussion: what is it, or who is it, that could constitute the subject of this article? An initial de?nition of the ?eld of inquiry appears reasonably straightforward: a corporate body of individuals conventionally self-identi?ed as Buddhist the religious pro