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Buddhist ethics and the ethics of traditional Chinese society. These focus on the relations between mother and son (similar to Alan Cole’s study) or between parents and children (the issue of filial piety). Therefore, these theses became great
resources in dealing with issues on the conflicts between social norms or ethics and the choice of entering the monastery.
Biographies
Lastly, biographies of monks and nuns provide some background information of why they chose to become monks or nuns as their life career. They sometimes, mostly not in details, talked about their families, or mentioned their relationships with their families after becoming monks and nuns.
1.4 Research Methodologies Deep Interview
My research focuses on one monastic institution which I called it C.F.S. This code name is the abbreviation of the name of the institutions. I intend to call it a monastic institution but not a monastery because C.F.S. has several branch temples in both Taiwan and overseas, and different non-profit foundations. Its main temple is located in Tainan County of Taiwan. I had conducted deep interviews with ten informants between the winter of 2009 and the summer of 2010 in Tainan, Kaohsiung and Taipei.
The names of all my interview informants are anonymous, and these informants are either tonsured at C.F.S., or being visiting monastic members of C.F.S. However, a few of them left C.F.S. after my interviews with them.16 Out of the ten cases, five of them were with monks and five of them were with nuns. They age between the early
16 My interviews with informants had been conducted while they were still monastic members of C.F.S., I did not ask them their reasons of leaving the monastery later. The information about their leaving was heard from other nuns that I know from C.F.S.
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thirties and late sixties. In addition, these monks and nuns are ordained bhikshu and bhikshuni, so none of them are novice member. In all fifteen cases, including five extra cases, their years of monastic lives vary from five to more than thirty years. I classified these informants into two categories: had marriage or had no marriage before entering the monastery. Most of my monk informants had married with children before becoming monks. I had no intention to conduct all interviews with monks who have marriages before, but most of the monks in C.F.S. have married with children before becoming monks. Surprisingly, they were cooperative with my questions, and were willing to share their life stories with me. On the contrary, none of my nun informant had marriage before entering the monastery because most of nuns who had married before entering the monastery were unwilling to talk about their past.
In addition to those ten cases, I included five extra cases which I did not conduct formal interview with them, but I had their information from other informants or from my own previous conversations with them. Four out of these five additional cases are about nuns, and one of them is about a monk. Two members of the five cases had married with children before entering the monastery. They are all currently residing in different temples of C.F.S.
Participant Observation
Participant observation is another research methodology that I have used in my thesis. I became a monastic member of C.F.S. since 2004, and before I was tonsured, I had stayed at C.F.S.’ main temple for about eight months as a prospect member. As a monastic member of C.F.S., I was able to spend more time with my informants even before writing this thesis. During my stay at C.F.S., I had several unintentional conversations with other monastic members, and my conversations with them later
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became my informal interview information of my thesis. Also because that reason, I was able to involve in the natural environment that I had chosen to be my research subject for a long period of time.
Archival Analysis
As mentioned above, there are four kinds of textual materials that I have used as my references. They are anthropological studies on Buddhism, historical studies on Buddhism, texts of Buddhism and other related archival materials such as
biographies, master and PhD theses and religious publications.
1.5 Chapter Layout
In the opening chapter, I give a brief introduction to my research, purposes and reasons for doing this research topic and my research methodologies. I have total of fifteen interview cases included in my research, both monks and nuns, and there is the brief background information about these informants in this section.
In chapter two, I will talk about the religious institution where I have done my research at. There are detailed facts about C.F.S. The chapter has been divided into nine parts. First, there is a brief introduction about the background of the founder of C.F.S., his daily works and personal Buddhist practices. Second, I move on to the dharma lineage of C.F.S., and the readers must tell the different lineages between monks and nuns in C.F.S. Third, I want to talk about the abbots or abbesses of C.F.S.’
main and branch temples. How much power they have in making decisions for the whole religious institution, what are their qualifications and how they are selected to serve this position? The authority of abbot or abbess of the main temple is never greater than the authority of the founder. Indeed, the charismatic soul leader of C.F.S.
is still the founder. Fourth, the discussion will be on people of C.F.S.; I will show the
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power structure or management structure at both monastic and organizational levels.
In this section, whether years of ordination have any effect on power ranks or not will be answered. Next, it is about background information of C.F.S. monastic members, their motivations to join the Order and the qualification required to join the Order. Sixth, this is a part in describing daily life at the monastery, and the
following section is about what kind of cares and welfares that are provided by C.F.S.’
monasteries to their monastic members. Eighth, the section deals with the codes of conduct in C.F.S. beside Buddhist vinaya, each monastery will have its own
regulations that all members should follow. Lastly, there is a list of types of income of C.F.S. The list tells us how C.F.S. is supported financially.
In chapter three, I will look at different perspectives on relationship between Buddhist monks and nuns with their relatives. First, what are the social perspectives on the choice of joining monastic life in Taiwan? Next, I want to talk about some possible effects that might alter or affect the relationship between monks and nuns with their families. There are three main possible effects that are discussed: social and personal attitude toward Buddhist renunciation, motivation of renunciation and the importance of blood relation. Third, Fan Tsung did a great research on Buddhist nuns in the early seventies in a Hakka village of Taiwan, she provided good
information to this research, and some of her listed facts can still be applied to today’s situations. Therefore, this section is about her results on nuns’ kin relations.
Fourth, Buddhist renunciation requires one to leave the family system, however, Buddhist monastic system reestablishes another pseudo-family system within its own religious institution. Fifth, I deal with the reasons why monks and nuns might need helps from their lay families. Next, there are many social changes that might affect kin relation not only to the majority but also monks and nuns. Seventh, this section is about filial piety from both Confucius and Buddhist perspectives, and their conflicts
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between two philosophies. The following section discusses whether gender, birth order and marital status of a prospective monk or nun have any effect on their families’ acceptant level for their life choices. Last, I want to find out whether there is any monastic rule or prohibition according to Buddhist disciplines on kin relations of monks and nuns or not.
In chapter four, it includes my fieldwork results. There are total of fifteen real cases; six of them are monks and nine of them are nuns. All informants have been categorized into two groups according to their marital status before entering the monastery. Ten out of fifteen cases had deep interviews with me, and the
information of the other five cases was collected from my previous or unintended conversations with them or from other monastic informants. Then, I will move on to reasons for why these relatives are willing to give supports to their monastic relatives.
In the sixth section, there will be discussion on pseudo-kinship terms used by monks and nuns to address each other in the monastery. Following that, there are many monks and nuns who also provide supports to their lay relatives when they need, and there are a few cases among my informants who have ever given helps to their families after entering the monastery. Many monks and nuns ever took leave from the monastery in order to take care of another sick family member. Lastly, I will define three different types of monastery according to Welch’s definitions. Kin relations of monks and nuns can be very different if their residential monastery belongs to different types of monastery.
In chapter five, I want to discuss some changes in Taiwanese monastic system, and why that is important in affecting kin relations of monks and nuns. Furthermore, the role of education in changing the social status of these monks and nuns and the change of kin relations of monks and nuns today will also be included. Third part of this chapter looks into the monastery’s cares for its monastic members, and what
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determines a monastery will have a good monastic system. Lastly, there is a part about what are some related topics that worth conducting further researches because my research is unable to give answers to all these potential questions.
Chapter six is the summary and conclusion of this thesis.
1.6 Transliteration
All the Chinese terms in my thesis have been transliterated according to official Chinese Pinyin system, except for terms that have already been done in another form by previous scholars or authors. Chinese characters followed by transliterated
Chinese terms are in traditional Chinese.
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Chapter Two: About C.F.S.
How close a monk or a nun remains with their families after entering the monastery sometimes depends on the rules, the view of the founder or the person who is in power of decision making of the monastery on this specific relationship. It is important to know about the background information of the monastery before engaging interviews with its members. Monasteries in Taiwan have high individuality.
Unlike monasteries in Theravada tradition, it seems that the rules of the monasteries in Taiwan are more or less likely to be set by the founder whereas the rules in
monasteries of Theravada tradition are mostly based on their precepts. One of the reasons for that possibility might be the nature of the monastery itself. What I mean the nature is in Welch’s categorization on different types of monasteries.17 Most of the monasteries in Theravada tradition are more like large public monasteries in China. Even if some of them are not large public monasteries, they accept members from other monastic community to reside at their monasteries. Therefore, they can also be called hereditary public monasteries. In these two types of monasteries, if the power is not on the hand of one person, or a group of people who are close to each others for some reasons, then individual rules of the monasteries and decisions will be made by the majority. In this way, their monastery’s code of conduct is less likely to be changed easily, and no one can get special treatment. For this specific topic, one can see different level of acceptance on one single issue among
monasteries in Taiwan. For instance, keeping close relationship with one’s family is permitted by one monastery but not necessarily by the other. On the other hand,
17 There are three types of monastery mentioned by Welch in The Practice of Chinese Buddhism 1900-1950. They are hereditary temples (zi-sun miao 子孫廟), large public monasteries (shi-fang cong-lin 十方叢林), hereditary public monasteries (zi-sun cong-lin 子孫叢林). I will talk about these three types of monastery in chapter four.
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monasteries of Theravada tradition have higher consistency, and their main goal is not violating any precept. Moreover, monks are allowed to learn and stay from one monastery to another as long as the monk has a good reputation. On the contrary, it is difficult for monks and nuns to get permission to stay at monasteries which they are not tonsured at. Since the monastic system varies from monastery to monastery in Taiwan, the background of the founder or the person who are in charge should also be taken into consideration when conducting this particular research.
2.1 The Founder Background:
In the present age, the old Chan master is said to be the great practitioner, who has achieved highly in both Chan and Tantrism.18 He is among the fortieth posterity of the Lin-ji Chan sect, a disciple in the direct line from the venerable Xu-yin in Mt.
Fu-chiu, who is the ninth generation of the old Chan master Pen-zhou’s Dharma lineage. Besides, the old Chan master also takes the Dharma lineage of Gue-yang sect.
The old Chan master was born in 1915. He joined the monastery and started his schooling as a novice when he was seven years old. He graduated from the Department of Literature of Hu-nan University when he was twenty-one, and in the same year he received full ordination at Gui-yuan Monastery in Han-yang.19 After that, he spent three years in wandering around, visiting exhaustively the skillful masters in the mountains. During that period, he practiced Tantrism under the great Tantric master, and studied Buddhist logic and Sanskrit in Jiang-yang Monastery in Tibet. At the age of twenty-four, he became the abbot of Lei-yin Monastery in Mt.
18 The old Chan master is the founder of C.F.S. He is known to people as the old Chan master.
19 According to the old Chan master himself, Hu-nan University was previously called Yue-lu shu-yuan (嶽麓書院).
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Fu-chiu; at twenty-eight, he took up the post of abbot of Fan-yin Monastery in Mt.
Tian-yue. While wandering in northern Thailand in 1941, the master met an Indian ascetic and a Tantric practitioner by chance, and he passed on the ancient Brahmin Tantrism to the master.
The old Chan master came to Taiwan in 1948 as the consequence of an unexpected recruitment into the army. After having served the army for about ten years, he resumed his monkhood and lived a life of austerity. He had made the round-the-island wandering twice. In 1964, the master instructed at a monastery in Tainan County. In 1971, he resided at Gu-yan Chan Monastery where he served as the abbot and started his career of monastic education. In 1973, he became the second abbot of C.F.S.’main temple.20 In the next year he established, abiding by his master’s order, C.F.S. lineage to widely spread out the Dharma lineage.
From 1991 onwards, at the request of the devotees, the old Chan master has been establishing centers and monasteries in every urban area. Nowadays there are twenty-seven temples affiliated with the Association of C.F.S. throughout the country.
On the other hand, to comply with the needs of the times, the old Chan master devotes himself to the activities of social welfare, carrying out the Bodhisattva’s vow and practice of loving kindness, compassion, rejoicing and equanimity. Combining the force of seven Buddhist assemblages, the master has founded C.H. Buddhists Association, the Foundation of C.F.S. Charity, the Foundation of C.F.S. Culture and Education, and C.H. Broadcaster.
Starting from 1999, the old Chan master has been giving religious talks on television. In order for the Buddha’s teachings to spread all over the world, he makes
20 C.F.S. is an anonymous name for the monastery that I have done my research with. The complete name for this Buddhist institution should be C.F.S. United Merit Foundation because it has many temples and non-benefit foundations. To be short, I will call it C.F.S.
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great efforts in integrating various mass media such as magazine, broadcasting, internet, audiovisual dissemination and so on. In particular, the master aspires to spread the doctrines of Wisdom in his whole life. He has been writing for the younger generation to explore the meanings of the Buddha’s teachings, and so far more than eighty works have been published.
Daily Works
The old Chan master of C.F.S. spends most of his time in the main temple and the branch temple in Kaohsiung. Due to his old age, he rarely gives lecture to both sangha and lay disciples in recent years. Although he had already passed on his authority and position as an abbot, he still has the authority of making major decisions of the monastery. Usually, he will go to his office at the C.H. Broadcaster every morning until lunch time. Now, he takes only lunch meal every day, but he would intake some liquid food if needed. After his office hours, he spends most of his private time in writing. Any lay disciple who wants to talk to the founder has to make appointment first with his secretary, and this is even true for his own sangha disciples.
People from the managing departments of the monastery will report to him during his morning office hours. Secondary matters of the monasteries will be handled by the managing department of the monastery. He did not personally tonsure his direct sangha disciples for many years, and other respected elder monks or nuns will perform novice ordination ceremonies for him. In addition, new member of the monastery can choose the second character of their dharma names. The first character indicates the dharma lineage, and people from the same monastery will have the same first character. The founder’s later sangha disciples do not have a close relationship with him like those who have been ordained for many years because he no longer educates them one by one. It is hard for him to recognize every
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new sangha disciple. His sangha disciples who reside in other branch temples do not have a chance to see him that often, too.
Personal Practices
The old Chan master practices both Chan and Tantrism. According to him, Chan practice is still his major focus on the path to Buddhahood, so tantric practice is
The old Chan master practices both Chan and Tantrism. According to him, Chan practice is still his major focus on the path to Buddhahood, so tantric practice is