Buddhism in Taiwan

• 1. Introduction

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  Buddhism in Taiwan is a story told best by one startling statistic. In 1983, the Interior Ministry counted 800,000 Buddhists on the island. By 1995, that number had reached 4.9 million, a rise of 600 percent. Over those same years, Taiwan's whole population grew by only about twelve percent. So who were these new believers, and what exactly were they joining? The answer involves large organizations that run colleges, hospitals and disaster relief. It involves a faith that had to survive Dutch law, Japanese colonial pressure and Nationalist control. It also involves a quiet argument about what counts as Buddhist at all. And it ends with a claim that surprises many listeners: some scholars now treat Taiwan as the center of Chinese Buddhism.

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• 2. Counting The Faithful

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  In 2005, the census recorded 8 million Buddhists and 7.6 million Taoists, out of a total population of 23 million. Government statistics keep the two religions apart and give them almost equal numbers. Real religious life is messier than that. Many people who call themselves Taoists follow the blended practices of Chinese traditional religion, which rests on Buddhism. Many self-declared Buddhists also belong to local faiths such as Yiguandao. That movement honors Buddhist figures like Guanyin and Maitreya, and it encourages vegetarianism. Most Taiwanese people mix Buddhist ideas with Confucian principles, Taoist traditions and local customs. Priests and monks from both Buddhist and Taoist traditions are called in for special occasions such as childbirth and funerals. A smaller group identifies specifically with Chinese Buddhist teachings and institutions, without giving up other Asian practices. Vegetarianism and the weight of a few very large organizations set Taiwanese Buddhism apart. As of 2021, around 19.8 percent of the population said they believed in Buddhism.

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• 3. Dutch Walls, Qing Temples

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  Between 1624 and 1663, the Dutch controlled Taiwan, and Dutch law there punished idol worship with public flogging and banishment. Buddhism arrived anyway, carried by settlers from the Chinese provinces of Fujian and Guangdong. In 1662, Koxinga drove the Dutch off the island. His son, Zheng Jing, then founded the first Buddhist temple in Taiwan. Even so, the faith was not widespread in this period, and monks mostly performed funeral and memorial services. The Qing dynasty took control in 1683, and the pace changed. Large numbers of monks crossed over from Fujian and Guangdong to build temples, especially temples devoted to Guanyin. Several Buddhist sects flourished. One thing was still missing. Monastic Buddhism, with monks living in organized communities, did not reach Taiwan until the 1800s.

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• 4. Under Japanese Rule

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  From 1895 to 1945, Taiwan was a Japanese colony, and Japanese Buddhism poured in. Schools including Kegon, Tendai, Shingon, Rinzai, Sōtō, Jōdo shū, Jōdo Shinshū and Nichiren all sent teachers to spread their teachings. Together, the groups fell into 14 sects under 8 schools. Meanwhile, most Taiwanese Buddhist temples came to affiliate with one of four central temples known as the Four Holy Mountains. Two stood in the north, at Yue-mei Mountain in Keelung and Guan-yin Mountain in New Taipei. Another was Fa-yun Temple in Miaoli, and the fourth was Chao-feng Temple in Kaohsiung. Many temples faced pressure to join Japanese lineages, including temples whose status as Buddhist or Taoist was unclear. Choosing Chinese folk religion became a way of protesting Japanese rule. The Japanese also tried to introduce a married priesthood, as in Japan. It never took root, because vegetarianism and clerical celibacy became protests of their own.

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• 5. Nationalist Control

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  In 1949, a group of mainland monks fled to Taiwan alongside Chiang Kai-shek's military forces. The new regime gave them preferential treatment. Buddhist institutions came under the Buddhist Association of the Republic of China, which was controlled by the government. It had been established in 1947 in Nanjing, and mainland monks dominated it. Its grip began to loosen in the 1960s, when independent Buddhist organizations were first permitted. It weakened further after martial law was lifted in 1987. Buddhists still felt vulnerable. In 1954, Venerable Nanting wrote, "All Buddhists, monastic and lay, should be fearful of the indifference and discrimination that Buddhism has suffered from the government, its oppression by a heretical and deviant religion, and the low regard in which it is held in the world." Christian publications in the 1950s and 1960s condemned Buddhism. A common tactic was to visit Buddhist sites, challenge worshippers and hand out Christian literature. Out of this hostile climate came the reform movement that would reshape the faith.

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• 6. Humanistic Buddhism

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  Venerable Taixu, a Chinese monk who lived from 1890 to 1947, wanted to end Buddhism's constant focus on ritual and ceremony. He urged the Buddhist community to make direct contributions to society. His ideas passed to Master Yin Shun, generally regarded as the figure who brought Humanistic Buddhism to Taiwan. This approach, also called Socially Engaged Buddhism, links Buddhist communities to the wider society through work such as environmental conservation. It is the main trait that separates modern Taiwanese Buddhism from what came before. Master Hsing Yun, directly inspired by Taixu, first won a following through radio broadcasts in the 1950s. He later published Buddhist audio on phonograph discs, and in 1967 he founded Fo Guang Shan. Master Cheng Yen, a direct student of Yin Shun, founded Tzu Chi, which became Taiwan's largest Buddhist organization and charity. Four founders became known as the Four Heavenly Kings of Taiwanese Buddhism, one for each direction. Master Sheng-yen stood for the north with Dharma Drum Mountain, and Master Wei Chueh for the west with Chung Tai Shan. Their institutions are called the Four Great Mountains.

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• 7. Schools, Museums And Lineages

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  During the 1980s, Buddhist leaders pressed Taiwan's Ministry of Education to relax policies that blocked a Buddhist university. The result in the 1990s was not one school but half a dozen, paid for by gifts from the miracle economy. They include Tzu Chi University, Hsuan-Chuang University, Huafan University, Fo Guang University, Nanhua University and Dharma Drum Buddhist College. Ministry rules forbid recognized colleges from requiring religious belief or practice, so they look much like any other. Degrees from Taiwan's several dozen seminaries are not recognized by the government. In 2001, Master Hsin Tao opened the Museum of World Religions in New Taipei. It covers ten world religions and features a model of the Avatamsaka Sutra called Avatamsaka World. Tibetan Buddhism also gained ground. Lamas from the Kagyu, Nyingma, Sakya and Gelug schools have visited, and the 14th Dalai Lama came in 1997-2001 and 2009. Koyasan Shingon temples work to restore an Esoteric lineage that had long been lost since the Tang dynasty. The True Buddha School, founded in the late 1980s by Lu Sheng-yen, is among the better known Vajrayana groups.

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• 8. Why It Surged

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  The registered temples in Taiwan numbered 1,157 in 1983 and 4,020 in 1995. The count of monks and nuns also rose steeply from 3,470 in 1983. Scholars point to several causes. Charismatic teachers drew crowds. Devout lay Buddhists fled religious persecution on the mainland. Several officials in Chiang Kai-shek's government were devoted Buddhists who backed the arriving leaders. Others cite a search for identity, rapid urbanization and a feeling of isolation in an increasingly impersonal society. Growth climbed most sharply in the late 1980s, as the government became more liberal. Prosperity mattered too. People with cars and appliances gained spare time, and some used it to look for meaning, while donations and volunteering rose. Christian churches took similar approaches, but they were seen as foreign. Buddhism had a long place in Chinese history and culture, which appealed to young people seeking ethnic identity. Its large organizations, such as Tzu Chi and Fo Guang Shan, could raise money and stage big public events. Many also used modern technology to reach the masses. Across the strait, religion faced severe restrictions between 1949 and 1978, and many monks and nuns were forced back into ordinary life. Buddhism could only resurface there from 1978. Taiwanese Buddhists would later help revive Buddhism on the mainland.

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