Dissertation by Nikolas Broy
Doctoral Dissertation, Mar 20, 2014
MA thesis by Nikolas Broy
Articles and Papers by Nikolas Broy
Twentieth-Century China, 2024
This article traces the evolution of vegetarianism among practitioners of the Chinese-Taiwanese r... more This article traces the evolution of vegetarianism among practitioners of the Chinese-Taiwanese religious movement Yiguandao (Way of Pervading Unity) from the late nineteenth century until the contemporary global COVID-19 pandemic. Even though abstention from meat and related food products is not a requirement for membership, devoted Yiguandao practitioners nevertheless value it as a hallmark of religious commitment and dedication. I argue that we can observe a clear shift in discourses on vegetarianism that is intimately related to the evolution of Yiguandao from a local religious group at the beginning of the twentieth century to a globalized movement in the early twenty-first century. Although throughout most of the twentieth century Yiguandao’s discourses on vegetarianism favored a self-centered approach aimed at the physical and religious well-being of the individual, in recent decades they have been infused with scientific concepts and have become increasingly linked to social and environmental concerns on a global basis.
Journal of Chinese Religions, 2024
This paper explores how the Taiwanese-Chinese religious movement Yiguandao ("Way of Pervading Uni... more This paper explores how the Taiwanese-Chinese religious movement Yiguandao ("Way of Pervading Unity") creates a community of non-Chinese followers by utilizing Daoism-related beliefs and practices. Drawing on ethnographic data from fieldwork conducted in California in early 2018, published Yiguandao materials, and internet resources, the paper argues that Yiguandao activists specifically invest their messages in Daoist symbols, beliefs, and practices to reach out to non-Chinese sympathizers of "Asian philosophies" and eventually to establish a global and cross-cultural community of Dao followers. By discussing a case study from Los Angeles, the paper seeks to understand the patterns of Yiguandao activists' engagement with Daoism and how their efforts blend into establishing a global Daoist field. Finally, it thereby invites us to rethink the often haphazardly drawn boundaries-both by practitioners and scholars-between different religious groups and traditions, including religion, Daoism, and spirituality.
Religious Minorities Online, 2024
This chapter explores religious minorities in China and Taiwan. While Chinese societies, both his... more This chapter explores religious minorities in China and Taiwan. While Chinese societies, both historical and contemporary, have demonstrated a remarkable diversity of religious beliefs, practices, and institutions, mainstream elite culture and state imperatives have helped to implement a policy that has outlawed those forms of religion that do not conform to these norms. In particular, this chapter focuses on salvationist sects and their modern counterparts, the redemptive societies. After giving a brief overview of the Chinese religious landscape from a historical perspective, and casting doubts on the reliability of statistics and numbers in distinguishing majority/minority religions, I specifically approach the topic from three angles: first, by analyzing conceptualizations of permitted and outlawed forms of religion that, in modern China, primarily revolve around the terms xiejiao (‘heterodox sect’) and mixin (‘superstition’); second, by exploring the regulatory nature of various Chinese political regimes, historically and presently, which mostly crystallizes as an oligopoly that favors a select few religions but puts restrictions on most others; third, and finally, by looking at a few examples from PRC history that illuminate how minority religions, especially salvationist sects, are portrayed stereotypically as immoral, licentious, and fraudulent charlatans to legitimate political and legal measures against them.
Minsu quyi 民俗曲藝 (Journal of Chinese Ritual, Theatre and Folklore), 2023
This paper explores the seven-day initiation festival guoguangchang 過光場 (“passing the place of li... more This paper explores the seven-day initiation festival guoguangchang 過光場 (“passing the place of light”) of the Taiwanese sectarian tradition Longhuapai 龍華派 (“Dragon Flower Sect”) as an intersection of sectarian, but also Buddhist, Daoist, Confucian, and popular religious teachings, rituals, cosmological notions, moral values, cultural idioms, and material practices. Drawing on a case study at Changhua’s 彰化市 “Audience at Heaven Hall” (Chaotiantang 朝天堂) in 2010 as well as on Qing period source material, this paper supplements existing research in situating the festival in both the sectarian repertoire and the larger religious landscape of Chinese societies. By picking three rituals as case studies, I demonstrate the synthetic fusion of various elements that cut across established scholarly categories, such as Buddhist, Daoist, or sectarian. I look at (1) altar arrangements that theatrically reenact cosmogenesis according to native Chinese and Daoist cosmologies; (2) the collective salvation of neophytes in the “dharma boat ritual” (fachuan 法船); and (3) the ritual preparation of offering rice, which, in its most recent variant, explicates a fusion of native and Buddhist cosmological concepts.
The paper thus seeks to contribute to the long-standing scholarly discussion of conceptualizing popular sects such as the “Vegetarian Sects,” Zhaijiao 齋教, an umbrella term used in Taiwan to denote the Longhuapai and two other sectarian traditions. While earlier studies foreground their purportedly Buddhist orientation, including the late Daniel Overmyer’s pioneering characterization of Chinese sects as “folk Buddhist religion,” I draw attention to the diverse religious elements in the Longhuapai’s initiation festival and thereby seek to highlight the highly “synthetic” nature of the sect’s teachings and practices.
From Trustworthiness to Secular Beliefs. Changing Concepts of xin 信 from Traditional to Modern Chinese, ed. by Christian Meyer and Philip Clart, 497–520. Leiden: Brill., 2023
Yiguandao (“Way of Pervading Unity,” emic transcription: I-Kuan Tao) is a Chinese religious movem... more Yiguandao (“Way of Pervading Unity,” emic transcription: I-Kuan Tao) is a Chinese religious movement that came into being in the early twentieth century and exhibits an innovative synthesis of the Three Teachings (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism), sectarian traditions, and popular religious influences. Furthermore, Yiguandao teachings proclaim to include Christianity and Islam in what is perceived of as the unity of the five teachings. This paper traces how the notions of “believing” or “faith” are appropriated, discussed, and even refuted in Yiguandao discourses. By building both on the analysis of Yiguandao writings as well as on fieldwork data, the paper analyzes two dominant patterns in the discussions. On the one hand, “believing” (variously called xin, xinyang, or xinxin) is envisioned to be the origin of the Dao and the very foundation of moral cultivation. Therefore, it represents the only true and substantial faith, while mere belief in something that cannot be proven is deemed “superstition” (mixin). On the other hand, recent discourses in particular claim that the cultivation of Yiguandao is entirely different from “believing,” as it represents the universal cosmic truth (the Dao) that does not need to be believed in. Rather, faith (i.e., the religions) is recognized as a human distortion of the Dao, while the complete truth as it is preserved only in the Yiguandao is not a matter of belief but of knowledge.
Communicating with the Gods. Spirit-Writing in Chinese History, ed. by Matthias Schumann and Elena Valussi, 444–483. Leiden: Brill, 2023., 2023
Grenzen der Religion. Säkularität in der Asiatischen Religionsgeschichte, ed. by Deeg, Max; Freiberger, Oliver; Kleine, Christoph; Kollmar-Paulenz, Karénina, 139–172. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2023., 2023
Lange Zeit dominierte in der Chinaforschung die Sichtweise, dass der vormoderne Staat ein säkular... more Lange Zeit dominierte in der Chinaforschung die Sichtweise, dass der vormoderne Staat ein säkularer und auch das Rechtssystem lediglich den Anforderungen von Macht, Herrschaft und Bürokratie verpflichtet gewesen sei. 1 Diese Perspektive ist nicht zuletzt eine Folge der jesuitischen "Entdeckung" Chinas seit dem 16. Jahrhundert, welche dem christlichen Religionsverständnis folgend China als areligiöse Gesellschaft charakterisiert hatte. Dem entgegen haben sich in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten Stimmen gemehrt, die Chinas vormoderne Gesellschaft als durch und durch religiös gekennzeichnet haben. Sei eswie in C.K. Yangs klassischer soziologischer Bestimmungindem behauptet wird, dass neben institutionellen Religionen (z.B. Buddhismus, Daoismus) auch so genannte "diffundierte Religionen" (diffused religion) bestehen, in denen "[…] theology, cultus, and personnel so intimately diffused into one or more secular social institutions that they become a part of the concept, rituals, and structure of the latter, thus having no significant independent existence" (Hervorhebung N.B.). 2 Dies führe Yang zufolge zu einer Sakralisierung und Stabilisierung der sozialen Institutionen, wie etwa Familie (Ahnenverehrung), ökonomischer Gruppen (Gilden mit ihren Patronen) oder kommunaler und regionaler Gruppen (wie Landsmannschaften). 3 Anderewie jüngst John Lagerwey-sprechen von China als einem "religiösen Staat", da es als "Kontinent der
Studies in Chinese Religions, 2022
This article explores the involvement of Shaolin monks in military campaigns against the so-calle... more This article explores the involvement of Shaolin monks in military campaigns against the so-called ‘Japanese Pirates’ (wokou) in 1550s Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. While previous scholarship has only touched briefly on the course and scope of the campaigns, this contribution analyzes the military training, fighting tactics, and actual warfare of Shaolin (and other) monks in the course of these conflicts. Drawing on late Ming historical evidences from chronicles, pen notes, local gazetteers, and previously untouched material, I demonstrate that the monastics in question possessed both outstanding individual fighting skills and above-average military knowledge. Employing strategic formations, battle tactics, and professional modes of warfare, the ‘monk soldiers’ (sengbing) were able to immortalize themselves as brave and righteous patriots. The article thus digs deeper into the entanglements of military and religious circles in late imperial China, a topic that needs to be explored in future scholarship. Ending with a brief excursion to sixteenth-century Korea, the article concludes that comparative research yields important insights of how to better understand Buddhist involvement in military actions in premodern East Asia.
Religions, 2022
This paper takes a fresh look at the global spread of the Chinese–Taiwanese new religious movemen... more This paper takes a fresh look at the global spread of the Chinese–Taiwanese new religious movement Yiguandao (一貫道; the emic transcription is “I-Kuan Tao”) by directing attention to the concrete places where transnational connections and interactions actually transpire, i.e., temples, shrines, and other sites of worship. Emically known as “Buddha halls” (fotang 佛堂), these places range from large-scale temple complexes, to small niches of worship in people’s private residences. Yet, they all share the potential of becoming venues of transregional interactions through processes of migration, the circulation of personnel, and local outreach. I argued that we need to take the distinct character of these localities more seriously, in order to fully understand the global networks of Yiguandao groups. Through their specific embeddedness in both local affairs and transnational projects, these temples are not simply local chapters of the (mostly) Taiwanese headquarters, but instead they are “translocalities” or even “portals of globalization”—two concepts developed in migration and global studies to help understand the significance of place in the recent phase of socalled globalization. By exploring Yiguandao temples across the globe, this paper critically evaluated these approaches, and their usefulness for the study of global religions. Empirically, it drew on both print and online material, as well as ethnographic fieldwork conducted by the author in Taiwan, Vienna (Austria), California, South Africa, and Japan from 2016 to 2018.
Yang Hung-jen 楊弘任, and Sébastien Billioud, eds. 2022. Cong Taiwan dao shijie: Ershiyi shiji Yiguandao de quanqiuhua 從臺灣到世界：二十一世紀一貫道的全球化. Taipei: Zhengda chubanshe., 2022
一貫道最早跨越原產地中國的國界向海外傳播的目的地為韓國與日本．迄今，兩國已有70多年的開荒歷史，因此難怪當前一貫道各組線以及從一貫道分裂過來的宗教團體皆成立各自的日本分部．本文擬進行學界對日本一... more 一貫道最早跨越原產地中國的國界向海外傳播的目的地為韓國與日本．迄今，兩國已有70多年的開荒歷史，因此難怪當前一貫道各組線以及從一貫道分裂過來的宗教團體皆成立各自的日本分部．本文擬進行學界對日本一貫道的理解，討論一貫道在日本的歷史發展與當前情況，以東京基礎忠恕道場為個案研究．如此，它擬補充先鋒學者的成果，來進一步理解一貫道的當地宗教功能．第一、二章介紹一貫道與基礎忠恕在日本的歷史發展與現況，尤其關注東京道場。第三章乃討論東京會眾的跨國移動型態，主張一方面本道場參與跨國性交流與交往，但另一方面它還是為附屬支部．第四章分析當地道親們的四條重要的主題，乃（一）傳統主義、（二）對既成宗教的批判、（三）替代療法與（四）以素菜館為開荒地，即為表示當地會眾的特色．本文依靠筆者從2018年4月至6月在東京、大阪、神戶地區進行的田野調查．此外，它也依靠基礎忠恕官方期刊《基礎雜志》裏面發表的場報告、以及一些網絡上的資料。
Annual Review of the Sociology of Religion, 2020
This paper seeks to explore how the religious movement Yiguandao (“Way of Pervading Unity”) is bu... more This paper seeks to explore how the religious movement Yiguandao (“Way of Pervading Unity”) is building a transnational and transcultural network through its global missionary work. Building on ethnographic data from fieldwork conducted in Taiwan, Austria, South Africa, the US, and Japan in 2016–2018 as well as on published Yiguandao materials and online resources, this contribution seeks to explore the global spread of Yiguandao from three different angles: first, by exploring the overall development of Yiguandao’s global proselytization from the mid-1940s to the present; second, by taking a micro look at the history and activities of a particular congregation belonging to Andong division and located in Vienna, Austria; and third, by analyzing six patterns of transnational development and transculturation.
Kim, David W., ed. 2020. New Religious Movements in Modern Asian History. Socio-Cultural Alternatives. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington., 2020
Transnational Religious Spaces. Religious Organizations and Interactions in Africa, East Asia, and Beyond, edited by Philip Clart and Adam Jones, 263-282. Berlin: De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2020
China Perspectives, 2019
This paper seeks to explore the spaces created by practitioners of the Taiwanese-Chinese religiou... more This paper seeks to explore the spaces created by practitioners of the Taiwanese-Chinese religious movement Yiguandao 一貫道 (“Way of Pervading Unity”) in urban South Africa. Drawing on ethnographic data from fieldwork conducted in Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Cape Town in late 2017 as well as on published Yiguandao materials, this contribution analyses how these spaces are created, maintained, and charged with meaning. It investigates the uses of these spaces as well as how and why various actors engage in them. By proposing a preliminary typology that is based on the location, function, and mobility of these spaces, this contribution argues that Yiguandao religious spaces represent more intense arenas of transcultural interaction than most other – and predominantly economic – Chinese spaces in Africa.
Concepts and Methods for the Study of Chinese Religions III, 2019
While the religious life in Chinese antiquity knew some forms of fasting, the religiously informe... more While the religious life in Chinese antiquity knew some forms of fasting, the religiously informed practice of vegetarianism was introduced to China by Buddhist believers only in the Han dynasty. Already in the medieval period, it became a widespread religious practice that also diffused to the wider religious landscape where it was fused with Daoist dietetics. As such, vegetarianism was not merely treated as an expression of the Buddhist precept to refrain from killing living beings, but it became charged with multiple meanings related to morality, individual salvation, magical power, health, and longevity. Particularly among nonofficial religious communities, or what may be termed “sectarian religion,” the strict vegetarian “conduct of life” established important patterns of distinction, moral conduct, and salvation. In the first part of this chapter, I will trace the emergence and significance of religiously informed vegetarian practices from early medieval China to the modern era. The second part will illustrate how these practices are interpreted and performed in two strands of nonofficial popular sects: the “vegetarian sects” (zhaijiao) – an umbrella term referring to three distinct Buddhist-inspired sects in late imperial southeastern China and modern Taiwan; and the modern religious movement Yiguandao (“Sect of Pervading Unity”), that emerged as a powerful religious organization in the 1930s and recently works to spread Chinese vegetarian and moral practices around the globe.
This project explores the global spread of the two Taiwanese religious organizations Foguangshan ... more This project explores the global spread of the two Taiwanese religious organizations Foguangshan (“Buddha’s Light Mountain”) and Yiguandao (“Way of Pervading Unity”) by studying their transnational religious spaces. Particularly since the gradual relaxation of political restraints in 1980s Taiwan, both religious organizations have started to spread their religious and cultural traditions on a global scale. Their endeavours connect, cross, and inhabit countries affected by Chinese migration as well as facilitate cross-border spatial arrangements such as transnational communities (including Chinese diaspora/Chinese cultural sphere/Buddhism). By focusing on three primary field sites, namely South Africa, the United States, and East Asia (China and Japan), and applying the methodological framework of multi-sited ethnography, we aim to understand the transnational organizational structures, the creation of transnational social spaces, and the dynamics of central control and decentralization of the two religious organizations.
This project is a part of the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) 1199: “Processes of Spatialization under the Global Condition”, which deals with questions like what characterizes the spaces made by people, how they relate to one another, and whether resulting spatial orders are becoming increasingly complex within the context of globalization processes. Of all projects at this centre, this project is the only one dealing specifically with religion and processes of spatialization under the global condition.
The present article aims at a novel understanding of the “religious field” model as it has been d... more The present article aims at a novel understanding of the “religious field” model as it has been developed by French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu in his reading of Max Weber's sociology of religion. Taking the religious landscape of China as a point of departure, I will argue that this model is only of limited value to analyze religious diversity. First, Bourdieu's model ignores the importance of the state in the formation and regulation of the religious field. Second, his typology of four primary field positions (priest, magician, prophet, and “laity”) is too simplistic to adequately address the variety of religious interactions in China, and other religiously pluralistic societies as well. By taking into account these considerations and by incorporating a number of hypotheses from the “rational choice theorists” Rodney Stark, William Sims Bainbridge, Roger Finke, and Yang Fenggang, I will propose a new understanding of the religious field model.
“Humanistic Buddhism” is generally acknowledged as a purely modern phenomenon in the history of C... more “Humanistic Buddhism” is generally acknowledged as a purely modern phenomenon in the history of Chinese Buddhism which came into being only after the advent of reformist activities in both monastic and lay circles since the late nineteenth century. In my paper I will show that several central aspects of “Buddhism in the human realm” can be found in the Zhaijiao (“Vegetarian Sects”) tradition in late imperial China and Taiwan.
Zhaijiao is a common collective designation given to the three religious traditions: Longhuapai 龍華派 or “Dragon Flower Sect,” Jintongpai 金幢派 or “Gold Pennant Sect,” and Xiantianpai 先天派 or “Former Heaven Sect.” Founded during the late Ming through mid-Qing period in southern China, they were introduced to Taiwan by the middle of the eighteenth century. Today, Zhaijiao is regarded as a form of lay or popular Buddhism both by the general public as well as by most (Western) scholarship. These sects, however, share many traits with the rich tradition of “popular religious sects” which fl ourished in late imperial Southern China.
I will show that this strand of “non-monastic” popular Buddhism already highlighted many aspects of renjian Fojiao which may alert us to rethink the conventional genealogy of “Humanistic Buddhism” in modern China.
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Dissertation by Nikolas Broy
MA thesis by Nikolas Broy
Articles and Papers by Nikolas Broy
The paper thus seeks to contribute to the long-standing scholarly discussion of conceptualizing popular sects such as the “Vegetarian Sects,” Zhaijiao 齋教, an umbrella term used in Taiwan to denote the Longhuapai and two other sectarian traditions. While earlier studies foreground their purportedly Buddhist orientation, including the late Daniel Overmyer’s pioneering characterization of Chinese sects as “folk Buddhist religion,” I draw attention to the diverse religious elements in the Longhuapai’s initiation festival and thereby seek to highlight the highly “synthetic” nature of the sect’s teachings and practices.
This project is a part of the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) 1199: “Processes of Spatialization under the Global Condition”, which deals with questions like what characterizes the spaces made by people, how they relate to one another, and whether resulting spatial orders are becoming increasingly complex within the context of globalization processes. Of all projects at this centre, this project is the only one dealing specifically with religion and processes of spatialization under the global condition.
Zhaijiao is a common collective designation given to the three religious traditions: Longhuapai 龍華派 or “Dragon Flower Sect,” Jintongpai 金幢派 or “Gold Pennant Sect,” and Xiantianpai 先天派 or “Former Heaven Sect.” Founded during the late Ming through mid-Qing period in southern China, they were introduced to Taiwan by the middle of the eighteenth century. Today, Zhaijiao is regarded as a form of lay or popular Buddhism both by the general public as well as by most (Western) scholarship. These sects, however, share many traits with the rich tradition of “popular religious sects” which fl ourished in late imperial Southern China.
I will show that this strand of “non-monastic” popular Buddhism already highlighted many aspects of renjian Fojiao which may alert us to rethink the conventional genealogy of “Humanistic Buddhism” in modern China.
The paper thus seeks to contribute to the long-standing scholarly discussion of conceptualizing popular sects such as the “Vegetarian Sects,” Zhaijiao 齋教, an umbrella term used in Taiwan to denote the Longhuapai and two other sectarian traditions. While earlier studies foreground their purportedly Buddhist orientation, including the late Daniel Overmyer’s pioneering characterization of Chinese sects as “folk Buddhist religion,” I draw attention to the diverse religious elements in the Longhuapai’s initiation festival and thereby seek to highlight the highly “synthetic” nature of the sect’s teachings and practices.
This project is a part of the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) 1199: “Processes of Spatialization under the Global Condition”, which deals with questions like what characterizes the spaces made by people, how they relate to one another, and whether resulting spatial orders are becoming increasingly complex within the context of globalization processes. Of all projects at this centre, this project is the only one dealing specifically with religion and processes of spatialization under the global condition.
Zhaijiao is a common collective designation given to the three religious traditions: Longhuapai 龍華派 or “Dragon Flower Sect,” Jintongpai 金幢派 or “Gold Pennant Sect,” and Xiantianpai 先天派 or “Former Heaven Sect.” Founded during the late Ming through mid-Qing period in southern China, they were introduced to Taiwan by the middle of the eighteenth century. Today, Zhaijiao is regarded as a form of lay or popular Buddhism both by the general public as well as by most (Western) scholarship. These sects, however, share many traits with the rich tradition of “popular religious sects” which fl ourished in late imperial Southern China.
I will show that this strand of “non-monastic” popular Buddhism already highlighted many aspects of renjian Fojiao which may alert us to rethink the conventional genealogy of “Humanistic Buddhism” in modern China.
In the first part, the paper investigates how Buddhist and Daoist ideas have contributed to the emergence of these spiritual concepts, demonstrating that already the Song period popular Buddhist scripture Precious Scroll on the Ritual Amplification of the Diamond Sutra (Jin’gang keyi baojuan 金剛科儀寶卷) exhibits similar ideas about an eternal primordial self. Part two looks at various sectarian writings from the Ming and Qing (1368-1911) periods and how they develop a full-fledged spiritual narrative. In particular, it analyses texts related to the Patriarch Luo 羅祖 (ca. 16th century) and “Former Heaven” (Xiantiandao 先天道) traditions. Finally, part three explores how the modern “redemptive society” Yiguandao 一貫道 (“Way of Pervading Unity”) tries to synthetize traditional sectarian accounts and contemporary notions of the soul.
Drawing on fieldwork data collected in early 2018 as well as on published Yiguandao materials, this contribution addresses the various relationships between these different congregations and the spaces they inhabit. It investigates how these spaces are created, maintained, transformed, and related to each other. Finally, it considers possibilities to refine the analytical binary of “migrant religions” (those religions that travel only within the diaspora) and “travelling faiths” (those that traverse ethnic and cultural boundaries) as proposed by Diana Wong and Peggy Levitt in their 2014 article.
Thus, this paper will address the ways in which Yiguandao leaders, activists, and missionaries have aimed to translate and acculturate religious doctrines, practices, and items in order to produce a religious system that is understandable and appealing also in non-Chinese cultural contexts. Since the transplantation of religious doctrines and practices into different social and cultural settings always entails processes of selection, re-interpretation, and transculturation, this paper will also focus on the ways Yiguandao activists and missionaries negotiate the culturally specific needs of their “Chinese” adherents on the one hand with the self-proclaimed aspiration to become a “true” world religion that cuts across cultures, ethnicities, and nationalities on the other.
Because the major part of the fieldwork in international Yiguandao communities will be conducted in late 2017 and 2018, I will only be able to present preliminary findings from first fieldwork experiences as well as from readings of Yiguandao publications (books and periodicals), websites, and Youtube channels. Thus, the paper shall address the following questions: Which programs and strategies of international and transcultural expansion are envisioned in the Taiwanese headquarters? How are they put into effect at the local level? Which techniques of linguistic and cultural translation of religious contents are designed and which ones are employed by local actors? What kind of problems may arise from the cultural contextualization of religious beliefs and practices?
Zhaijiao is a common collective designation given to the three religious traditions Longhuapai 龍華派 or “Dragon Flower Sect”, Jintongpai 金幢派 or “Gold Pennant Sect”, and Xiantianpai 先天派 or “Former Heaven Sect”. Founded during the late Ming through mid-Qing period in southern China, they were introduced to Taiwan by the middle of the 18th century. Today, Zhaijiao is regarded as a form of lay Buddhism both by the general public as well as by most scholarship. These sects, however, share many traits with the rich tradition of “popular religious sects” which flourished in late imperial Southern China.
I will show that this strand of “non-monastic” popular Buddhism already highlighted many aspects of renjian Fojiao which may alert us to rethink the conventional genealogy of “Humanistic Buddhism” in modern China.
Violence: An Asian Perspective. Lanham: Lexington Books. xxvii + 295. ISBN 978-0-7391-9222-1 (hardcover 100USD).
Nicholas S. Gier, professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Idaho, has published widely on comparative philosophy and ethics, particularly Asian and Western. His last book, The Virtue of Nonviolence (2004), develops an understanding of nonviolence as "virtue ethics" by comparing Buddhist, Jainist, Hinduist, and Confucianist traditions, as well as the thought of prominent activists such as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Following this lead, Gier's new study is dedicated to violence and militancy in Asian religious traditions. Because this relationship is comparably less
known to most readers, Gier's book is an important contribution to the study of faith-based violence.
The book is arranged in two parts with chapters one to nine ...