I am a post-doctoral researcher and lecturer at the sociology department at the University of Amsterdam, working on the project RECOGNITION, (religious cognition among migrants). In this project, I am researching the multifaceted Chinese communities in the Netherlands while contributing to the development of cross-culturally comparable measurements to asses religion among migrants. For my doctoral thesis affiliated with Tel Aviv University, I have studied contemporary Buddhism in China culminating with a thesis titled: “Multiple Liminalities of Lay Buddhism in 21st century China- Modalities, Material Culture, and Politics” (under contract). My academic grounding is China Studies, Religious studies, and Cultural Sociology with a strong orientation towards ethnographic and mixed methods research, online and field-based ethnography. My research stands in the nexus of several primary interests: Religion and spirituality among Chinese societies and diasporic Chinese communities; heritage and material culture of Chinese religions; Chinese religious and cultural production in new media and religion and politics of the Chinese sphere.
This article explores the spatiality of Buddhism in the metropolis Shenzhen through its revitaliz... more This article explores the spatiality of Buddhism in the metropolis Shenzhen through its revitalization process in the past decades alongside the rapid expansion of the city. The author explores Buddhist practice communities within an urban village (chengzhongcun城中村) and the central Buddhist temple build in the same neighbourhood. The article aims to illuminate some of the particularities and tensionsof urbanization, environment, and the revival of Buddhism in the PRC. Building on Felix Guatarri’sthesis of the three ecologies, the author presents a descriptive account of the main active communities in the examined neighbourhood. Furthermore, the article argues that, in order to understand the workings of Buddhist configurations in contemporary urban China, we must look at the registers of the environment, social structure, and human subjectivity. The article suggests that these three ecologies are interconnected and make up the ecology of Shenzhen Buddhism.
This chapter explores tea and its role in the lives and practices of Chinese Buddhist practitione... more This chapter explores tea and its role in the lives and practices of Chinese Buddhist practitioners within Taiwan. The general framework of inquiry treats materials as essential actors in lived Buddhism, inquiring into the ways that Buddhist actors interact, a ect, and are a ected by materials, taking tea as an example. The chapter begins by discussing the genealogy of tea and its intrinsic historical relationship with Buddhism in China. The following sections present several contemporary case studies of Buddhist communities engaging with tea in Taiwan. Analyzing these examples in light of the speci c sociopolitical context of Buddhism in Taiwan, the chapter concludes by situating tea-related practices in Buddhism on a scale with two poles: a scienti c approach to tea and a supernatural one.
The Modern White Horse Temple and Online Reconfiguring of a Buddhist Heritage Space, 2023
Recent research shows that since the early 2000s, the Chinese Communist Party has increasingly us... more Recent research shows that since the early 2000s, the Chinese Communist Party has increasingly used various cultural heritage sites, including Buddhist sites, as soft power agents. Furthermore, in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative, launched by the People’s Republic of China, Buddhist temples, representatives, and practices have been harnessed to play a role in the state’s agenda. In this context, White Horse Temple, as a feature of cultural tourism in Henan Province, is facing new opportunities and challenges. The article examines the material particularities of reconstructing the temple in light of this trajectory, building on materials retrieved at the site, and online representations of the temple. The author explores how the temple’s unique spatiality and characteristics stress the use of soft power which harnesses online and offline cultural and popular trends for state agenda.
Digital Footprints of Buddhism in Chinese-Speaking Cyberspace: Ethnography, Developments, and Challenges, 2023
This article explores the state of the field of research on digital Buddhism, contextualizing the... more This article explores the state of the field of research on digital Buddhism, contextualizing the field within a broader scope. It discusses the present and future digital ethnographic study of Buddhism in the Chinese-speaking community by presenting the methodological approaches taken so far to study this phenomenon, the kinds of case studies explored, and the epistemological problems that are facing the scholars in this new field. Because of the particular historical, social, and political factors that comprise the Buddhist community in Chinese society (both in the PRC and ROC), Buddhist cyberspace should not be reviewed as an isolated phenomenon. Instead, Buddhist cyberspace should be considered part of three intersecting domains: religion, technology, and the market economy. These three domains have become increasingly central in Chinese society, as they rapidly change, evolve, and influence both the Chinese-speaking community and the ways in which scholars study it.
This article presents various institutional responses of Buddhist groups and leaders to COVID-19,... more This article presents various institutional responses of Buddhist groups and leaders to COVID-19, adding a focus on how Tibetan Buddhist practitioners in China have responded to the pandemic. In particular, it examines the predicament of practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism. The article focuses on the material characteristics of Tibetan Buddhism and how they were manifested among Han Chinese urbanites during the pandemic through (1) a teleological inquiry, which looks into the concept of merit (sk: puñña, ch: gongde) 功德, and (2) an organizational inquiry, which explores the modalities in which Han Chinese groups practice Tibetan Buddhism in the socio-political sphere of the Chinese state. Within this inquiry, the article deals with a Buddhist community based in Shanghai and an individual account of pilgrimage in Tibet. Based on these two case studies and their contextualization, the article aims to assess how the COVID-19 crisis has affected the practices, modalities and religious tech...
Between the Tibetan Plateau and Eastern China-Religious Tourism, Lay Practice and Ritual Economy during the Pandemic, 2023
This article presents various institutional responses of Buddhist groups and leaders to COVID-19,... more This article presents various institutional responses of Buddhist groups and leaders to COVID-19, adding a focus on how Tibetan Buddhist practitioners in China have responded to the pandemic. In particular, it examines the predicament of practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism. The article focuses on the material characteristics of Tibetan Buddhism and how they were manifested among Han Chinese urbanites during the pandemic through (1) a teleological inquiry, which looks into the concept of merit (sk: puñña, ch: gongde) 功德, and (2) an organizational inquiry, which explores the modalities in which Han Chinese groups practice Tibetan Buddhism in the socio-political sphere of the Chinese state. Within this inquiry, the article deals with a Buddhist community based in Shanghai and an individual account of pilgrimage in Tibet. Based on these two case studies and their contextualization, the article aims to assess how the COVID-19 crisis has affected the practices, modalities and religious technologies of Tibetan Buddhism practiced by Han Chinese. The article argues for a degree of resilience of lay practice in Tibetan Buddhism; it stresses that while some aspects of the practice called for accommodations and change, the particularities of the practice have pre-existing conditions (such as state regulation on religion and the physical distance of their religious authority) which could accommodate the practical, sociological and psychological implications of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The article presents an ethnography of Buddhist practice groups in Wutong village, an urban villa... more The article presents an ethnography of Buddhist practice groups in Wutong village, an urban village in the Shenzhen metropolis area, relating to the village's predicament through the 1990s and until 2019. It discusses the relationship between two intertwined forms of soft power employed by the Chinese regime: 1) The push for cultural consumption within the framework of the re-development of urban villages. 2) The PRC’s re-definition of Buddhism as a culture instead of a religion. The author examines different lay Buddhist actors in the village, which operate within the current restrictive government policy towards religious groups. The ethnography of Wutong shows the non-dichotomic dynamic of suppression and support articulated by the state towards Buddhism's cultural and religious consumption. It focuses on the dynamic between state control and people's agency over their spiritual and religious realities, especially on the urban fringes. The article suggests that the ur...
The global media has reported various institutional responses of Buddhism to COVID-19. This paper... more The global media has reported various institutional responses of Buddhism to COVID-19. This paper offers a look at the grassroots of Buddhist religious activity in response to the pandemic, examining its impact on lay Buddhist followers of the Nyingmapa Buddhist tradition in Shanghai. The paper relates the activity of this group of lay adepts vis-a-vis COVID-19 to the material characteristics of Tibetan Buddhism, and how they manifest in the Han Chinese urban environment. Exploring the concept of merit, the paper argues how religious responses to the pandemic act as components in contemporary China's ritual economy .
The drone footage captures the Sheng Ming Palace (聖明宮), along with the "Thousands Year Tree ... more The drone footage captures the Sheng Ming Palace (聖明宮), along with the "Thousands Year Tree Deity (千年豬神樹公)" at its back. The Tree Deity is a lump on the tree resembling the shape of a piglet. The local sees it as an incarnation of Zhu Bajie (豬八戒, a deity in Buddhism and a major character of the novel Journey to the West). Additionally, the video shows the Three Grand Statues in the palace, which are Ji Gong (濟公活佛, a deity in Buddhism), Jade Emperor (玉皇上帝, a deity in Daoism), and the Earth Mother Goddess (地母娘娘, a deity exists in the Daoism-quasi-folk belief in Taiwan). This temple was chosen because of it's unique relationship with Taiwanese folk religion and connection to the local religious community. In addition to the manifestation of Zhu Bajie, the combination of these three deities' statues at this temple highlights the relationship of folk religion with established religious traditions in this worship site as they each represent a different aspect of Taiwanes...
This article is a case study of a lay Buddhist community that employs a business model called “li... more This article is a case study of a lay Buddhist community that employs a business model called “living hall” (Shenghuo guan 生活馆) to facilitate the practice of Tibetan Buddhism among its members. The living hall model is explored in the context of the politics of religion in the People’s Republic of China (prc) and the dynamics of Tibetan Buddhism among Han Chinese in the past decades. The author investigates the model’s origin, its implementation in a contemporary Buddhist community, and its interaction with the discourse on Buddhism in the prc. The article joins a recent academic endeavor to illuminate the different modalities in which lay practitioners carry out Buddhist practice outside the sphere of institutionalized Buddhism. The article sheds light on the delicate dynamics between religion and state control in the prc and the role of entrepreneurs and materiality within lay Tibetan Buddhism.
Buddhism, an Urban Village and Cultural Soft Power, 2022
The article presents an ethnography of Buddhist practice groups in Wutong village, an urban villa... more The article presents an ethnography of Buddhist practice groups in Wutong village, an urban village in the Shenzhen metropolis area, relating to the village's predicament through the 1990s and until 2019. It discusses the relationship between two intertwined forms of soft power employed by the Chinese regime: 1) The push for cultural consumption within the framework of the redevelopment of urban villages. 2) The PRC's re-definition of Buddhism as a culture instead of a religion. The author examines different lay Buddhist actors in the village, which operate within the current restrictive government policy towards religious groups. The ethnography of Wutong shows the non-dichotomic dynamic of suppression and support articulated by the state towards Buddhism's cultural and religious consumption. It focuses on the dynamic between state control and people's agency over their spiritual and religious realities, especially on the urban fringes. The article suggests that the urban art village can be understood as a sphere where lay Buddhists subvert state regulation by creating alternative Buddhist spaces for lay practice, in the form of cultural commodities. However, the article addresses the liminality of such urban spaces, which, aside from opportunities for religious entrepreneurship, also creates a state of precariousness for urban village inhabitants, including Buddhist practitioners.
In discussing the arrival of Buddhism to China, Erik Zürcher describes the meeting of “a jungle o... more In discussing the arrival of Buddhism to China, Erik Zürcher describes the meeting of “a jungle of Buddhist metaphysics” with other local philosophies and practices. This period was a transformative encounter with wide-ranging ramifications, including for textual traditions. Non-complete Emptiness (Bu zhenkong lun 不真空論), written by Seng Zhao 僧肇, is one product of this encounter. While explaining the principle of emptiness, Non-complete Emptiness incorporates Daoist and Confucian terminologies and elements. Nevertheless, the text is considered formative for the development of Buddhist writing and practice during the critical period of Buddhism’s assimilation into China in the third to fifth centuries AD. This study of Non-complete Emptiness looks at the philosophical and cultural relevance of the text. It suggests a methodological solution to some of the tensions that have arisen from Seng Zhao’s notion of emptiness. The article begins by looking into the historical and hermeneutical...
This article is a case study of a lay Buddhist community that employs a business model called “li... more This article is a case study of a lay Buddhist community that employs a business model called “living hall” (Shenghuo guan 生活馆) to facilitate the practice of Tibetan Buddhism among its members. The living hall model is explored in the context of the politics of religion in the People’s Republic of China (prc) and the dynamics of Tibetan Buddhism among Han Chinese in the past decades. The author investigates the model’s origin, its implementation in a contemporary Buddhist community, and its interaction with the discourse on Buddhism in the prc. The article joins a recent academic endeavor to illuminate the different modalities in which lay practitioners carry out Buddhist practice outside the sphere of institutionalized Buddhism. The article sheds light on the delicate dynamics between religion and state control in the prc and the role of entrepreneurs and materiality within lay Tibetan Buddhism.
Cluster 1.2: “Religion and Technology” Author: Kai Shmushko, Tel Aviv University/Leiden University, 2022
GIS imaging and the work with Miniature UAV (drone) in the context of Material Religion, can prov... more GIS imaging and the work with Miniature UAV (drone) in the context of Material Religion, can provide a useful, innovative methodological tool for researching Taiwanese religious landscape. In the summer of 2019, as part of the research project of the FROGBEAR cluster on religion and technology, we gathered in Dharma Drum Mountain monastery for a fieldwork workshop led by Oliver Streiter (National University of Kaohsiung), Simon Wiles (Stanford CIDR), and Marcus Bingenheimer (Temple University). They offered a hands-on workshop in GIS and Aerial Imaging for the study of religion. We were working on contributing to the GIS mapping database work, which began in 2017 and continued, adding to it more data on some of the existing religious sites in North Taiwan, as well as drone footage and field interviews in the sites (the sites were in Sanzhi 三芝區district, Shimen district 石門區and Jinshan district 金山區).
Looking at the future of the project- and the study of religion in Taiwan, this essay aimed to broadly think about the methodological and philosophical implications of the workshop. Most of the data collected in the workshop has been edited into short informative films and is available on the FROGBEAR database website. Moreover, we can now begin to articulate the potential contribution of this sort of research workshop to the study of Material Religion in Asia.
The drone footage captures the Wuji Riyue Cimu Temple (無極日月慈母殿) and the Miaofa Temple (妙法寺). Wuji... more The drone footage captures the Wuji Riyue Cimu Temple (無極日月慈母殿) and the Miaofa Temple (妙法寺). Wuji Riyue Cimu Temple (無極日月慈母殿) is a shrine gathering a group of female deities across different religious contexts, including Queen Mother of the West (王母娘娘, Wang Mu Niang Niang), Earth Mother Goddess (地母娘娘, Di Mu Niang Niang), and Cuti Boddhisattva (準提佛母, Zhuti Fomu). These deities represent a mixed Buddhist and Daoist pantheon. This video observed a burning ritual that is performed to celebrate the birthday of the Earth Mother Goddess. The other temple shows in the footage is the Miaofa Temple (妙法寺). It demonstrates a vivid example of female leadership in the Daoist-quasi-folk community in Taiwan. Chen Yuxia, also addressed as Madam Chen, was believed to have received revelation from Mt. Fuji, Japan and later became the founder of Miaofa Temple (妙法寺). Religious practices in the Miaofa Temple are derived from both Buddhism and Daoism a religious practice known as Fo Dao Shuangxiu (佛道雙修). ...
On Face Masks as Buddhist Merit: Buddhist Responses to COVID-19. A Case Study of Tibetan Buddhism in Shanghai, 2021
The global media has reported various institutional responses of Buddhism to COVID-19. This paper... more The global media has reported various institutional responses of Buddhism to COVID-19. This paper offers a look at the grassroots of Buddhist religious activity in response to the pandemic, examining its impact on lay Buddhist followers of the Nyingmapa Buddhist tradition in Shanghai. The paper relates the activity of this group of lay adepts vis-à-vis COVID-19 to the material characteristics of Tibetan Buddhism, and how they manifest in the Han Chinese urban environment. Exploring the concept of merit, the paper argues how religious responses to the pandemic act as components in contemporary Chinas' Ritual Economy.
Sheng Ming Palace: Hybrid pantheon with a cult on the tree and Zhu Bajie, 2019
Wuji Riyue Cimu Temple (無極日月慈母殿) is a shrine gathering a group of female deities across different... more Wuji Riyue Cimu Temple (無極日月慈母殿) is a shrine gathering a group of female deities across different religious contexts, including Queen Mother of the West (王母娘娘, Wang Mu Niang Niang), Earth Mother Goddess (地母娘娘, Di Mu Niang Niang), and Cuti Boddhisattva (準提佛母, Zhuti Fomu). These deities represent a mixed Buddhist and Daoist pantheon.
Open Library UBC- Miao Fa Temple: Secret revelation from the Mt. Fuji, 2019
Chen Yuxia, also addressed as Madam Chen, was believed to have received revelation from Mt. Fuji,... more Chen Yuxia, also addressed as Madam Chen, was believed to have received revelation from Mt. Fuji, Japan and later became the founder of Miaofa Temple (妙法寺). Religious practices in the Miaofa Temple are derived from both Buddhism and Daoism a religious practice
This article explores the spatiality of Buddhism in the metropolis Shenzhen through its revitaliz... more This article explores the spatiality of Buddhism in the metropolis Shenzhen through its revitalization process in the past decades alongside the rapid expansion of the city. The author explores Buddhist practice communities within an urban village (chengzhongcun城中村) and the central Buddhist temple build in the same neighbourhood. The article aims to illuminate some of the particularities and tensionsof urbanization, environment, and the revival of Buddhism in the PRC. Building on Felix Guatarri’sthesis of the three ecologies, the author presents a descriptive account of the main active communities in the examined neighbourhood. Furthermore, the article argues that, in order to understand the workings of Buddhist configurations in contemporary urban China, we must look at the registers of the environment, social structure, and human subjectivity. The article suggests that these three ecologies are interconnected and make up the ecology of Shenzhen Buddhism.
This chapter explores tea and its role in the lives and practices of Chinese Buddhist practitione... more This chapter explores tea and its role in the lives and practices of Chinese Buddhist practitioners within Taiwan. The general framework of inquiry treats materials as essential actors in lived Buddhism, inquiring into the ways that Buddhist actors interact, a ect, and are a ected by materials, taking tea as an example. The chapter begins by discussing the genealogy of tea and its intrinsic historical relationship with Buddhism in China. The following sections present several contemporary case studies of Buddhist communities engaging with tea in Taiwan. Analyzing these examples in light of the speci c sociopolitical context of Buddhism in Taiwan, the chapter concludes by situating tea-related practices in Buddhism on a scale with two poles: a scienti c approach to tea and a supernatural one.
The Modern White Horse Temple and Online Reconfiguring of a Buddhist Heritage Space, 2023
Recent research shows that since the early 2000s, the Chinese Communist Party has increasingly us... more Recent research shows that since the early 2000s, the Chinese Communist Party has increasingly used various cultural heritage sites, including Buddhist sites, as soft power agents. Furthermore, in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative, launched by the People’s Republic of China, Buddhist temples, representatives, and practices have been harnessed to play a role in the state’s agenda. In this context, White Horse Temple, as a feature of cultural tourism in Henan Province, is facing new opportunities and challenges. The article examines the material particularities of reconstructing the temple in light of this trajectory, building on materials retrieved at the site, and online representations of the temple. The author explores how the temple’s unique spatiality and characteristics stress the use of soft power which harnesses online and offline cultural and popular trends for state agenda.
Digital Footprints of Buddhism in Chinese-Speaking Cyberspace: Ethnography, Developments, and Challenges, 2023
This article explores the state of the field of research on digital Buddhism, contextualizing the... more This article explores the state of the field of research on digital Buddhism, contextualizing the field within a broader scope. It discusses the present and future digital ethnographic study of Buddhism in the Chinese-speaking community by presenting the methodological approaches taken so far to study this phenomenon, the kinds of case studies explored, and the epistemological problems that are facing the scholars in this new field. Because of the particular historical, social, and political factors that comprise the Buddhist community in Chinese society (both in the PRC and ROC), Buddhist cyberspace should not be reviewed as an isolated phenomenon. Instead, Buddhist cyberspace should be considered part of three intersecting domains: religion, technology, and the market economy. These three domains have become increasingly central in Chinese society, as they rapidly change, evolve, and influence both the Chinese-speaking community and the ways in which scholars study it.
This article presents various institutional responses of Buddhist groups and leaders to COVID-19,... more This article presents various institutional responses of Buddhist groups and leaders to COVID-19, adding a focus on how Tibetan Buddhist practitioners in China have responded to the pandemic. In particular, it examines the predicament of practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism. The article focuses on the material characteristics of Tibetan Buddhism and how they were manifested among Han Chinese urbanites during the pandemic through (1) a teleological inquiry, which looks into the concept of merit (sk: puñña, ch: gongde) 功德, and (2) an organizational inquiry, which explores the modalities in which Han Chinese groups practice Tibetan Buddhism in the socio-political sphere of the Chinese state. Within this inquiry, the article deals with a Buddhist community based in Shanghai and an individual account of pilgrimage in Tibet. Based on these two case studies and their contextualization, the article aims to assess how the COVID-19 crisis has affected the practices, modalities and religious tech...
Between the Tibetan Plateau and Eastern China-Religious Tourism, Lay Practice and Ritual Economy during the Pandemic, 2023
This article presents various institutional responses of Buddhist groups and leaders to COVID-19,... more This article presents various institutional responses of Buddhist groups and leaders to COVID-19, adding a focus on how Tibetan Buddhist practitioners in China have responded to the pandemic. In particular, it examines the predicament of practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism. The article focuses on the material characteristics of Tibetan Buddhism and how they were manifested among Han Chinese urbanites during the pandemic through (1) a teleological inquiry, which looks into the concept of merit (sk: puñña, ch: gongde) 功德, and (2) an organizational inquiry, which explores the modalities in which Han Chinese groups practice Tibetan Buddhism in the socio-political sphere of the Chinese state. Within this inquiry, the article deals with a Buddhist community based in Shanghai and an individual account of pilgrimage in Tibet. Based on these two case studies and their contextualization, the article aims to assess how the COVID-19 crisis has affected the practices, modalities and religious technologies of Tibetan Buddhism practiced by Han Chinese. The article argues for a degree of resilience of lay practice in Tibetan Buddhism; it stresses that while some aspects of the practice called for accommodations and change, the particularities of the practice have pre-existing conditions (such as state regulation on religion and the physical distance of their religious authority) which could accommodate the practical, sociological and psychological implications of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The article presents an ethnography of Buddhist practice groups in Wutong village, an urban villa... more The article presents an ethnography of Buddhist practice groups in Wutong village, an urban village in the Shenzhen metropolis area, relating to the village's predicament through the 1990s and until 2019. It discusses the relationship between two intertwined forms of soft power employed by the Chinese regime: 1) The push for cultural consumption within the framework of the re-development of urban villages. 2) The PRC’s re-definition of Buddhism as a culture instead of a religion. The author examines different lay Buddhist actors in the village, which operate within the current restrictive government policy towards religious groups. The ethnography of Wutong shows the non-dichotomic dynamic of suppression and support articulated by the state towards Buddhism's cultural and religious consumption. It focuses on the dynamic between state control and people's agency over their spiritual and religious realities, especially on the urban fringes. The article suggests that the ur...
The global media has reported various institutional responses of Buddhism to COVID-19. This paper... more The global media has reported various institutional responses of Buddhism to COVID-19. This paper offers a look at the grassroots of Buddhist religious activity in response to the pandemic, examining its impact on lay Buddhist followers of the Nyingmapa Buddhist tradition in Shanghai. The paper relates the activity of this group of lay adepts vis-a-vis COVID-19 to the material characteristics of Tibetan Buddhism, and how they manifest in the Han Chinese urban environment. Exploring the concept of merit, the paper argues how religious responses to the pandemic act as components in contemporary China's ritual economy .
The drone footage captures the Sheng Ming Palace (聖明宮), along with the "Thousands Year Tree ... more The drone footage captures the Sheng Ming Palace (聖明宮), along with the "Thousands Year Tree Deity (千年豬神樹公)" at its back. The Tree Deity is a lump on the tree resembling the shape of a piglet. The local sees it as an incarnation of Zhu Bajie (豬八戒, a deity in Buddhism and a major character of the novel Journey to the West). Additionally, the video shows the Three Grand Statues in the palace, which are Ji Gong (濟公活佛, a deity in Buddhism), Jade Emperor (玉皇上帝, a deity in Daoism), and the Earth Mother Goddess (地母娘娘, a deity exists in the Daoism-quasi-folk belief in Taiwan). This temple was chosen because of it's unique relationship with Taiwanese folk religion and connection to the local religious community. In addition to the manifestation of Zhu Bajie, the combination of these three deities' statues at this temple highlights the relationship of folk religion with established religious traditions in this worship site as they each represent a different aspect of Taiwanes...
This article is a case study of a lay Buddhist community that employs a business model called “li... more This article is a case study of a lay Buddhist community that employs a business model called “living hall” (Shenghuo guan 生活馆) to facilitate the practice of Tibetan Buddhism among its members. The living hall model is explored in the context of the politics of religion in the People’s Republic of China (prc) and the dynamics of Tibetan Buddhism among Han Chinese in the past decades. The author investigates the model’s origin, its implementation in a contemporary Buddhist community, and its interaction with the discourse on Buddhism in the prc. The article joins a recent academic endeavor to illuminate the different modalities in which lay practitioners carry out Buddhist practice outside the sphere of institutionalized Buddhism. The article sheds light on the delicate dynamics between religion and state control in the prc and the role of entrepreneurs and materiality within lay Tibetan Buddhism.
Buddhism, an Urban Village and Cultural Soft Power, 2022
The article presents an ethnography of Buddhist practice groups in Wutong village, an urban villa... more The article presents an ethnography of Buddhist practice groups in Wutong village, an urban village in the Shenzhen metropolis area, relating to the village's predicament through the 1990s and until 2019. It discusses the relationship between two intertwined forms of soft power employed by the Chinese regime: 1) The push for cultural consumption within the framework of the redevelopment of urban villages. 2) The PRC's re-definition of Buddhism as a culture instead of a religion. The author examines different lay Buddhist actors in the village, which operate within the current restrictive government policy towards religious groups. The ethnography of Wutong shows the non-dichotomic dynamic of suppression and support articulated by the state towards Buddhism's cultural and religious consumption. It focuses on the dynamic between state control and people's agency over their spiritual and religious realities, especially on the urban fringes. The article suggests that the urban art village can be understood as a sphere where lay Buddhists subvert state regulation by creating alternative Buddhist spaces for lay practice, in the form of cultural commodities. However, the article addresses the liminality of such urban spaces, which, aside from opportunities for religious entrepreneurship, also creates a state of precariousness for urban village inhabitants, including Buddhist practitioners.
In discussing the arrival of Buddhism to China, Erik Zürcher describes the meeting of “a jungle o... more In discussing the arrival of Buddhism to China, Erik Zürcher describes the meeting of “a jungle of Buddhist metaphysics” with other local philosophies and practices. This period was a transformative encounter with wide-ranging ramifications, including for textual traditions. Non-complete Emptiness (Bu zhenkong lun 不真空論), written by Seng Zhao 僧肇, is one product of this encounter. While explaining the principle of emptiness, Non-complete Emptiness incorporates Daoist and Confucian terminologies and elements. Nevertheless, the text is considered formative for the development of Buddhist writing and practice during the critical period of Buddhism’s assimilation into China in the third to fifth centuries AD. This study of Non-complete Emptiness looks at the philosophical and cultural relevance of the text. It suggests a methodological solution to some of the tensions that have arisen from Seng Zhao’s notion of emptiness. The article begins by looking into the historical and hermeneutical...
This article is a case study of a lay Buddhist community that employs a business model called “li... more This article is a case study of a lay Buddhist community that employs a business model called “living hall” (Shenghuo guan 生活馆) to facilitate the practice of Tibetan Buddhism among its members. The living hall model is explored in the context of the politics of religion in the People’s Republic of China (prc) and the dynamics of Tibetan Buddhism among Han Chinese in the past decades. The author investigates the model’s origin, its implementation in a contemporary Buddhist community, and its interaction with the discourse on Buddhism in the prc. The article joins a recent academic endeavor to illuminate the different modalities in which lay practitioners carry out Buddhist practice outside the sphere of institutionalized Buddhism. The article sheds light on the delicate dynamics between religion and state control in the prc and the role of entrepreneurs and materiality within lay Tibetan Buddhism.
Cluster 1.2: “Religion and Technology” Author: Kai Shmushko, Tel Aviv University/Leiden University, 2022
GIS imaging and the work with Miniature UAV (drone) in the context of Material Religion, can prov... more GIS imaging and the work with Miniature UAV (drone) in the context of Material Religion, can provide a useful, innovative methodological tool for researching Taiwanese religious landscape. In the summer of 2019, as part of the research project of the FROGBEAR cluster on religion and technology, we gathered in Dharma Drum Mountain monastery for a fieldwork workshop led by Oliver Streiter (National University of Kaohsiung), Simon Wiles (Stanford CIDR), and Marcus Bingenheimer (Temple University). They offered a hands-on workshop in GIS and Aerial Imaging for the study of religion. We were working on contributing to the GIS mapping database work, which began in 2017 and continued, adding to it more data on some of the existing religious sites in North Taiwan, as well as drone footage and field interviews in the sites (the sites were in Sanzhi 三芝區district, Shimen district 石門區and Jinshan district 金山區).
Looking at the future of the project- and the study of religion in Taiwan, this essay aimed to broadly think about the methodological and philosophical implications of the workshop. Most of the data collected in the workshop has been edited into short informative films and is available on the FROGBEAR database website. Moreover, we can now begin to articulate the potential contribution of this sort of research workshop to the study of Material Religion in Asia.
The drone footage captures the Wuji Riyue Cimu Temple (無極日月慈母殿) and the Miaofa Temple (妙法寺). Wuji... more The drone footage captures the Wuji Riyue Cimu Temple (無極日月慈母殿) and the Miaofa Temple (妙法寺). Wuji Riyue Cimu Temple (無極日月慈母殿) is a shrine gathering a group of female deities across different religious contexts, including Queen Mother of the West (王母娘娘, Wang Mu Niang Niang), Earth Mother Goddess (地母娘娘, Di Mu Niang Niang), and Cuti Boddhisattva (準提佛母, Zhuti Fomu). These deities represent a mixed Buddhist and Daoist pantheon. This video observed a burning ritual that is performed to celebrate the birthday of the Earth Mother Goddess. The other temple shows in the footage is the Miaofa Temple (妙法寺). It demonstrates a vivid example of female leadership in the Daoist-quasi-folk community in Taiwan. Chen Yuxia, also addressed as Madam Chen, was believed to have received revelation from Mt. Fuji, Japan and later became the founder of Miaofa Temple (妙法寺). Religious practices in the Miaofa Temple are derived from both Buddhism and Daoism a religious practice known as Fo Dao Shuangxiu (佛道雙修). ...
On Face Masks as Buddhist Merit: Buddhist Responses to COVID-19. A Case Study of Tibetan Buddhism in Shanghai, 2021
The global media has reported various institutional responses of Buddhism to COVID-19. This paper... more The global media has reported various institutional responses of Buddhism to COVID-19. This paper offers a look at the grassroots of Buddhist religious activity in response to the pandemic, examining its impact on lay Buddhist followers of the Nyingmapa Buddhist tradition in Shanghai. The paper relates the activity of this group of lay adepts vis-à-vis COVID-19 to the material characteristics of Tibetan Buddhism, and how they manifest in the Han Chinese urban environment. Exploring the concept of merit, the paper argues how religious responses to the pandemic act as components in contemporary Chinas' Ritual Economy.
Sheng Ming Palace: Hybrid pantheon with a cult on the tree and Zhu Bajie, 2019
Wuji Riyue Cimu Temple (無極日月慈母殿) is a shrine gathering a group of female deities across different... more Wuji Riyue Cimu Temple (無極日月慈母殿) is a shrine gathering a group of female deities across different religious contexts, including Queen Mother of the West (王母娘娘, Wang Mu Niang Niang), Earth Mother Goddess (地母娘娘, Di Mu Niang Niang), and Cuti Boddhisattva (準提佛母, Zhuti Fomu). These deities represent a mixed Buddhist and Daoist pantheon.
Open Library UBC- Miao Fa Temple: Secret revelation from the Mt. Fuji, 2019
Chen Yuxia, also addressed as Madam Chen, was believed to have received revelation from Mt. Fuji,... more Chen Yuxia, also addressed as Madam Chen, was believed to have received revelation from Mt. Fuji, Japan and later became the founder of Miaofa Temple (妙法寺). Religious practices in the Miaofa Temple are derived from both Buddhism and Daoism a religious practice
A conference titled “Buddhism in the Anthropocene” will take place on 14 and 15 July at the Max P... more A conference titled “Buddhism in the Anthropocene” will take place on 14 and 15 July at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology (MPI). Using case studies, anthropologists and scholars of Buddhism look at how Buddhist communities are responding to the challenges of the Anthropocene – that is, the far-reaching human-caused changes to the climate and environment. The conference was organized by Saskia Abrahms-Kavunenko (Centre for Contemporary Buddhist Studies, University of Copenhagen) and Jovan Maud (MPI).
Buddhism After Mao: Negotiations, Continuities, and Reinventions Reviewed by Kai Shmushko, 2021
JI ZHE, GARETH FISHER, and ANDRE LALIBERTE, eds., Buddhism Af-ter Mao: Negotiations, Continuitie... more JI ZHE, GARETH FISHER, and ANDRE LALIBERTE, eds., Buddhism Af-ter Mao: Negotiations, Continuities, and Reinventions. Honolulu: Uni-versity of Hawai’i Press, 2020, 355 pp. CAN $34.95 (pb). ISBN 978-0-8248-8834-3
Bi-annual international congress of the European Society for Intercultural Theology and Interreli... more Bi-annual international congress of the European Society for Intercultural Theology and Interreligious Studies, Bonn 23-16 March
The paper explores tea as a religious commodity and its role in promoting and reviving lay Buddhi... more The paper explores tea as a religious commodity and its role in promoting and reviving lay Buddhist expressions in contemporary China. It presents two case studies of grassroots Buddhist communities engaging in tea-related activities and entrepreneurship: one in Shanghai and the other in Wutong urban village. The history of tea in China stretches back a long time; Tea has been a significant cultural, ritualistic and artistic element in China since the Tang dynasty (Benn 2015). Tea initially had a close relation to Buddhism; monks saw it as a potential self-refinement tool ( Hinsch 2015). Buddhism was a relevant component in the spread of Tea from the south to the north of China through monasteries networks. From the 1990’s , one of the most common venues for lay Buddhists to create private practice spaces is teahouses (Fisher 2020). Due to the restricting religious policy in the PRC, Buddhist lay groups camouflage their religious activities in a process referred to by Adam Chau as 'creative dissimulation' (2011). Many Buddhist groups present themselves as secular organizations, they dodge political surveillance presenting themselves as cultural, social, charitable, or even economic organizations. Another force that affects this dynamic is the promotion of Buddhism by the Chinese state. In recent years we witness the PRC’s promotion of some cultural aspects and activities of the Buddhist religion, emphasizing "Buddhism as culture" (Ashiwa and Wank 2020). This approach promotes cultural activities and consumption, rendering Buddhism to a tradition instead of religion; in that framework, tea-related commodities, Buddhist groups seem to flourish. The paper argues that today, tea as a religious commodity plays a role in the entangled relationship between lay Buddhism and the state. It acts as an agent in the new modalities of lay Buddhists to engage in religious practice. Situating Tea within a ritual economy framework, commodities work as a 'language of the invention' (McCracken, 1988), reacting to soft state power. The paper argues that as a pacifying agent, tea represents and enables a dynamic of compliance between Buddhisms and the Chinese state. While fragile and dynamic, tea creates a form of peaceful equilibrium
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Looking at the future of the project- and the study of religion in Taiwan, this essay aimed to broadly think about the methodological and philosophical implications of the workshop. Most of the data collected in the workshop has been edited into short informative films and is available on the FROGBEAR database website. Moreover, we can now begin to articulate the potential contribution of this sort of research workshop to the study of Material Religion in Asia.
Looking at the future of the project- and the study of religion in Taiwan, this essay aimed to broadly think about the methodological and philosophical implications of the workshop. Most of the data collected in the workshop has been edited into short informative films and is available on the FROGBEAR database website. Moreover, we can now begin to articulate the potential contribution of this sort of research workshop to the study of Material Religion in Asia.
The history of tea in China stretches back a long time; Tea has been a significant cultural, ritualistic and artistic element in China since the Tang dynasty (Benn 2015). Tea initially had a close relation to Buddhism; monks saw it as a potential self-refinement tool ( Hinsch 2015). Buddhism was a relevant component in the spread of Tea from the south to the north of China through monasteries networks.
From the 1990’s , one of the most common venues for lay Buddhists to create private practice spaces is teahouses (Fisher 2020). Due to the restricting religious policy in the PRC, Buddhist lay groups camouflage their religious activities in a process referred to by Adam Chau as 'creative dissimulation' (2011). Many Buddhist groups present themselves as secular organizations, they dodge political surveillance presenting themselves as cultural, social, charitable, or even economic organizations.
Another force that affects this dynamic is the promotion of Buddhism by the Chinese state. In recent years we witness the PRC’s promotion of some cultural aspects and activities of the Buddhist religion, emphasizing "Buddhism as culture" (Ashiwa and Wank 2020). This approach promotes cultural activities and consumption, rendering Buddhism to a tradition instead of religion; in that framework, tea-related commodities, Buddhist groups seem to flourish.
The paper argues that today, tea as a religious commodity plays a role in the entangled relationship between lay Buddhism and the state. It acts as an agent in the new modalities of lay Buddhists to engage in religious practice. Situating Tea within a ritual economy framework, commodities work as a 'language of the invention' (McCracken, 1988), reacting to soft state power. The paper argues that as a pacifying agent, tea represents and enables a dynamic of compliance between Buddhisms and the Chinese state. While fragile and dynamic, tea creates a form of peaceful equilibrium