Women in Contemporary Buddhism: A Case Study of Foguangshan in Hong Kong

Being the mainstream of contemporary Chinese Buddhism, Humanistic Buddhism is characterized by the full participation of women in its religious practices, which is particularly evident in Taiwan. Taking Fo Guang Shan for an example, it has a larger female monastic population---over eighty per cent --of contemporary Buddhist order. Buddhist women's full participation in contemporary Chinese Buddhism therefore deserves a comprehensive study. This present study, being organized as a case study of Fo Guang shan in Hong Kong, one of Fo Guang Shan's worldwide branches, aims to explore the active and positive roles played by Buddhist women in Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Community, in particular, during its "stepping out" for internalization and globalization since 1980s. Of course, the localization of Fo Guang shan in Hong Kong against the social contexts of Hong Kong and Taiwan is also taken into consideration.;The focus of this study is twofold: 1) to provide an overview of major views of women in Buddhism and 2) to examine and analyze the contemporary Buddhist women's participation in Buddhism. Indeed, Buddhist views of women exert their significant influence on women's studies, practices and status in Buddhism. Thus, this study first traces the historical development of major views of women in Buddhism to identify its basic and general types. While, a big emphasis is put on the investigation of Tai Xu's, Yin Shun's and the founder of Fo Guang Shan Monastic Community---Master Hsing Yun's views of women. The discussions on the contemporary Buddhist women's participation in Buddhism in this study are mainly exemplified by the female monastics working for and in Fo Guang Shan in Hong Kong, such as their studies and practices of Buddhism, their responsibilities for preserving and teaching Buddhist teachings and guiding lay Buddhist followers in Hong Kong and their positive contributions to the society.;Chapter One explains the reasons for developing this study on contemporary Buddhist women's participation in Buddhism. Also includes a detailed literature review of this topic, the methodology adopted in and the significances of this study. The early Buddhist views of women along its chronological order of development are then presented with a specific introduction to Chinese Buddhist views of women in Chapter Two. Next, Tai Xu's, Yin Shun's and Master Hsing Yun's, the three representatives of Humanistic Buddhism, are analyzed respectively. A detailed explanation on the history, organization and the monastic environment of Fo Guang Shan in Hong Kong, my particular case study, is provided in Chapter Four. Chapter Five puts forward the three major ways of women's engagement with Buddhist activities of Fo Guang Shan in Hong Kong and provides its followers' evaluation on their female monastics. Chapter Six illustrates how the Fo Guang Shan in Hong Kong follow and practice Fo Guang Shan's main objectives: to promote the Drarma through culture activities, to foster talent through education, to benefit society through charity and to purify people's mind through cultivation. The final Chapter is devoted to the Venerable Man Lian, the general secretary of Fo Guang Shan in Hong Kong to illustrate the high quality of female monastics in Fo Guang Shan.;It is therefore clear to find that this study, by taking Fo Guang Shan as its specific example, explores the contemporary Buddhist women in Buddhism from the aspects of "conceptions" (i.e. Master Hsing Yun's views of Buddhist women), "systems" (the organization and structure of Fo Guang Shan), "cultural and social contexts" (for Buddhist women's development in contemporary Chinese society) and "personal circumstances" (the life story of particular female monastic). It shows, out of both theoretical and fieldwork data analyses, that the contemporary Buddhist women identify and express Buddhism as their personal religious beliefs much more actively and confidently. It also shows there is a large number of Buddhist women who are not only frequent visitors to Fo Guang Shan in Hong Kong but active participants in various religious activities for education, charity and cultivation. And the female monastics of Fo Guang Shan in Hong Kong gain a high evaluation from their followers because of their full contribution. Accordingly, their high level of identification as monastic women also makes them be able to play an important role in the process of internationalization and globalization of Fo Guang Shan.