Buddhist Responses to Christianity in Postwar Taiwan

Buddhist Responses to Christianity in Postwar Taiwan

Awakening the World

After the Communist victory in China’s civil war, Taiwan“then governed by the KMT (or Nationalist Party)“became a focal point for both Buddhist and Christian activity in the Chinese world. Focusing on some of the most influential monastics of the time, this study considers Buddhist responses to Christianity during its subsequent period of growth on the island. Drawing on Buddhist and Christian publications, it shows that interfaith competition, and political context, are important in shaping religious identity and driving the religious engagement with modernity. Buddhist Responses to Christianity in Postwar Taiwan: Awakening the World will be of interest to historians of Buddhism, Chinese religion and Taiwanese society, and to those with an interest in interfaith dialogue more generally.
  • Cover
  • Table of Contents
  • Acknowledgments
  • A Note on Romanization and Translations
  • Preface
  • Introduction
    • Chinese Buddhism and identity
    • The three teachings
    • Buddhism and Christianity in China
    • New intellectual and political responses
    • Enter the KMT
    • Modernity, and “KMT modernity”
    • Taixu
    • Overview of the study
  • 1. Buddhism and Patriotism
    • Taiwan’s Political Context
    • Buddhism and KMT Values
    • Awakening the world
    • Conclusion
  • 2. Buddhism and Chinese Culture
    • Cultural renaissance
    • From Moses to Marx
    • “Slave society”
    • East of Eden
    • The genesis of a new approach
    • The study of Buddhism
    • Conclusion
  • 3. Buddhism and Modernity
    • Pointing at the moon
    • Open letters to Du
    • The science of Sakyamuni
    • God and Gotama
    • Yinshun’s sources
    • Conclusion
  • 4. Decline and Revitalization
    • Perceiving the decline
    • History as polemic
    • From the temple to the ivory tower
    • Conclusion
  • 5. Sermons Among Mountains
    • Dharma Drum Mountain
    • Tzu Chi
    • Buddha-Light Mountain
    • Lingjiu Shan and Zhongtai Chansi
    • Conclusion
  • Conclusion
    • Religious inter-connectivity
    • Interfaith competition in Taiwan after 1949
    • KMT modernity
    • Interfaith competition and identity
  • List of Chinese Characters
  • Bibliography
  • Index

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