This book explores manifestations of the revival of Buddhism among non-monastic people and communities, building on mixed methods qualitative research.
- Cover
- Contents
- List of Figures
- Figure 1: Manual explaining how to prepare a shrine (photo courtesy of Ms. Zhang [Shanghai], 2019)
- Figure 2: Practitioners preparing for a home retreat (photo courtesy of Ms. Zhang [Shanghai], 2019)
- Figure 3: Group Practice (photo taken by the author [Shanghai], 2018)
- Figure 4: Community pilgrimage trip to Larong Gar ([Seda],2017)
- Figure 5: Community members preparing products for distribution (photo taken by the author [Shanghai], 2018)
- Figure 6: Products from the assortment of products sold online (screenshot taken by the author 2017, 2019)
- Figure 7: Meditation session (photo taken by the author, [Shanghai] 2019)
- Figure 8: Pilgrimage to Sertar (courtesy of Ms. Lin and WeChat moments [Sertar], 2017)
- Figure 9: A bird’s eye view of Hongfa Temple (photo from Hongfa Temple website, 2018)
- Figure 10: Visitors with un-lit incense sticks (photo taken by the author 2019)
- Figure 11: List of donation options (photos taken by the author [Shenzhen], 2019)
- Figure 12: Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall (photos taken by the author [Shenzhen], 2019)
- Figure 13: Examples of the Bodhisattva lamps (photos taken by the author [Shenzhen], 2019)
- Figure 14: Little Red Book users posting experiences from Hongfa Temple visit (screenshot collage made by the author, 2023)
- Figure 15: Fireworks in the streets of Wutong (photos taken by the author [Wutong, Shenzhen], 2019)
- Figure 16: Fireworks in the streets of Wutong (photos taken by the author [Wutong, Shenzhen], 2019)
- Figure 17: View of the river from the Liu house (photo taken by the author) [Wutong, Shenzhen], 2019)
- Figure 18: Practitioners reading scripture (photos taken by the author [Wutong, Shenzhen], 2019)
- Figure 19: Practitioners doing full body prostrations during a retreat (photo taken by the author [Wutong, Shenzhen], 2019)
- Figure 20: Ms. Li’s fermented lemon drink. The photo is taken from the back room of the house where jars of the drink are kept next to photos of the late Kyabjé Drubwang Padma Norbu Rinpoche (Thubten Legshed Chokyi Drayang) (photo taken by the author, 201
- Figure 21: Mr. Ru making tea for a monk from Hongfa Temple (photo taken by the author [Wutong, Shenzhen], 2019)
- Figure 22: Sticker sent by Ms. Li in our conversation on WeChat, saying “thank you” in Tibetan (screenshot taken by the author, 2022).
- Figure 23: Selection of digital counters and sutra players for purchase from the online shop, Taobao (screenshots taken by the author, 2020).
- Figure 24: Pilgrimage trip to Sertar. Collage made by Ms. Lin and posted in the community WeChat and on Weibo.
- Figure 25: Community in gathering (courtesy of Ms. Lin, 2017–2022)
- Figure 26: “Oranges Are Inedible” posts. Photos of himself reading in morning scripture session (screenshot taken by the author, 2023)
- Figure 27: “Oranges Are Inedible” posts practicing meditation (screenshots taken by the author, 2023)
- Figure 28: “Miaoan’s Mindfulness Diary” profile page (screenshot taken by the author, 2023)
- Figure 29: Posts posted by various users of The Little Red Book, capturing recitations, counting activities, and achievements using digital counting machines (screenshot taken by the author, 2022)
- Figure 30: Posts posted by various users of The Little Red Book, capturing recitations, counting activities, and achievements using digital counting machines (screenshot taken by the author, 2022)
- Figure 31: Example of another user posting meditation practices and counting machines (screenshot taken by the author, 2022)
- Figure 32: Example of another user posting meditation practices and counting machines (screenshot taken by the author, 2022)
- Figure 33: Ming Yue’s posts on The Little Red Book sharing her tea and sutra reading practices (screenshot collage made by the author, 2022)
- Figure 34: Tea ceremony given by the monks in Dharma Drum Mountain monastery (photo taken by the author, Taiwan, 2018)
- Figure 35: Online tea ceremony held by Buddha Light Mountain Malaysia and led by Master Zhihan in 2021 (screenshot taken by the author, 2023)
- Figure 36: Jing thought tea rituals course at Tzu Chi facilities (photo courtesy of Guo Baiyi, collected in 2021)
- Figure 37: Sanyi organic tea plantation with the background of Miaoli district mountains (photo taken by the author [Sanyi, Taiwan], 2023)
- Figure 38: Instructions to visitors (photo taken by the author [Sanyi, Taiwan], 2023)
- Figure 39: Entrance to Ruisui farm (photo taken by the author [Hualian, Taiwan], 2023)
- Figure 40: Dharma lecture on Ruisui farm (photo taken by the author [Hualian, Taiwan], 2023)
- Figure 41: Harvest season at Shanwaishan farm (photo courtesy of Shanwaishan farm, [Pinglin, Taiwan], 2021)
- Figure 42: Tea praising calligraphy mage by Master Yicha (photo taken by the author [Pinglin, Taiwan], 2023)
- Figure 43: Tea praising calligraphy mage by Master Yicha (photos taken by the author [Pinglin Taiwan], 2023)
- Figure 44: The second floor of the farm, the practice hall (photo taken by the author [Pinglin, Taiwan], 2023)
- Figure 45: Dharma Assembly in Shanwaishan farm (photos taken by the author [Pinglin, Taiwan], 2023)
- Figure 46: Master Yicha (photo taken by the author [Pinglin, Taiwan], 2023)
- Figure 47: Master Deqing (photo taken by the author [Pinglin, Taiwan], 2023)
- Acknowledgements
- List of Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Hypothesis and Research Questions
- Methodology and Research Strategy
- Chapter One: The Roots—Buddhism in Modern China
- Positioning
- Buddhism under the Chinese Communist Party
- A Buddhist Revival in the Late Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Centuries
- PRC Policy Towards Religion and its Influence on Buddhism
- Laying the Groundwork: Lay Buddhism
- Multiple Liminalities
- Chapter Two: The Tibetan Buddhist Fever and the Living Hall Model
- Introduction
- Tibetan Buddhism in Modern China
- Some Characteristics of Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism
- Between the Tibetan Plateau and Residential Shanghai
- A Layered Community Modality
- Practice and Orthopraxy
- The Birth of The Living Hall Model
- Regulations and Discourse on Religion in the Xi Jinping Era
- Commodification, Enchantment, and Material Culture
- Between Religious Commodities and Cultural Elements
- Conclusion
- Chapter Three: The COVID-19 Pandemic—Resilience and Adaptation
- Introduction
- Practice and Community During the Pandemic—The Pure Light Valley Retreat
- COVID‑19‑related Ritual Economy
- The New Normal or the Old Normal Accelerated?
- Religious Tourism in Tibet
- Conclusion: Resilience, Adaptation, and Permanent Liminality
- Chapter Four: The Rise of a New Urban China—Shenzhen and Hongfa Temple
- Introduction
- Urbanization and Shenzhen
- The Spatiality of Buddhism in Shenzhen
- Hongfa Temple—an Institutionalized Space for Lay Buddhism
- Modern Orthopraxy—Accelerated Merit Economy
- Lay Practices—Bottom Up or Top Down?
- Conclusion—Clean Worship?
- Chapter Five: The Rise of Urban China—Zooming into an Urban Village in Shenzhen
- Urban Villages in Shenzhen
- Arriving in Wutong
- Wutong—an Art Village
- Grassroot Buddhist Groups in Wutong
- Ms. Li’s Fermented Lemons
- The Ru Family Tea–Guesthouse – Expanding the Space of Practice
- Nun Niangu’s Buddhist Center
- Between Religion and Culture
- Conclusion—Liminoid and the Future of Buddhism in Wutong
- Chapter Six: Cyberspace and Technology—Micro-Practices of Belonging
- Introduction: The Digital Turn of Religion in Asia and Beyond
- The Context of the PRC
- Regulations Regarding Religion on the Internet
- The Digital Turn and Liminality
- The Little Things—Recitation as Ritual Technology
- Count Your Prayers! Together
- Cybersanghas
- Embedding in The Little Red Book
- “Inspire Lives”
- Esthetics, Symbols, and Performativity
- Visuals and Stories
- Micro-Practices of Belonging
- Tea Drinking Going “Viral”—Tea Practices and Symbolism Replicated
- The Online Presence of Tea Rooms
- Impact of Measures and Regulations—2017–2022
- Conclusion
- Chapter Seven: Buddhist Material Culture—Tea and Buddhist Communities in Taiwan
- Introduction
- The Material Turn
- Modern Buddhism in Taiwan
- Taiwan and China
- Tea and the “Four Great Mountains” of Taiwan
- Tzu Chi’s “Four Jing” Tea
- Buddhist Practice in the Shanwaishan Organic Tea Farm—Setting
- Community Structure
- Combining Scripture Reading in the Daily Farm Routine
- Tea as More Than a Material
- The Practice of Tea—From the Ground Up
- Lay Agency and Skillful Means
- Conclusion—Between Science and Supernatural Power
- Conclusion—Multiple Liminalities
- Destabilization of Religious Structures
- Cyberspace as a Locus for Lay Buddhism
- Commodification, Commercialization, Materialization
- Multiple Liminalities—Beyond Positive and Negative
- Bibliography
- Index
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