This first development must be seen against a back-
drop of steadily decreasing ordinations overall. Be-
tween 1949 and 1989, when the population of Taiwan
rose from 7.5 million to over 20 million, the number
of new ordinations each year, especially male, did not
keep pace. Many observers understand this phenom-
enon to be part of a trend in the Buddhist world at
large, where laity has grown increasingly active and
prominent.
Third, the ethical content of Buddhism in Taiwan
has undergone change. Some organizations such as Fo
Kuang Shan and the Buddhist Compassionate Relief
Tz’u-Chi Association have propounded new precepts
that followers formally undertake. The founder of Fo
Kuang Shan, Xingyun (1927– ), has published his vi-
sion of “Fo Kuang Buddhism” in several lectures and
books, in which he seeks to turn followers’ attention
away from otherworldly concerns, such as rituals for
the dead and rebirth in the Pure Land, and toward ef-
forts to benefit living beings in this world. Likewise, the
Buddhist Compassionate Relief Tz’u-chi Association
under its founder Zhengyan (1937– ) trains its follow-
ers to be of assistance within the present world. As an
association composed almost entirely of laypeople, the
focus is on social action rather than maintaining monas-
tic roles. Individual monasteries such as the Nongchan
Monastery in northern Taipei and the Faguang Mo-
nastery in downtown Taipei are two of many that no
longer use disposable chopsticks and bowls due to a
concern for the environment. In all these contexts, the
slogan is “to build a Pure Land on Earth.”
Finally, Buddhist monasteries in Taiwan have
changed their fund-raising methods in response to de-
velopments in the economic sphere. In place of tradi-
tional methods of generating income, such as soliciting
donations, providing funeral services, and renting land
for agriculture, many monasteries seek to build bases
of lay support in a more systematic, less overtly com-
mercial way. They organize their core constituency
into lay organizations, such as the Dharmapala orga-
nization that supports Dharma Drum Mountain. They
found collegiate Buddhist fellowships and lead stu-
dents in meditation or Pure Land retreats. Some of the
larger urban monasteries have publishing concerns.TAIWAN
A ceremony at Fo Kuang Shan Monastery, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 1987. © Don Farber 2003. All rights reserved. Reproduced by per-
mission.