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Papers by Douglas M Gildow

T'oung Pao, 2024

Modernist Buddhist movements receptive to new social and intellectual developments have emerged a... more Modernist Buddhist movements receptive to new social and intellectual developments have emerged around the globe since the late nineteenth century. This study probes the origins of Chinese modernist Buddhist thought, including its sources, features, and transformations. Through a survey of writings by turn-of-the-century Chinese intellectuals, I show that Liang Qichao 梁啟超(1873–1929) was, in 1902, the first Chinese person to advocate modernist Buddhism. His ideas drew not only from Japanese modernist Buddhism, but also from Confucian discourse and from Western thought without Japanese mediation. Liang’s Buddhist thought incorporated features such as rationalism, social engagement, egalitarianism, and detraditionalization. He argued that if it were properly understood and practiced, Buddhism would strengthen China’s social order and could even transform the world into a “pure land” ( jingtu). Liang’s modernist conception shaped later Chinese Buddhist movements, but only after it was cannibalized
and its parts were modified for the purpose of reviving traditional Buddhism.

Journal of Chinese Buddhist Studies, 2023

This article introduces, annotates, and translates "On the Relationship between Buddhism and the ... more This article introduces, annotates, and translates "On the Relationship between Buddhism and the Social Order" (lun fojiao yu qunzhi zhi guanxi 論佛教與群治之關係), an essay published in 1902 by the famous Chinese intellectual Liang Qichao 梁啟超 (1873-1929). This essay was arguably the first Chinese modernist Buddhist publication in history. That is, it was the first published writing, composed in Chinese by a Chinese writer, to reflect an understanding of Buddhism that scholars today identify as Buddhist modernism. In the essay, Liang argues that Buddhism properly understood is not only true but also socially useful, because it is rational, socially engaged, and egalitarian.

The terminology and arguments in the essay were foundational for new developments in twentieth-century Chinese Buddhism. The text offers clues about how modernist forms of Buddhism emerged and mutated, and how variants of modernist Buddhism differ. The strongly detraditionalizing variant of Buddhism Liang sketches in this essay-centrally concerned with the sociopolitical order and featuring a fallible Buddha-was rejected by the later Chinese Buddhist clerical mainstream. Yet elements of Liang's proposal, including his emphasis on transforming society and creating a pure land in this world, became central discourses in Chinese Buddhism and have remained so until the present.

Review of Religion and Chinese Society, 2020

A common narrative of Buddhist monasticism in modern China is that monastic institutions were vir... more A common narrative of Buddhist monasticism in modern China is that monastic institutions were virtually eliminated during the Cultural Revolution period (1966-1976) but have undergone continuous revival since that time. This simplistic narrative highlights differences in state-monastic relations between the Maoist and post-Maoist eras, even as it oversimplifies various developments. In this article, I analyze the notion of revival and assess the state of Han Buddhist monasticism in the prc. My focus is on clarifying the "basic facts" of monasticism, including the numbers and types of monas-tics and monastic institutions. I draw on studies published since Holmes Welch's works as well as on my own fieldwork conducted in China since 2006. This article questions the revival metaphor and shows that it is misleading. First, as Welch noted for the Republican period, recent developments are characterized by innovations as much as by revivals. Second, evidence for the growth of monasticism from around the year 2000 is weak. Yet in two aspects, monasticism today revives characteristics of Republican-period monasticism: ritual performance is central to the monastic economy, and Buddhist seminaries are important for monastic doctrinal education.

Asia Major, 2018

This article examines the evolution of Cai Yuanpei’s (1868–1940) views on religion in general and... more This article examines the evolution of Cai Yuanpei’s (1868–1940) views on religion in general and Buddhism in particular, focusing on his little-known essay, “Protecting the Nation through Buddhist Teachings” (1900). The twofold aim is to explain how a generally secularist leader such as Cai could have once advocated Buddhism as a key in constructing a modern nation but then changed his views. Toward this end I analyze Cai’s writings and probe the sources of his ideas. This investigation reveals that Cai derived pro-Buddhist ideas from modernist Japanese Buddhism and from native Chinese thinkers fearful of Christianity and disenchanted with Confucianism. I argue that Cai’s gradual change was due to Western secular philosophies and to his experiences with religious groups. I suggest that Cai wrestled with a fundamental issue for modern states, which remains divisive worldwide to this day: whether to grant a given religion or ideology a privileged place in the national constitution. An annotated translation of Cai’s essay is appended.

Journal of Chinese Buddhist Studies, 2014

For centuries the performance of rituals has been one of the most common, complex, remunerative, ... more For centuries the performance of rituals has been one of the most common, complex, remunerative, and controversial activities in Chinese Buddhism. This article lays out the contours of the contemporary Chinese Buddhist “ritual field,” focusing on rituals called “Dharma assemblies” (fahui) in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Based on a selection of announcements and ritual schedules posted in monasteries during 2009-2013, I show which rituals are performed and how they are marketed. I also show when and how frequently certain rituals linked to the annual cycle of festivals are performed, and analyze and suggest categorization schemas for the rituals. Finally, I discuss the relationships between ritual activities on the one hand and commercial activity, monastic revenue, and seminary studies on the other. Annotated translations of six announcements and ritual schedules, followed by transcriptions of the source Chinese texts for these translations, are included in the appendixes.

Foxue Yanjiu 佛学研究 (Buddhist Studies) , 2014

本文旨在介绍并评析有关禅宗及“东山法脉” 研究的英文学术论著。首先概述近来禅宗研究的趋势；然后，重点评述 David Chappell、 John Jorgensen 与 John McRae ... more 本文旨在介绍并评析有关禅宗及“东山法脉” 研究的英文学术论著。首先概述近来禅宗研究的趋势；然后，重点评述 David Chappell、 John Jorgensen 与 John McRae 对于流行的所谓禅宗法脉及东山法脉疑问及研究，以及相关研究议题的异同之处；之后再以英语学界近来对中国佛教 "lineage"（世系、师承、法脉、宗派）观念的研究为背景，对于东山法脉的特色与历史定位略作议论。

4ème Congrès du Réseau Asie & Pacifique (conference volume), 2011

Most human dead are eventually forgotten but are not supposed to be forgotten too soon. This poin... more Most human dead are eventually forgotten but are not supposed to be forgotten too soon. This point is suggested by the ritualization of corpse disposal, which follows special protocols marking it as separate from the disposal of ordinary waste. Even anonymous cadavers are often buried or cremated individually rather than more cost-efficiently cremated en masse or dissolved in pressured vats as deceased pets or livestock often are. This paper describes a small set of “special dead” in Taiwan, namely mummified corpses that have been adorned and enshrined. These are dead that, for some people, are worth remembering and have never died. But the gilded shells that often encase them may lacquer over bodily decay. Currently there are at least eleven formally enshrined, mummified corpses in Taiwan (see Table 1). The first was enshrined in 1879 and the most recent in 2007, although the earliest extant mummy had been held in military and police facilities and museum storage vaults since 1912 and was re-enshrined, on loan from a museum, as recently as 20 September 2011. Below I contextualize and explain mummification in Taiwan by answering the following questions. How do these mummies fit into the broader mortuary culture? How has the practice been disseminated? What are the trends in the practice? Finally, how can we explain its revival?

Journal of Chinese Religions, 2006

It is well known that Han fear the metaphysical pollution they associate with death and especiall... more It is well known that Han fear the metaphysical pollution they associate with death and especially corpses. Traditionally they believe family members of the recently deceased are temporarily polluted and those who work handling corpses are permanently polluted; people try to avoid such polluted others for fear that sickness or other unfortunate events may follow contact. Yet strewn across the countryside of both China and Taiwan, and scattered throughout accounts in Buddhist historical texts, are mummified corpses venerated as deities: granting requests, sending dreams, enshrined, worshipped, often gilded, sometimes installed inside or below a religious statue or decorated to look indistinguishable or nearly so from a statue. What happens to most bodily remains? How is it that most corpses are feared, whereas certain others are worshipped? Are these divergent evaluations of corpses due to conflicting religious systems, or does it depend mainly on the identity of the corpse? The following article focuses on these questions as they apply to contemporary Taiwan. First, I describe in detail corpses that are worshipped, since their existence is less recognized or is mistakenly assumed to be nothing but a Buddhist aberration within an otherwise universal pattern of corpse avoidance. Next, I describe corpses that are feared and show changing attitudes toward bodily remains. Finally, I suggest how divergent attitudes toward bodily remains can be placed into the broader context of Han religious beliefs. [Actual year of publication: 2006. Date on journal: 2005].

Asia Major, 2005

[Co-authored with Marcus Bingenheimer. Publication date on journal: 2002. Actual year of publicat... more [Co-authored with Marcus Bingenheimer. Publication date on journal: 2002. Actual year of publication: 2005]

Book Reviews by Douglas M Gildow

Journal of Global Buddhism, 2017