Buddhism in Taiwan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Buddhism is the principal religion in Taiwan. Is part of the religious fabric of the nation, where a considerable portion of the population has spent time as Buddhist monks and nuns. Taiwan houses Fo Guang Shan Monastery, the largest in the nation and one of the largest Buddhist monasteries in the world.Taiwan's population is 95.5% Buddhist as of 2006.

1 History
2 Recent growth
3 External links
4 See also
5 Notes

[edit] History

Buddhism was brought to Taiwan in the time of the Ming dynasty by settlers from Fukien and Kwangtung Provinces. It was discouraged by the Dutch colonial rulers who controlled Taiwan from 1624 until 1663, until Cheng Cheng-kung (Koxinga) drove the Dutch from Taiwan in 1663. His son Cheng Ching established the first Buddhist temple in Taiwan.

When the Ching dynasty took control of Taiwan by defeating of Cheng Ching's son, Ching Ning, in 1683, large numbers of monks came from Fukien and Kwangtung provinces to establish temples, and a number of different Buddhist sects flourished.

During the Japanese occupation of Taiwan (1895-1945), Buddhism was influenced by Japanese traditions. After Taiwan was restored to the Republic of China in 1945, mainland Buddhists reasserted their influence, organizing the Taiwan Buddhist Association in 1945 and ordaining 500 priests in 1952.

[edit] Recent growth

Statistics provided by the Interior Ministry show that Taiwan's Buddhist population grew from 800,000 in 1983 to 4.9 million in 1995, a 600 percent increase against an overall population rise of about twelve percent. Additionally, in the same period the number of registered Buddhist temples increased from 1,157 to 4,020, and the number of monks and nuns was up 9,300 monks and nuns, up from 3,470 in 1983.14^[1].

In recent years, Tibetan Buddhism has greatly increased in popularity, with many Tibetan lamas visiting Japan on a regular basis.

Taiwan has also begun to provide considerable support to the revival of Buddhism in mainland China, reversing the centuries-old relationship.