Religious reforms, pragmatic Buddhism and married nuns

WU JIAXIANG

BEIJING, China, Mar. 9

Chinese actress Chen Xiaoxu, well-known for her portrayal of the melancholy beauty Lin Daiyu in a 1980s TV version of the classic novel Dream of Red Mansions, has abandoned everything she owned, cut her hair and became a Buddhist nun. She once made thousands cry for the character she portrayed in the TV drama. This time, thousands cried for the actress herself after learning of her decision. In recent years, a number of celebrities have left their homes and families to become monks or nuns, distressing the public and exciting the media. For the public such actions may be viewed as a warning bell, whereas for the Buddhist community they are definitely good news, with far more propaganda value than news about temples being built or lectures given by Buddhist masters.
Unfortunately, a nun's hair is not like grass, easily cut and grown again. Once the hair representing the secular world is cut, it may only grow again in the next life. Buddhism is like a coin bank. Once in it you are like a small coin, with no way out unless you break the bank.
Since Buddhism was introduced to China -- except during the Mao Zedong period -- certain conflicts have endured: the secular versus the spiritual; patriotism versus piety; government authority versus religious authority; imperial robes versus monks' robes; reality versus meditation; one view versus the opposite view. These conflicts have damaged rather than benefited both sides -- those who seek faith have no life; those who seek life have no faith. This splits society into two parts: the majority of people living a normal life and the minority living a monastic life. Most people cannot save themselves, but can only be saved by others, who can not live normal lives themselves.
The Tang Dynasty experienced major reforms in Buddhism, which grew out of the movement of refugees during the previous divided Northern and Southern Dynasties. People lost their homes as well as their temples. But their spiritual homes could not be lost, and Buddhism took on a more social, practical form.
There were three significant contributions of these Buddhist reforms:
First, they incorporated the spiritual into the secular world. One did not necessarily have to become a Buddha in the temple. Enlightenment could be attained at home as well. One did not need to be raised up by others, but could raise oneself.
Second, they changed "sitting Buddhism" into "practicing Buddhism." The former required disciples to sit still and receive food and gifts from believers without exerting any effort. Sometimes they deceived the people and even the government to obtain gifts. There were always fat monks or officer monks (nowadays, monks in China always have official rankings). On the contrary, practicing Buddhism meant gaining things through one's own efforts, including fishing, hunting, plowing and studying. It also meant one could practice religion all the time, while sitting, lying down or walking.
Third, they advocated "instant perfection," which meant the practicing person was already a Buddha, and the next life was now. It was in the market, not the temple, that one should burn incense and ask for good fortune. Performing one's job well only for the sake of getting a promotion was like practicing bribery, not Buddhism.
When the Buddhist reformist ideas, known as Zen, were brought to Japan, the syllable "do," meaning principle, was added to many everyday actions. For example, the art of serving tea became "sado," fencing became "kendo," warriors learned "bushido," and martial arts became "judo" -- meaning that each of these activities should be done according to correct principles. Rather than abandoning, disparaging or rejecting the religious aspect of life, Japanese civil society was raised to a spiritual level. Thus, respect for one's career and the pursuit of perfection in one's profession became mainstream trends.
Japan underwent a second period of Buddhist reforms, but China did not. This second set of reforms achieved the real integration of the spiritual and secular worlds. Being a monk or a nun became an occupation, not a lifestyle. Those who served as monks and nuns in the temples were also husbands and wives at home. There are some 57 million Buddhists in Japan. If they all left home to live in the temples, 45 percent of Japan's residential areas would have to be converted into temples.
In order to achieve a harmonious and modern society, China needs not only religious freedom but also religious reform. The point of Buddhist reform is not to let wives become nuns, but to let nuns become wives.
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(Wu Jia Xiang is a renowned economic and political scholar, based in Beijing, and a former visiting scholar at Harvard University's Fairbanks Center for East Asian Research. This article is translated and edited from the Chinese; the original may be found at www.ncn.org. ©Copyright 2007 by Wu Jia Xiang.)

Translated by Helen Gao; Edited by Kathleen Hwang.