佛教、婦女與公民社會在台灣(戴愛蓮)
Elise Anne DeVido(戴愛蓮)：佛教、婦女與公民社會在台灣(第四屆印順導師思想之理論與實踐－－「人間佛教‧薪火相傳」學術研討會文章)
Buddhism, Women, and Civil Society in Taiwan
佛教、婦女與公民社會在台灣
Elise Anne DeVido(戴愛蓮)
(中文版翻譯請參看《佛教、婦女與公民社會在台灣》)
Introduction
As is well known, since the mid-1980s, Taiwan has experienced a large-scale religious revival, not only within the traditional popular religious sphere, but also within institutionalized Buddhism and Daoism. This profound cultural phenomenon, heretofore overshadowed by worldwide scholarly and media attention to Taiwan’s economic and political developments, deserves attention in its own right. One striking aspect of Taiwan’s religious efflorescence is the rapid development of Buddhist nuns, unprecedented in world history. The present number of fully ordained nuns and monks number about 30,000, with nuns constituting about 75% of this cleric population. This statistic is the one commonly cited by scholars of monastic Buddhism in Taiwan, based on field work observations and by estimating annual ordination records. It is an extremely difficult task to gather and verify statistics about Taiwan’s Buddhist monastics and their communities and activities, especially for the period after the end of martial law, 1986 [1]
I submit that Taiwan has become the heartland of the Mahayana monastic world, not only because of its open environment conducive to the development of Buddhist doctrine, practice, and autonomous monastic communities, but in particular, Taiwan has become a center for female Buddhist novitiates, Asian and non-Asian, from all Buddhist traditions (Theravadin, Tibetan, Zen) to receive training and full ordination which does not exist elsewhere, not even in India, due to male monastic opposition over the centuries. For example, female monastics (both Asian and non-Asian) of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition are widely known as “Buddhist nuns;” however, they are in fact “novices,” (sramanerika), not fully ordained nuns, unless their lamas grant them permission to become ordained by Taiwanese or other Chinese monastics. For over fifteen years, the D_Lama has advocated the establishment of a fully ordained nuns’ order within Tibetan Buddhism, and sent a special envoy to Taiwan in November 1997 to investigate the Taiwanese system. Whether any concrete progress has been made still remains to be seen.
Thus, the impact of the Buddhist Renaissance in Taiwan, and in particular the contributions made by female monastics, are profound: not only will Taiwanese institutionalized Buddhism continue to transform and invigorate world Buddhism, but also this Buddhist renaissance, inspired by the mission to create a “Pure Land on Earth,” through its notable contributions to charitable and philanthropic causes, secular and spiritual education, publishing, mass media, the arts, environmentalism, opposition to nuclear power, animal rights, and disaster relief, plays a crucial role in the construction of a civil society in post-authoritarian Taiwan.
This means that Buddhism here not only guides the Taiwanese to ponder spiritual, philosophical, and ethical questions, but also Buddhism here has promoted the values of community involvement and volunteerism in Taiwan. Buddhist organizations have fostered a concern for the commonweal, for the greater good of society that is new to the traditionally family-oriented Chinese ethics of Taiwan.
Lastly, the preponderance of women, both monastic and lay, in these developments is at once a product of the liberalization of traditional gender roles in Taiwan since the 1970s, and, is itself a force that is creating more diverse life opportunities and choices for women in Taiwan. However, whether and how the phenomenon of Taiwan’s Buddhist nuns can be explained via the categories and theories of “feminism” is a complex enterprise, and will be discussed further below.
Oddly, as yet there are no full-length monographs on Taiwanese Buddhist nuns in Chinese, English, or any other language, though it is the subject of ongoing doctoral research in Taiwan and abroad. Recently as well, scholars of religion in Taiwan such as Ven Chao Hwei, Jiang Canteng, Lu Huei-syin, Yang Hui-nan, Li Yuzhen, and Chen Meihua, have published numerous works, and participated in conferences organized by Buddhist seminaries, on this subject.
Charles B. Jones’ path-breaking book, Buddhism in Taiwan: Religion and the State, 1660-1990 (1999) gives an excellent overview of Buddhism in Taiwan, and as such, it does not concentrate on Buddhist nuns in particular, though he notes “the vitality of the nun’s order [in Taiwan] after 1952.” [2]
Indeed, in both written accounts and in interviews, nuns often speak of how Taiwan is the tiankong (literally, “heaven; “the firmament,”) for Buddhism and in particular, for nuns. I translated this as “infinite worlds” for two reasons: first, to indicate Taiwan is a free and open space for Buddhist nuns’ development; second, because there is not simply one “ideal type” of Buddhist nun in Taiwan; significant differences exist.
For this paper, I have drawn upon the following sources: interviews with a number of female monastics and scholars of Taiwan Buddhism; a phone survey of all officially-registered Buddhist monasteries in Taipei; Chinese primary and secondary sources; and the few English sources on Buddhism in Taiwan, and women in Buddhism as a global movement.
Major Factors
Many factors have contributed to the fact that Taiwan has the greatest number of fully ordained Buddhist nuns in the world and why institutional Buddhism was able to take root so quickly in Taiwan:
A. Taiwan’s heritage: the “vegetarian women” sects (Buddhist-inspired popular religious sects) in the Qing dynasty and during the Japanese colonial period, 1895-1945, as well as Japanese Buddhist developments in Taiwan. The majority of these women were laypersons, not fully ordained nuns, and if so, were most likely ordained in the Japanese tradition. At any rate, Taiwan had a large pool of women “Buddhist” believers, many of whom became fully ordained in the Chinese tradition after 1952.
B. The Cult of Guanyin in Taiwan: “The Bodhisattava is continually smiling, calm, and quiet, gentle and soft like a mother who never rests from her duties.” (Yang Liling, Rensheng (Humanity) March 2002, No. 223, page 62) Generations of women and men in Taiwan grew up praying to Guanyin for divine aid in many life situations. They may have read popular biographies of Guanyin which also offer advice on how to put up with, ren’nai , family and emotional problems. As Chun-fang Yu has written: “The cult of Guanyin did indeed serve Confucian family values,” did not challenge the socio-political status quo and thus could flourish in Taiwan.[3].(Yu Chun-fang, Kuan-yin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokitesvara , [ New York: Columbia University Press, 2001] p. 494)
C. Overall high level of co-education in Taiwan (compared with other nations with a Buddhist heritage) ever since the promulgation of public schools during the Japanese period, and especially after post 1949 modernization of the education system (a compulsory, universal, nine-year education system)
D. The post-1949 situation in which monks newly-arrived from mainland China, being relatively few in number and without contacts in Taiwan, had to rely on and cooperate with Taiwan “nuns” and the extensive networks of female layperson organizations, unless they had political ties with the Nationalists and BAROC.
E. The post-1949 situation in which these same monks brought to Taiwan for proselytization the Chinese Mahayana tradition, including the formal monastic rules for monks and nuns, thus beginning the Sinicization and institutionalization of Taiwanese “Buddhism.” Under the harrowing conditions of martial law and the “White Terror,” these monks often proselytized in secret, and were arrested and silenced unless they had political protection.
F. The overall influence of Ven. Yin Shun’s Earthly Buddhism doctrines that has modernized and rejuvenated Mahayana~Pure Land Buddhism.
G. Following the practice of Catholic and Protestant proselytizing methods among Taiwan’s young people, the Buddhists, from the 1960s, began to establish “Study Groups” and scholarships, in vocational schools, high schools and universities, issued popular publications, tapes of instructional lectures and Buddhist sutras, prayers, and songs, etc. Many potential nuns and monks were and are recruited in this way.
H. In the 1960s and 1970s, leading monks in Taiwan encouraged the development of the nuns’ order, particularly their education and training. Leading Masters like Ven. Yin Shun and Ven. Xing Yun have worked for equal status of monks and nuns in Taiwan, in clear contrast with the situation in other Buddhist countries.
I. Dramatic societal transformations in the 1970s and 1980s: This was the period of Taiwan’s remarkable and rapid economic take-off; also, Taiwan’s citizens gained more freedom to leave the county for tourism and study abroad; end of martial law allowed development of civil society; end of the Ministry of the Interior and BAROC’s ability to strictly monitor Taiwan’s Buddhist world.
J. The influence of “Western” feminism in Taiwan and upon nuns studying abroad (this is complex; some male academics cite this as an “obvious main factor” but the nuns’ responses were ambivalent and contradictory, as will be explained in a separate section below)
K. Due to the hard efforts over the years of nuns and leading monks sympathetic to their development since the first formal ordination of nuns in 1952, now nuns enjoy a high social position in Taiwan unlike the case historically in China, and play not only active but leadership roles in monastic affairs and society at large, and in education, charity, publishing and mass media. In addition, through sponsorship by her monastery, a nun may have opportunities for pursuing graduate studies both in Taiwan and overseas.
When I talked to nuns about these factors, they wished to stress their long years of training, hard work and sacrifices offered for the advancement of this centuries-old Mahayana~Pure Land heritage, rather than credit Taiwan’s popular worship of Guanyin, or an imported “Western feminism,” or, political maneuvers by the state such as ending martial law, as commonly cited in the analyses of historians and social scientists.
Why Become a Nun ?
Though some potential nuns may have grown up in so-called “Buddhist” families, this form of worship is in fact properly characterized as Taiwanese “popular religion,” often centering on worship of Guan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy. The actual point of entry into the orthodox Buddhist world for many nuns was, as mentioned above, by having previously participated in formal Buddhist “Study Groups” in vocational schools, high schools and universities. The first attraction is religious and idealistic; these young women, from arts and sciences, business, computers, or vocational backgrounds, then hope to pursue more intensive study of Buddhism as a means of self-cultivation, towards the goal of enlightenment: Yi xiuxing wei zhu .
As these are young women moving from the secure and highly-protected moorings of the Taiwanese family and the education system into the world, those grappling with personal crises involving identity, family, and relationships also may consider the monastic life, but this type of person will not succeed through the intensive and multi-step process of observation, examination and evaluation which the women must pass through before reaching even the novitiate stage. Other young women drawn to the possibility of the monastic life are those who possess talents in the areas of counseling, medicine, and children’s education, while others were already teachers, who felt that they had reached a limit in the significance and effectiveness of their pedagogy, so only religion, and Buddhism in particular, would allow them to explore beyond the limits of secular knowledge. They said that the education they received in Taiwan during the period of martial law lacked any spiritual or critical aspect but rather taught unquestioning devotion to the Chinese nation, to the Three Principles of the People, etc. Encountering Buddhism for these young women was like a great burst of light and air, filling a great intellectual and spiritual void within them. Yet others are considering careers in academia, publishing and other fields of communication, the arts, social work, adult/community education, NGO work, and active social movements, all of which are possible by joining one or another monastic community, each of which stresses its own “mission(s),” zhiye .
Another attraction is that monasteries often will sponsor the graduate studies of their nuns, whether in Taiwan or abroad: for some young women, lacking economic means or family encouragement, this would be their only chance to obtain advanced degrees.. However, one need not become a nun in order to develop one’s individual career path; one can always remain a lay practitioner of Buddhism. Therefore, the purpose of the extended period of pre-novitiate and novitiate screening process is to identify those who are suited to living and working in a disciplined, communal setting, sworn to celibacy, for a lifetime: those who are primarily dedicated to furthering the interests and missions of one’s particular monastery, whose central purpose, no matter what secular form the missions may take, is to propagate the Dharma, the Buddhist teachings, hong fa wei zhu [4]
And, before scholars draw hasty conclusions about “Taiwanese nuns” based on observation of high-profile, resource-rich, and socially-engaged monasteries, styled the “mountain-tops,” shantou , of “Earthly Buddhism,” there are indeed numerous smaller monasteries, many in central and southern Taiwan, outside of major cities, that still attract some young women to join. These monasteries, often with nuns over 50 years of age in central and southern Taiwan, stress the contemplative life; their nuns rarely venture out into society unless they are called to perform traditional Buddhist rituals such as for funerals and the mourning period. Thus, more extensive inquiry into the differences among Taiwan’s all-nun monasteries is crucial, in order to ascertain to what extent the “Earthly Buddhism” body of doctrines and practice has now indeed become the mainstream, zhuliu , in the Taiwanese Buddhist world, or, will, in the next generation.
The Questions of Femininity and Feminism
There are two main questions here: do nuns in Taiwan identify with, or are linked up with, the worldwide Buddhist nun movement (defined as working for strengthening the nun’s monastic order and working for equality of nuns with monks), and second, do Taiwanese nuns identify themselves with the feminist movement in Taiwan? (the latter defined as working for equal opportunity for women, improving their legal status and quality of life, etc) In recent years, there has been a movement among nuns from all Buddhist traditions for greater equity within the Buddhist world. The debate centers around the contradictions about the status and nature of women and nuns inherent in Buddhist scripture and historical commentaries, while others in the meantime focus on establishing and strengthening nuns education, training, and full-fledged ordination, which, as mentioned previously, exists only in the Mahayana tradition.
In Buddhist scripture and monastic practice, on the one hand, there are such beliefs as “all can reach enlightenment;” “in Buddhahood, there is no gender;” and, both monks and nuns wear similar clothing, are tonsured, and receive burn-marks upon ordination; their “Buddhist” names and titles are not gender-specific. Following historical precedent, one can use the sobriquet “a virtuous man, “da zhangfu , to describe both monks and nuns. And monks and nuns alike (unlike the case in the Catholic Church, for example) have the right to participate in and officiate at Buddhist ceremonies; take disciples; hold the position of “Master;” vote on Buddhist affairs; continue their education; and proselytize.
Yet, examples of misogyny and discrimination against nuns may also be cited: Besides negative descriptions of women’s “bad karma” and various weaknesses and inclinations to sin that bar them from reaching enlightenment until they are reborn in a man’s body, there are also strictures such as: Monks are required to abide by 250 precepts, while nuns must obey 348; male Masters can take both male and female disciples, but female masters only female; and the “Eight Chief Laws” that place nuns in an inferior position to monks.
In Taiwan, however, due to the factors discussed earlier in this paper, the nuns’ order has flourished in Taiwan, and nuns not only outnumber monks, but also are a leading stratum in Taiwanese civil society. Taiwanese Buddhism plays a central role in the development of the nuns’ orders worldwide, by having preserved and furthered the monastic rules and full ordination ceremonies, and building outstanding nun communities.
So do they, then, identify with, are congruent with, the Taiwanese feminist movement? One might first draw this conclusion after observing various self-reliant, self-administered communities of highly talented and hard-working women. To see slightly-built Taiwanese women, under the blazing sun, slicing lumber with power tools into kindling for their kitchen ovens, or to notice the great degree of strength and stamina needed to play the drums and bells throughout the long Buddhist morning and evening services, one immediately thinks of the Chinese phrase for a “super-woman,” nu qiangren . However, it’s not so simple.
In my interviews, the Masters repeatedly stressed that the “modernization” and “liberalization” of Taiwan society has opened up more opportunities and choices (pursuit of higher education and career) for young women besides the one path of marriage and family. As they put it, young women can “come out of the kitchen to get an education and become self-reliant; there is no need anymore to rely on one’s family and husband.” And when I asked newly-ordained nuns why they chose the monastic life, a standard answer was: “In this way, I can contribute my time, energy, and talents to far more people, to society at large, rather than devote myself to my husband, children, and in-laws.” [5] So still: the emphasis (at least in these generic statements for public hearing) is on serving others, there must be a utilitarian reason, a rather than a pursuit of spiritual and intellectual self-cultivation for its own sake.
And when one probes further, we find that many nuns have essentialist notions of “Chinese” femininity [6]. This is not surprising, since Taiwan nuns are Taiwan women who grew up in Taiwan society, I have found that most women and men here take for granted essentialist notions of gender, these are basically uncontested givens in Taiwanese society. This is due to lingering Confucian ideas about gender traits and roles, together with the mutually reinforcing ideas from Chinese medicine that girls and women are inherently weaker and vulnerable, and made more vulnerable due to the “traumas” and “pollution” of menstruation and childbirth. What a paradox that these notions still persist, despite the outstanding achievements of women in education, business, politics, the professions, and the religious sphere and despite the rapid progress towards gender equality in government policy, law, and public discourse.*
When asked why are there so many nuns in Taiwan, one hears:
‧Women possess a compassionate and warm heart (Ven. Shan Hui)
‧Women are especially suited to undertake the rigorous path of Buddhist studies and training, due to their patience, endurance, and attention to detail (Ven. Ming Jia)
‧Due to familial and social expectations thanks to the Confucian legacy, men in Taiwan are under far more pressure to succeed in career and family life, so fewer men than women can choose the monastic life. (Ven. Ming Jia)
‧By their nature women are particularly suited as caregivers, and excel in healing and counseling roles. (Master Wu Yin)
‧Women are more suited than men to live in communal groups due to their self-effacing, sacrificial nature. (Master Wu Yin)
‧Women by nature are inclined to excel in the fields of culture, higher education and scholarship, Buddhist education, and adult/community education. (Ven. Heng Ching)
‧Nuns manifest the “steadfast, persevering, hardworking” character of “Taiwanese women.” (Master Wu Yin)
‧Nuns have succeeded in Taiwan in propagating Buddhism due to their “gentle feminine nature, which makes people feel like they’ve been bathed by spring winds.” (Ven. Chao Hwei)
Thus, according to these nuns, their strength lies precisely in “difference.” These so-called “feminine traits” such as warmth, compassion, desire for harmony and peace, patience, endurance, sacrifice, correspond to Buddhist ideals, and thus women possess natural advantages over men in the calling to monasticism, in startling contrast with the Theravada and Tibetan traditions, where the so-called female nature is considered to be a serious stumbling block. Somehow, within Chinese Buddhism, the Indo-Tibetan dichotomy of “Female wisdom and male compassion” was inverted to “male wisdom, female compassion,” and thus could conform to and affirm traditional Chinese essentialist gender traits. And of course, Avalokitesvara was originally portrayed with male features and bearing, but in China Guanyin came to be portrayed as either an androgynous or a feminine/maternal figure. At the Fo Guang Shan monastery complex in Kaohsiung County, a statue of Guanyin watches over the nuns’ dormitory, while a statue of Wenzhu guards over the monks’ dormitory.
The nuns distinguish the Taiwanese experience from “Western” feminist notions of “self-awareness” and “fighting” for gender equality or the androgyny of liberal feminism. Nor, at least yet, do the nuns’ missions converge with the content and goals of the Taiwanese feminist movement: the nuns work for the good of Taiwanese society overall, and do not particularly highlight women’s issues, except of course, the quest to realize women’s higher education, and helping women realize their individual potentials. So far, few are the nuns like 釋昭慧 and 釋性廣 who have called themselves 佛教的女性主義者.
It is likely that in the future, as the older generation of nuns who were ordained in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s become less active, the under-40 generation might very well align themselves closer with the Taiwanese feminist movement. Some younger nuns and novitiates have backgrounds in women’s studies and many have study abroad experiences. Much depends upon the definition and direction of the Taiwan feminist movement. At present, we can discern two general trends in international feminism: first, liberal feminism which hopes to promote gender equality by de-emphasizing gender differences, emphasizing universal “human” nature; second, the feminism of difference, which celebrates so-called “feminine” traits like nurturance, harmony, compassion, selflessness, cooperation, communication, being “other-centered,” and hopes to globally promote these traits in state and society in order to counter so-called “male” attributes such as aggression, alienation, competition, lack of communication etc.
So depending upon your definition of feminism, the efforts of, for example, 慈濟功德會 to promote an essentialist notion of female nature, of female as synonymous with Mother, as a self-sacrificing, infinitely patient, compassionate nurturer of others…this can be seen as conservative and reactionary, or, as progressive, extending heretofore “female traits” of the private sphere into the public sphere, not only empowering heretofore silent women, but also transforming the mindset and actions of both genders in civil society.
Conclusion
So far I have not precisely defined “civil society” which in Chinese may be translated as 文明社會, 市民社會, or 公民社會. The third term is the one which perhaps most closely resembles the classic definition “of a sphere of autonomous individual activity, independent from both the state and the fetters of older kinship and feudal ties…” a sphere including “the bourgeoisie” and private “civil organizations.” [7]
Civil society “plays a linking and mediating role…between state and society, primarily to control or provide a counter-poise to the state.” [8] Debates rage over whether “civil society” is a phenomenon peculiar to 18th-19th century Europe and post-Communist Eastern Europe and Soviet Union, or, is a universal feature of all democratic societies; also, whether China historically had a civil society and whether Taiwan (or any other contemporary society!) has one now. (See Alternate Civilities: Democracy and Culture in China and Taiwan , by Robert P. Weller, Westview Press, 1999 and Civil Society in China , ed. by Timothy Brook and B. Michael Frolic, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1997.)
For the moment, it is helpful to consider the Robert P. Weller’s perceptive comments on the role of women and of Buddhism in creating a distinct type of civil society in Taiwan, an “alternate civility”: “Civil society is usually…associated with voluntary choices of autonomous individuals, rather than pre-existing community ties of some sort” (Weller, p. 139) But civil society in Taiwan, though influenced by foreign and international trends as well, has been built on “local social capital, especially (as) organized through religion, kinship, and political factions.” (Weller, p 140) Women in Taiwan have contributed greatly to the emergence of this civil society, for they (‘in a different voice’) “consistently take leading roles in the informal sector, pushing at the boundaries of local association, and creating the armature of potential political changes.” (Weller, p. 140)
Weller stresses that “one striking characteristic of religious developments in both China and Taiwan has been the public role of women,” no more obvious than in the Buddhist renaissance in which both nuns and laywomen play important roles. Not all religions groups and temples act like civil organizations, but Weller believes that new Buddhist organizations do, because they look “to universalizing sets of moral values, defining new kinds of communities no longer based on local geography.” (Weller, pp.88, 93, 140)
Finally, speaking of “civil society,” how are Taiwan Buddhist groups related to the international “Engaged Buddhism” Movement led by Thich Nhat Hanh, et al, that emerged from developments in Vietnamese Buddhism since the 1960s but also was directly inspired by the Chinese Buddhist reformers Vens. Tai Xu and Yin Shun? (“Engaged Buddhism” in Vietnamese is nhap gian phat giao, the transliteration of 人間佛教 ! ) This is a topic that deserves further inquiry.
注釋：
[1] Before 1986, all religious groups had to register as lawful organizations with the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) while each year the number of newly-ordained nuns and monks were registered with the Buddhist Association of the Republic of China (BAROC), an official arm of the Nationalist party-state. After 1986, however, monasteries holding annual ordination ceremonies were no longer required to register with BAROC, and the MOI’s statistics are vague and do not distinguish institutional Buddhism from the popular religions, let alone relate reliable numbers of ordained clergy. In addition, the monasteries themselves are reluctant to reveal their own statistics. As for mainland China, the Pure Land monastic tradition has been revived in recent years but remains ideologically and institutionally fettered, while the opportunities for monastic education are limited. I have not yet found a number for fully-ordained nuns, only the number 80,000 for total number of monks and nuns (Pure Land Tradition). But I suspect that this number includes students, novitiates, and self-styled “monastics” who are in fact laypersons. I have also been told the following estimates, from a scholar who wishes to remain anonymous until the figures can be proven: 1500 fully ordained nuns in Mainland China; 9805 fully ordained nuns in the world, excluding Taiwan.
[2] The American scholar of Buddhism, Yu Junfang, has a Chinese book forthcoming on the Luminary Buddhist temple, the all-nun monastic community and seminary in southern Taiwan noted for its high scholastic standards and rigorous monastic training process.
[3] I interviewed Master Wu Yin, head of the Luminary Buddhist Seminary; Ven. Ming Jia, of Jiayi, their nun disciples, Ven. Heng Ching, professor of philosophy at National Taiwan University; Ven. Jien Shen, professor of education at Hsuan Chuang University; Ven. Shan Hui of the Chien Kuang Temple; Vens. Guang Guo and Xianyue of the Ling Jiu Mountain Monastery; Prof. Jiang Canteng, Prof.Lu Huei-syin, and Professor Li Yuchen. Many thanks to Dr. Dominique Tyl of Fu Jen University’s Socio-cultural Research Center who carried out a phone survey of Buddhist temples.
[4] Though each monastery must obey the Vinaya for general guidance, the details about daily operations, fiscal and personnel administration, and long-term missions are decided by each Master and disciples. Monastic education and training is also based on the Vinaya, but the actual courses of study, length of novitiate period, selection process, etc, is also decided by each monastery. Each monastery is an autonomous authority unto itself, according to the principles of “self-regulation, self-examination,” zilu, ziqing. Each monastery forms its own customary laws as well as Constitution and By-laws (mufa, zifa, literally, Mother and Child laws) usually reached through group consensus. This aspect of monastic life deserves further inquiry, especially because the requirements of the modern world demand modification to, or liberal interpretation of, the Vinaya.
[5] Even if this is a generic answer that echoes their Master’s voice, we should not dismiss the kernel of authenticity that may lie within.
[6] Here arises another thorny problem: due to different historical influences, we should examine the definitions of “femininity” and “feminism” in the two contexts of Taiwan and mainland China.
[7] Robert P. Weller, Alternate Civilities: Democracy and Culture in China and Taiwan, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1999, p.14.
[8] Timothy Brook and B. Michael Frolic, Civil Society in China, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1997, p.9.
【中譯】
如所周知 ，從一九八○年代中期以來，台灣經歷了一個大規模的宗教復興運動，它不只是傳統的民間宗教的復興，同時也發生在佛教及道教內部。因為先前國際媒體及學界將注意力放在台灣經濟與政治的發展，所以往往忽略了這個深刻的變化。這一波宗教運動的情形可以拿一個例子來說明——比丘尼數量大幅增加。現在台灣正式的僧侶的數量大約是三萬，而其中比丘尼就占有百分之七十五左右，這個數目是由田野研究的觀察以及每年剃度記錄綜合而來，最常為研究台灣佛教史的學者所引用。但事實上，想要對台灣寺院還有它們的社群與活動進行精確的統計是非常困難的，尤其是戒嚴解除(一九八六年)之後這一段時期。[9]
台灣已經成為大乘佛教的心臟地帶，這不只是因為它的環境開放，所以佛教教義、佛教社群得以發展，更主要的是台灣是亞洲及亞洲以外，所有佛教傳統的女性修道院之中心，人們可以在這里被剃度，而這在其他地方，像西藏，是無法得到的。因為那些地方幾個世紀以來男性僧侶反對這麼做。譬如說，藏傳佛教中的許多女性出家人，常常被當作是合格的比丘尼，但事實上，她們只是sramanerika，不是比丘尼，除非她們的喇嘛准許她們接受台灣，大陸或韓國僧侶的剃度，才能算是合格。
所以，台灣的佛教復興運動，尤其是女性出家人的貢獻，是非常深遠的。不但台灣的佛教組織將繼續為世界佛教界注入活力，同時，她們為了實現人間淨土的理想所從事的慈善救濟、世俗與精神的教化、出版、傳播、藝術、環境生態、反核、動物權、災難救濟等的顯著成績，也使得她們為後威權時代的台灣在建立公民社會的努力扮演了重要的角色。
這是說，佛教不只引領台灣人民去思考探索精神層次的、哲學層次的、倫理層次的問題，同時也推展了社群意識與義工精神，佛教組織孕育了一種對公義及社會公益的關懷，這對以傳統中國倫理為主的、以家庭為核心價值的台灣而言，是很新的事情。
在這一波宗教復興運動中，不管是出家或在家的女性信眾都扮演了領導性角色，這是一九七○年代以來對傳統性別角色的解放的產物，同時也為台灣女性的未來開啟了更多元的人生機會與選擇的路。不過，這個現象是否能夠用「女性主義」的理論來加以解釋是相當值得討論的。
奇怪的是，在英文或其他語言的著作中，都尚未出現有關台灣比丘尼的專書，我們所知道的是目前在台灣及海外有一些相關的博士論文正在撰寫。此外，台灣的宗教學者，像釋昭慧、江燦騰、盧蕙馨、楊惠南、李玉珍、陳美華，也已經出版了許多的著作，其中有不少涉及這個主題。他們也參加了許多這方面的討論會。
查爾斯．瓊思(Charles B. Jones)在他那本具有開創性的書Buddhism in Taiwan: Religion and the State, 1660-1990中對台灣的佛教有一個很好的綜觀，在書中他談到一九五二年以後台灣女性出家眾的活力，可惜，他並未特別討論台灣女性出家人。
不管在文字敘述或訪問中，台灣的比丘尼經常談到台灣是佛教的天空，尤其是女性出家人的天空。因為兩個理由，把「天空」譯成infinite worlds——無限的世界；第一，表示對于女性出家人而言，台灣是一個自由而開放的空間。第二，表示台灣的女性出家人並不只有一種「理想類型」(ideal type)，而是有許許多多差異性存在。
我主要是依據下述材料寫成這篇文章：我對一批比丘尼及佛教史學者的訪問、對台北市所有經過正式登記注冊的佛教道場的電話訪問、中文的一手和二手著作，還有一些有關台灣佛教、及女性與全球佛教運動的英文著作。[10]
一、主要因素
有許多因素可以解釋為什麼台灣擁有全世界最多合格剃度的比丘尼，以及佛教組織何以能那麼迅速地在本地生根。第一，在清代以及日本統治期間(一八九五～一九四五)，有大量的素食婦女齋姑，日本佛教團體在台灣也相當活躍，這些齋姑大多是俗眾，並未剃度，但即使如此，她們之間也可能被以日本佛教的方式剃度。無論如何，台灣存在著大量的女性俗眾，在一九五二年之後她們之中有許多人以中國佛教的方式剃度了。
第二，台灣的觀音信仰。〈菩薩總是微笑、沈靜、溫和、柔軟，像一個從不休息的母親〉(楊麗珍，《人生》，2002年3月，二二三期，頁62)，代代以來，台灣的百姓在許多不同的人生情境中向觀音膜拜、祈求保佑。他們也可能閱讀過各式各樣有關觀音的故事，那些故事中勸人遭遇到家庭及個人的困難時應該忍耐。余均芳這樣寫著：「觀音信仰其實為儒家的家庭價值提供解釋。」這種信仰並未挑戰社會政治的現狀，因而能夠在台灣流行。(Chun-fang Yu, Kuan-yin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokitesvara, 〔New York: Columbia University Press, 2001〕p. 493)
第三，從日據時代以來，台灣便建立了男女同校的教育系統，尤其是一九四九年以後，教育系統的現代化(像九年的義務教育)，使得男女受教育的比例非常之高。
第四，一九四九年從大陸渡海來台的僧侶，因為數量不多，而且與本地社會沒有多少關系，除非他們與國民黨或是中國佛教協會有聯系，否則這些僧侶必須與本地的女性出家人及廣大的在家女信眾的組織合作。
第五，一九四九年渡海來台的僧侶帶來了中國的大乘佛教傳統，包括比丘、比丘尼的規約，他們開始將台灣的佛教中國化、建制化。在戒嚴及白色恐怖時期，這些僧侶通常是秘密地進行宣教，如果他們沒有政治力量的保護，動輒會被壓制或逮捕。
第六，印順法師宣揚「人間佛教」大幅地振興了大乘淨土的佛教傳統。
第七，從一九六○年代開始，佛教界開始學習天主教與基督教吸引信徒的方法，在職校、高中、大學成立了大量的社團及獎學金，並刊發了大量的通俗讀物、佛經、佛曲，及講解教義的錄音帶和錄影帶等。以這些方式吸引了許多新的僧侶。
第八，在一九六○及七○年代，一些具領導地位的高僧提倡比丘尼的教育與訓練，像印順法師、星云法師，大力鼓吹男、女僧侶之平等地位。這與其他國家佛教世界的情形是相反的。
第九，一九七○及八○年代台灣社會的急迅變化：一方面是經濟起飛，二方面是老百姓能自由地進出國門並到各地旅行、游學，三方面是解除戒嚴之後民間社會的發展，以及內政部和中國佛教協會對台灣佛教界的控制的減除，都對台灣佛教的發展有深刻的影響。
第十，西方的女性主義對台灣社會之影響，以及比丘尼出國念書。(這個問題比較複雜。有些男性學者認為這是一個「主要的因素」，但是女性出家人對這一點的反應相當矛盾，相當遲疑。這一點等一下還會談到。)
第十一，從一九五二年第一個比丘尼正式剃度以來，在過去幾十年中，大量比丘尼努力工作，一些具領導地位的高僧對她們產生同情，現在比丘尼在台灣社會中享有相當高的社會地位，而且在佛教界以及像教育、出版、大眾傳播等世俗事務中，扮演著領導性角色，這與她們在傳統中國的地位完全不同。
當我與許多比丘尼談及上述種種因素時，她們比較願意強調她們長年的努力、訓練，還有她們為了實踐幾個世紀以來大乘淨土的理想所作的犧牲奉獻，而比較不認為是台灣的觀音信仰、西方女性主義的影響、或是政府終止戒嚴法等常常在各種專家學者的研究中被提到的因素。
二、「為什麼成為比丘尼？」
雖然有些出家的女性是從傳統佛教家庭出來的——這些家庭所信奉的其實是通俗宗教，拜觀音是主要的活動。但是事實上，許多後來出家的女性參加過學校的佛教學習團體。這些青年人，不管是學藝術、科學、企管、電腦、或是具有職業背景，最初多是被宗教性以及理想性所吸引，希望透過研習佛學而能找到一種因修身而達到啟悟的路子。
還有許多年輕女性在離開層層呵護的家庭及學校而走入社會時，面臨了自我認同、家庭、社會關系等種種危機，可能會想出家。不過這一類型的人還要通過寺院見習階段的種種嚴格的觀察、考驗與評估。
有些傾向寺院生活的年輕女性是那些具有咨商、醫療以及教導幼兒的才能的人，還有一些是教師，她們覺得自己已經面臨一些人生重大的瓶頸，只有宗教，尤其是佛教，可以讓她們探尋一個在世俗知識以上的境界。她們通常不滿意過去在戒嚴時期所受的教育，認為那個時代的教育缺乏精神性以及批判精神，只是教導人們如何盡忠黨國及三民主義。接觸到佛教，使這些年輕女性覺得自己好像接觸到光與熱、填補了智慧與精神上的空虛。有些人則是覺得如果脫離家庭進入寺院，同時可以完成其他的志業，像從事研究、出版、傳播、藝術、社會工作、教育、非營利工作、社會運動等等，一舉兩得。
另外一個吸引人的原因是，佛教組織經常資助女性出家人讀研究所或出國深造，對那些沒有充足的經濟資源或家庭支持的人，這是她們得到更高學位的唯一機會。不過，無論如何，人們並不需要成為比丘尼才能追求她自己的志業，作個俗家弟子還是可以達到她們的目標。所以，見習前與見習期間的嚴格考驗，是為了篩選出那些可以過著紀律的、集體靜坐、獨身的清修生活的人。不管僧侶們所從事的是那一種世俗的活動，但其目的都是為了弘揚佛法。
學者總是把注意力放在那些經濟實力雄厚、社會聲望高的佛教組織(也就是所謂的「山頭」)，並根據這方面的研究對台灣佛教徑下論斷。但是事實上，我們還應注意到台灣還有無數的小道場，它們遠離城市的活動，但還是吸引了許多年輕女性加入。這些寺院通常是由五十歲以上的比丘尼所主持，強調的是冥修生活，除了被請去主持喪葬儀式外，她們很少介入社會活動。所以深入探討寺院之間的差異性是非常重要的，藉此可以確定「人間佛教」到底在何種程度上可以說已經成為、或將成為台灣佛教的主流。
三、有關女性特質與女性主義問題
這里準備探討兩個主要的問題：第一，台灣的女性出家人究竟能不能算是世界性的女性出家人運動中一環？(這股運動強調的是加強女性出家人在佛教世界中的角色及男、女僧侶之平等地位。)第二，台灣的女性出家人是否認同台灣的女性主義運動？(這個運動主要強調男女平權等議題。)
最近幾年，世界各地的女性出家人有一股要求男女平權的運動，爭論的焦點之一是佛教經典及注釋中隱含著歧視女性的意識，爭論的焦點之二是強調女性出家人的教育、訓練以及完全剃度的權力(前面提到，這只存在于大乘佛教的傳統)。
在佛教經典與實踐中，從一方面說，確實提到不論是男是女，眾生皆有佛性，眾生皆可頓悟，而且比丘與比丘尼穿著相似的衣服，也都剃光了頭，頭上都有戒疤，他／她們的法號也沒有性別之分，甚至像「大丈夫」這樣的稱謂，可以用于比丘，也可以用于比丘尼，而且在佛教儀式中，不管男性或女性僧侶皆可以參與或主持，他／她們也都可以收信徒，都可以成為住持，可以在佛教事務上投票等。
但是在另一方面卻也出現不少厭惡女性或歧視女性的例子，除了負面的描述女性為有「惡業」，或是認為除非女性 reborn in a man’s body，她們不可能真正開悟。甚至還有一些歧視性的規定，像比丘被要求要守二五○條戒，而比丘尼則要守三四八條戒；男住持可以兼收男、女弟子，而女住持只能收女弟子，在八敬法中，比丘尼的位階比比丘低等等。
即使如此，因為有前述的十一種因素，台灣的女性出家人社群仍高度發展，比丘尼的數目字仍是超過比丘，而且形成台灣公民社會的領導層。由于台灣保留而且進一步推展了女性出家的規定與儀式，建立了傑出的比丘尼社群，台灣的佛教在全世界女性出家社會中，扮演一個核心的角色。
那麼，她們是否認同于台灣的女性主義運動甚至與之合流？有些人在觀察了一些能干的女性所組的社群，可能會說「是」。看到婦女在烈日當空下辛勤工作，或是看到她們早晚間敲鍾打鼓所表現的體力與耐力，可能會馬上用「女強人」來形容她們，但事實上並不那麼簡單。
在我的訪談過程中，我發現許多大師會強調，台灣社會的現代化與解放，開啟了更多元的機會與選擇，使得婦女不必然只能走婚姻與家庭一條路。他們說，從此婦女可以「走出廚房接受教育，自我獨立，不必再倚靠自己的丈夫和家庭」。當我問新近比丘尼她們為何選擇寺院生活時，她們會答說：「這樣，我可以不只是服侍丈夫、孩子、親威，而是貢獻更多的時間、精力、才能給更多的人和社會。」所以，重點仍然是服務他人。除了自我的心靈追求與修身之外，還有一個功利的理由。
當我再追問下去時，會發現許多比丘尼有一個根本的中國式的女性觀點。這並不令人覺得奇怪，既然她們都生于台灣社會，長于台灣社會，她們很自然地會把社會中的性別觀點當作天經地義。由于儒家文化的影響，又加上中醫理論的強化，她們相信女性天生就是柔弱的、體質上易受傷寒的、月經及生產使得她們更加脆弱。即使是大量女性在教育、事業、政治、各種職場上及宗教活動上取得了卓越的成就之後，即使在男女平權的觀點日益興盛並且落實在政策、法律及公共意見之後，人們仍舊秉持這樣的想法。
當人們問到，為何台灣有這麼多比丘尼時，我們會聽到比丘尼們這樣說：
．婦女比較有同情心。
．因為婦女比較有耐心、有耐力、能注意細節，所以她們比較能通過嚴格的佛教訓練。
‧因為儒家文化中對男性成家立業有所期待，所以男性有較大的壓力要為工作及家庭奮斗，所以男性出家的人數比女性少。
‧在天性上，婦女比較適合于關懷照顧，而且比較能勝任心理咨商、心理治療方面的工作。
‧女性更適合于社群生活，因為她們比較不突顯自己，比較能犧牲自我。
‧女性天生上比較適合從事文化、教育、佛教教育等方面的工作。
‧比丘尼展現了台灣婦女「堅定、自持、辛勤工作」的特質。
‧在台灣社會，比丘尼之所以能比較成功地宣揚佛教，是因為她們特有的「溫和的女性特質，使得人們有如沐春風的感覺」。
依照上述的陳述，人們可以發現，台灣女性出家人的長處正在于她們與男人「不同」，這些女性的特質：溫暖、慈悲、愛好和諧、有耐心、忍耐、犧牲，與佛教的理想相吻合，所以女性比男性更合適于寺院生活。這種觀點與西藏等地的佛教傳統完全相反，在那些地方，人們認為女性的特質是佛教生活嚴重的障礙。甚至可以說在中國的佛教中，印度、西藏一系的二分法——「女性智慧、男性慈悲」，正好倒轉過來——「男性智慧、女性慈悲」，而「女性慈悲」的觀點正好合乎中國女性主要的特質。在印度，觀音是被描述成一個男性，而在中國，則是被描述成是雌雄同體，或是一個女性。(比如說在佛光山，觀音像是放在比丘尼的宿舍，而文殊是放在比丘的宿舍。)
台灣女性出家人與西方婦女運動強調「自我理解」(self-awareness)及為兩性平權而抗爭的理念有所不同。她們的行動目標與女性主義者的行動與目標也沒有多少交集。比丘尼們是為台灣社會整體的純善而努力。除了爭取女性獲得更高教育權，以及讓婦女充份發揮其潛能之外，她們並不特別突出女性的議題。到目前為止，除了釋昭慧、釋性廣之外，還很少人稱呼她們自己是「佛教的女性主義者」。
或許在不久的將來，當一九五○、六○、七○年代剃度的女性出家人不再活躍，目前年齡還在四十歲以下的女性出家人可能會較為緊密地與台灣的女性主義運動相結合。(現在，有一些比較年輕的比丘尼或sramanerika在大學修讀女性研究的課程。)當然，這也要取決于台灣女性主義運動者如何定義她們自己及未來的方向。目前，我們可以看出，世界女性主義運動有兩股主要的力量，一股是要求男女平權並淡化性別差異，強調一個普遍的「人類」通性。第二股是強調女性所謂自有的特質，像和諧、慈悲、無私、合作、溝通、關心他人，並希望在全世界推展這些特質于政治與社會事務上，以對抗男性所謂侵略的、疏離的、競爭的、缺乏溝通的特質。
所以，一切取決于「女性主義」的定義。像慈濟功德會宣揚女性特質，強調女性等于「母親」，強調自我犧牲、無限耐心、對他人的慈悲等，她們的主張可以被看成保守、反動，但也可以看成是一種進步，因為慈濟功德會把原來帶有私性的女性特質帶入公共領域，不但為原先沈默的女性帶來了活動的能量，同時也改變了現代公民社會中兩性的心態與行動。
結 論
目前為止，我還無法非常清楚地定義civil society一詞，它被譯成「民間社會」、「市民社會」或「公民社會」。「公民社會」這個譯法比較符合這個名詞在西方的定義，那是指「一個個人自由活動的領域，這個領域獨立于國家與家族關系或封建紐帶的藩籬」，這個領域包括中產階級以及私人的自發性組織。[11]「公民社會在社會與國家之間扮演了一種聯系與媒介的功能，通常提供一種抗衡國家的力量」[12]。關于「公民社會」的爭論非常多，人們爭論「公民社會」究竟是不是十八、十九世紀的歐洲、以及後共產時代東歐與蘇聯特有的現象，或是所有民主社會所共同擁有的特質。中國歷史上是否曾經出現過「公民社會」？台灣是不是已經有了所謂的「公民社會」？
羅伯特．威勒(Robert Weller)認為台灣的婦女以及佛教在型塑公民社會的過程扮演了積極的角色，這一番評論對我的討論有所幫助。他說在台灣出現的是另一種形式的公民社會。「公民社會通常被與個人的自發的選擇聯結起來，而不談(公民社會)與某種傳統社群紐帶的關系」(頁139)，但是，在台灣，雖然也受到西方潮流的影響，實際上是建構了一個由宗教、親族、政治派別形塑的一種「在地的社會資本」(頁140)。他認為女性對台灣的「公民社會」的形成有很大的貢獻。他說「(她們)持續不斷地在非正式的部門扮演領導性角色，把地方組織推到全國，創造了政治變革的潛力」。威勒強調，「大陸或台灣的宗教發展都出現了一個特色，那就是女性扮演了公共性的角色」。雖然並不是所有的宗教團體或寺院都像公民性組織(civil organization)那樣運作，但威勒相信一些新的佛教團體確實是公民性組織，因為「它們將道德價值普遍化，形塑了不再受地緣限制的新社群」。(頁 88, 93, 140)
最後，到底台灣的佛教團體與Thich Nhat Hanh等人所領導的Engaged Buddhism，這個佛教運動是在一九六○年代起源于越南，深受太虛與印順的啟發。把它的越南名字nhap gian phat giao譯成中文便是「人間佛教」 )有何關系？那是值得進一步探討的課題。
(本文作者戴愛蓮教授〔Prof. Elise Anne DeVido〕為台灣師范大學歷史系副教授)
[9] Before 1986, all religious groups had to register as lawful organizations with the Ministry of the Interior (MOI), while each year the number of fully-ordained nuns and monks was registered with the Buddhist Association of the Republic of China, BAROC. After 1986, monasteries holding annual ordinations were no longer required to register with BAROC, although most do. Also, the MOI’s statistics are vague and may not distinguish Buddhism from popular religion, etc.
[10] I interviewed Master Wu Yin, head of the Luminary Buddhist Seminary in Jiayi; Ven. Ming Jia of Jiayi; their disciples; Ven. Heng Ching of National Taiwan University; Ven. Jien Shen of Hsuan Chuang University; Ven. Shan Hui of Chien Kuang Temple; Vens. Guang Guo and Xian Yue of Ling Jiu Shan Monastery; Prof. Jiang Canteng; Prof. Lu Hwei-syin; and Professor Li Yuchen. Many thanks to Dr. Dominique Tyl of Fu Jen University’s Socio-Cultural Research Center who carried out a phone survey of Taipei Buddhist temples.
[11] Robert P. Weller, Alternate Civilities: Democracy and Culture in China and Taiwan, (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1999), p. 14.
[12] Timothy Brook and B. Michael Frolic, eds, Civil Society in China, (NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1997), p. 9.