CHAPTER SIX

“TRUE BUDDHISM IS NOT CHINESE”: TAIWANESE IMMIGRANTS DEFINING BUDDHIST IDENTITY IN THE UNITED STATES

Carolyn Chen

Based on ethnographic fi eldwork and in-depth interviews, this chapter examines how Taiwanese immigrant Buddhists defi ne Buddhism in the United States. Contrary to theories that immigrant religion preserves ethnic traditions in the new world, Taiwanese American Buddhists actively disavow any cultural connection with Asian Buddhism. Rather, they defi ne their religion as modern, western, and American. Rhetori- cally, this is a reaction against Taiwanese American Christians, and an attempt to package the dharma (Buddhist teachings) in a way that is attractive to Americans. This chapter complicates possible understand- ings of religion’s “ethnic function” by demonstrating that individuals may use religion to create ethnic boundaries among multiple cleavages and identities. It further emphasizes that Buddhism cannot be reduced to ethnicity, particularly when its practitioners’ mission is to propagate the dharma. To immigrants, religion often serves the critical function of reproduc- ing and preserving ethnic traditions in a foreign land. For this reason, scholars have noted how immigrants may become more religious after migrating to the United States (Smith 1978; Warner 1998, 2000). The majority of Buddhist Taiwanese immigrants become practicing or “true” Buddhists after migrating to the United States.1 In contrast to other Asian immigrants such as Thai (Cadge 2005; Numrich 1996) or Vietnamese (Zhou et al. 2002), most Taiwanese immigrants arrive in the United States non-religiously affi liated and discover Buddhism here rather than in their homeland.

1 The “true Buddhism” identity described in this chapter should not be confused with the group that calls itself True Buddha School, led by the Taiwanese teacher, Grand Master Sheng-yen Lu.

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The example of Mrs. Lee’s Buddhist awakening offers a glimpse into a Buddhist conversion narrative that that is common among Taiwanese Americans. In Taiwan she grew up thinking that Buddhism was old- fashioned and backward, “the religion of my grandparents,” as she put it. She associated Buddhism with uneducated elderly women chanting “meaningless mantras.” It was only after migrating to the United States that she encountered what she calls “true Buddhism.”2 This true Bud- dhism is not Chinese, she tells me. It is a “pure Buddhism” that she claims is untainted by the superstitions of Chinese traditions. It is a religion that she fi nds compatible and resonant with her reality as an educated, modern, and scientifi c person. Like Mrs. Lee, the majority of Taiwanese Buddhists distinguish their current practice of Buddhism from their religion in Taiwan, claiming that they have become seriously practicing Buddhists only after coming to the United States. For example, at Dharma Light Temple, a Taiwan- ese Buddhist temple where I conducted my fi eldwork, an estimated 70 percent of the devotees participated in the practice of “taking refuge” ( guiyi san bao), the Buddhist counterpart of Christian baptism or confi r- mation, after migrating to the United States. What is most remarkable is that Taiwanese immigrants become Buddhist in the United States, despite a popular revival of Buddhism in Taiwan for the past 30 years. Buddhist Taiwanese immigrants claim that their Buddhism is a pure and true Buddhism that is distinct from their religion in Taiwan. Taiwanese American Buddhists tell me that the Buddhism they practice is not a Chinese tradition, but a pure or true form of Buddhism that transcends culture. They adamantly deny any link between their ethnic traditions and the “true” Buddhism they now practice. They emphasize that they have chosen this new religion, and that it was not an ethnic tradition that they inherited. Finally, they legitimize their decisions to become Buddhists by appealing to science and western values. Despite their objections, the Buddhism that Taiwanese immigrants practice is very Chinese. They participate in Chinese Buddhist temples and organizations that are, for the most part, headquartered in Taiwan. These are transnational Buddhist organizations that explicitly identify with a Chinese Buddhist lineage. Most temple devotees are other Tai- wanese or Chinese-speaking immigrants in the United States, although

2 By conversion I mean a self-identifi ed transformation in religious identity, practice, and belief.

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