Transplanting Buddhism: An investigation into the spread of Buddhism, with reference to Buddhism in South Africa by MICHEL CLASQUIN submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY in the subject RELIGIOUS STUDIES at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA PROMOTER: PROF J. S. KRUGER NOVEMBER 1999 i SUMMARY While it is an undeniable historical fact that Buddhism has spread far beyond India, adapting to local circumstances and spawning new variations in the process, the process by means of which it did so is obscure. Recent scholarship has shown that to impute a sense of"mission" to Buddhism is to employ a specifically Christian category which does not fit in well with Buddhism as it was understood by the originators of the Buddhist tradition. For this and related reasons, contemporary scholars of religion prefer to speak of the "transplantation" of Buddhism rather than of "mission''. This work builds on the theories of religious transplantation advanced by Michael Pye, Frank Whaling, Martin Baumann and others. It presents a theoretical perspective on the transplantation of Buddhism that is based on an understanding of Buddhism as consisting of three interrelated "traditions" ranging from the direct perception of reality as Buddhism understands and defines it, to participation in popular Buddhist ritual. The interaction between these three traditions gives rise to four chronologically distinct, but always interacting phases in the transplantation process. The theoretical perspective is demonstrated with reference to Buddhist history in general and South African Buddhist history in particular, and by applying it to various problematic situations in contemporary Buddhism, such as the relation between Buddhism and "other" religions and the predominance of middle-class members (which in South Africa equates to white members) in contemporary western Buddhism. KEYWORDS Buddhism; transplantation; great tradition; little tradition; meta-tradition; representation; relational positioning; respectability and establishment; re-enlightenment; South Africa. II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My sincerest thanks go to my promoter, professor J.S. (Kobus) Kruger of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of South Africa. Without his constant encouragement and advice over the years, it is doubtful whether this thesis would ever have come to be. Likewise, to my colleagues in the department, the subject librarians at U nisa and to the many fellow academics and freelance intellectuals who have moulded my thinking over the years, a heartfelt thanks. Whatever is of value in here is largely their contribution. The mistakes are my own. In particular, to Jonathan Walters, whom I have never met, but whose own work on the subject set me back two years: thank you for putting me straight on some important points. Gratitude is equally due to Marcelle Manley, who has over the past few years not only shaped my thinking with her trenchant questions, especially when it came to the relationship between Buddhism and African thought, but who also, towards the end of the process, lent her professional editing skills to the projects. Any remaining errors in spelling and composition are definitely last-minute additions, made after she returned the manuscript. The financial assistance of the National Research Foundation (formerly the Centre for Science Development) towards this research is hereby gratefully acknowledged. Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at are those of the author and not necessarily to be attributed to the National Research Foundation. This thesis is dedicated to the memory of Chari le Roux 111 TABLE OF CONTENTS SUMMARY .............................................................. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................. ii CHAPTER 1: BUDDHISM AND THE DYNAMICS OF RELIGION ................ 1 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ............................... 14 2.1 T.W. Rhys Davids ............................................... 14 2.2 Michael Pye .................................................... 16 2.3 Frank Whaling .................................................. 21 2.4 Robert Montgomery .............................................. 23 2.5 Henry C. Finney ................................................. 27 2.6 Martin Baumann ................................................. 28 2. 7 Transplanting Buddhism and propagating enlightenment: a theoretical model ................... ' ............... ' ........................ 37 2.7.l Map and territory, or models and reality ...................... 52 CHAPTER 3: THE TRANSPLANTATION OF BUDDHISM-A HISTORICAL OVER- VIEW ............................................................. 54 3.1 Early Buddhism ................................................. 54 3.2 The spread of Theravada Buddhism ................................. 59 3.3 The spread of Mahayana Buddhism ................................. 64 3.4 The new expansion of Buddhism ................................... 70 Table 3.1 Western Buddhism as percentages of total population 73 Table 3.2 Western Buddhism ranked by percentage of total population 74 3. 5 Buddhism in South Africa ......................................... 78 3.5.l Early representations ...................................... 79 3.5.2 Ethnic Buddhism ......................................... 81 3.5.3 The 1970s-Nonsectarian representation and the founding of Buddhist groups ................................................ 84 3.5.4 The I 980s-a reverse in the direction of relational positioning .... 87 3.5.5 The 1990's-first beginnings of respectability and establishment .. 90 3.5.6 An assessment of South African Buddhism ................... 93 CHAPTER 4: BUDDHISM, OTHER RELIGIONS, "MISSION" AND TRANSPLANTATION ............................... 99 4.1 Buddhism ..................................................... 100 4.2 "Other" religions ................................................ 110 4.3 "Mission" in Buddhism? ......................................... 114 4.3.1 Buddhist mission-a survey oflitcrature ..................... 115 4.3.2 Out with the old-Jonathan Walters' rethinking of Buddhist mission .................................................. 120 4.3.3 Mission as transplantation ................................ 126 4.4 Transplantation ................................................. 131 4.4.1 Great-tradition representation with significant meta-tradition inputs ... ' .. ' ............ ' ..... ' ........................... 133 4.4.2 Great-tradition representation with significant little-tradition inputs ······························· .................... 134 iv 4.4.3 Non-institutionalised Buddhism ........................... 135 4.4.4 Little-tradition representation ............................. 135 4.5 Summary: Buddhism, "other" religions and transplantation ............. 137 CHAPTER 5: BUDDHISM AND AFRICAN THOUGHT ....................... 140 5.1 What is "African thought"? ....................................... 142 5.2 Africa, Buddhism and the theistic worldview ........................ 147 5.3 African reincarnation ............................................ 149 5 .4 Ancestors and bodhisattvas ....................................... 150 5.5 Respect for elders: an African filial piety? ........................... 152 5.6 Blowing out different candles ..................................... 158 5.7 Enlightened one or super-ancestor? ................................ 159 5.8 Communalism and Ubuntu ....................................... 160 CHAPTER 6: SOCIO-ECONOMIC CLASS AND DIFFERENTIAL RECEPTIVITY TO BUDDHISM ...................................................... 167 6.1 Class, caste, race and Buddhism ................................... 169 Table 6.1 Major urban and rural settlements mentioned in the Pali Canon 173 Table 6.1 Caste divisions in the Jatakas. 175 Table 6.3 Caste divisions in the Pali Canon. 175 Table 6.4 Caste and domicile origins among the Buddha's immediate followers 176 Table 6.5 Caste and domicile origins among the Buddha's immediate followers, with "unknown" categories removed 176 6.2 South African Buddhism as a white religion ......................... 181 6.3 Buddhism as an elitist religious phenomenon ........................ 182 CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION .............................................. 187 REFERENCES CITED ................................................... 192 OTHER SOURCES CONSULTED .......................................... 207 INDEX ................................................................. 209 1 CHAPTER 1: BUDDHISM AND THE DYNAMICS OF RELIGION outh Africa is a country with many different religious traditions. African traditional Sreligions maintain an important, if sometimes obscure, hold on the minds of millions of people. Christianity has sent down solid roots and has even given birth to new, original interpretations of its central message in the African Initiated Churches. Islam, Hinduism and Judaism have all made their influence felt and are securely settled within sizeable communities, although these are still largely defined by ethnicity. More recently, the so­ called New Religious Movements, such as Scientology and the Hare Krishna movement, have entered the country, mostly from without, to add further colour to the South African religious mosaic. This work deals with one of these "new" religions. In fact, it is a very old faith, dating back two-and-a-half millennia. But it is only recently that there have been practising Buddhists in South