Just back from China. Had a great time as usual. This time, instead of trying to see something related to my studies, I just relaxed and visited friends. My translating friend who has often accompanied me on my visits, was really tired. So I gave up my own plans and just went where he could relax.
Also, I noted during my 2014 visit that the internet seems to have become an integral part of Chinese life. The number of Chinese netizens is approaching 700,000,000, and more and more business is conducted over the web. The success of Jack Ma's company Alibaba is evidence of that. I also noted then that many hotels were using booking services, like ctrip.com, elong.com, Agoda.com, Trivago.com, some of which are western and some Chinese. Since we like to travel F.I.T. (Free and Independent Travelers) which means we can change our plans if we want to, my friend decided to use that service and bought a laptop to take and use. (internet cafes are still around, but hard to use as the base language is Chinese)
We were able to use such booking services effectively and got better rates when we did so.
(Next time I'll also use a prepaid debit card - which will ensure a room is available, even if we arrive late and night ).
But that's not the point of this post.
During a few days stay in Hangzhou ( a city which Marco Polo called the most beautiful city in the world) we decided to visit the Lingyin Buddhist temple. There are tours to this temple of course, but being a cheapskate traveler, I went by a local bus (No.7 if you want to go) A 45 minute journey for about A$0.50, the only downside is the buses (about one every 5 minutes) are really crowded.
The main part of the temple, a sort of square with building on all sides is quite impressive, with a powerful (spiritual?) presence. - I'll post some piks later. There are quite a few ancient rock carvings that are interesting. Huge crowds of people visiting.
So if, there is any religious revival in China, I'd imagine that it is Buddhist, and not Christian. However, while it is difficult to pick out trends and even the number of adherents to any religion in China (partly because of the huge population and partly because of the cross linking of some religions and partly because Chinese may find it difficult to say anyone one religion is the truth) it may be that a majority ( in the range 50 top 60% ) may be agnostic/atheist.
The Wikipedia entry below sums up the results of some of the surveys on Chinese religiosity. Y
The Chinese Family Panel Studies' findings for 2012 show that Buddhists tend to be younger and better educated, while Christians are older and more likely to be illiterate.[85] Furthermore, Buddhists are generally wealthy, while Christians most often belong to the poorest parts of the population.[86] Henan has been found to be host to the largest percentage of Christians of any province of China, about 6%.[80]
According to Zhe Ji, Chan (Zen) Buddhism and individual, non-institutional forms of folk religiosity are particularly successful among the contemporary Chinese youth.[87]
So maybe its not surprising that the new President of the Buddhist Association of China is also using the internet to spread Buddhist thought.
Chinese monk tweets enlightenment
Updated: 2015-05-20 09:00
(English.news.cn)At Longquan Monastery, a 1,000-year-old courtyard building at the foot of the mountains in Beijing's western suburbs, Venerable Master Xuecheng meets with friends and talks about Buddhism.
Wearing his traditional robe and cloth shoes, Xuecheng looks like the other monks in the monastery. However, the newly elected president of the Buddhist Association of China has a modern approach to developing and spreading Buddhism.
Xuecheng said at his election conference in April that Buddhist religious doctrine should positively and actively respond to modern technology and society.
In 2006, he became the first Buddhist monk to have a blog on the Chinese mainland. It has received more than 10 million visits.
In 2008, he used the Longquan Monastery website to promote Buddhist teachings.
And in 2011, Xuecheng launched microblogs in Chinese, English, French, German, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Russian, Thai and Tibetan across multiple social media platforms, including Sina Weibo, Tencent and Twitter. The Weibo account has more than 300,000 followers.
"All the translation is done for free by about 300 domestic and foreign volunteers," he says.
He expects his microblogs to act as bridges between different countries, nationalities and cultures.
Three forums focusing on new media applications for Buddhism will be held at the fourth World Buddhist Forum in October in east China's Jiangsu Province, according to Xuecheng.
Born in 1966, Xuecheng was raised by his Buddhist mother who always took him to religious events. Inspired by Xuanzang (602-664), a noted Buddhist monk of the Tang dynasty who traveled to India and stayed there for years studying Buddhism, Xuecheng became a monk at 16.
He earned a post-graduate degree from the Buddhist Academy of China in 1991 and went on to become dean of the Buddhist Academy of Fujian.
Now he is abbot of three influential temples: Famen in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Guanghua in southeast China's Fujian Province, and Longquan Monastery.
"Buddhism has never been out of date," he says. "What I have been doing is to ease misunderstanding and prejudice toward Buddhism."
At Longquan Monastery, the monks excel not only in Buddhist doctrine, but also boast advanced tech skills and education levels. Roughly 60 percent to 70 percent of the tens of thousands of monks, laypeople and volunteers serving at Longquan have education above the undergraduate level.
His illustrated book, titled "All Troubles are Self-Inflicted," took the "Golden Monkey King" Award at the 11th China International Cartoon and Animation Festival last month in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province. All pictures in the book were drawn by his disciples.
Spreading Buddhism through new media requires talented monks and volunteers with higher education, he says.
"Buddhism should not seclude itself from the outside world, but the temple has to sustain the embodiment of Buddha, dharma and sangha," he says.
"Furthermore, it has to be a base for developing charity and a center for spreading Chinese culture."
As a senior monk, he frequently meets and works with Chinese government officials.
"They care about how Buddhism shoulders social responsibility," he says. "Mutual communication helps us find common views and work together to advance social harmony."
In addition to handling daily affairs, Xuecheng also spends time studying Buddhist teachings and learning about current events. His disciple Xianzeng says the master's open and inclusive attitude enables him to study the positive aspects of all living things.
Buddhism entered China during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) and evolved along with Chinese civilization.
Buddhism has been an important part of and transmitter of traditional Chinese culture, according to the master.
"The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation requires the revitalization of its culture," Xuecheng says. "I believe Chinese Buddhism will contribute its wisdom and strength in pushing forward social harmony."
This is just a glimpse into Chinese life today. The complete picture is almost impossible to grasp, as different regions can be quite different.