Public buddhist philosophy: Civic engagement and discursive space among a religious group in Shanghai

Abstract

This chapter focuses at a lay and long-standing religious movement, the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, in urban Shanghai as an example of how social niches are created that focus on community voluntarism and grassroots education for moral reform. It argues that reflexive Buddhist environmentalism may develop a more creative and discursive space in a women-led civic sphere. The chapter examines how religious teachings and practices are translated into secular language and actions by adherents in order to adapt to the statist discourse in China. It concerns the concept of 'public' in China, followed by a brief introduction on statist discourses on religion and its social role. The chapter also introduces its organizational structures and religious discourse in using the case of the Tzu Chi movement in a highly controlled municipal city. It focuses on Tzu Chi's civic engagement and how this religious movement helps us reconsider the conceptual boundary between 'private' religious practices and the public societal imaginary.