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Buddhist Association of China

Buddhist Association of China
中国佛教协会
FormationMay 30, 1953; 71 years ago (1953-05-30)
Headquarters25 Fuchengmen Inner Street, Xicheng District, Beijing
LeaderShi Yanjue
Parent organization
United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
Websitewww.chinabuddhism.com.cn
Buddhist Association of China
Simplified Chinese中国佛教协会
Traditional Chinese中國佛教協會
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhōngguó Fójiào Xiéhuì

The Buddhist Association of China (BCA, Chinese: 中国佛教协会) is the official government supervisory organ of Buddhism in the People's Republic of China. The association has been overseen by the United Front Work Department (UFWD) of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since the State Administration for Religious Affairs' absorption into the UFWD in 2018.[1] The association's headquarters are located in Guangji Temple in Beijing.

Overview

See also: Nanshan Temple (Sanya)

The BCA is charged with serving as a "bridge" linking Buddhists to the CCP and Chinese government by communicating government regulations to Buddhists and mobilizing them to comply with national laws.[2][3] It also coordinates participation of Chinese Buddhists in international Buddhist fora as a form of state influence.[4][5] It also supports local Buddhist associations in paying clerics' salaries, in registering temples with the government, and in productively using temple labor. The association publishes a journal, Chinese Buddhism.[6]

History

The Buddhist Association of China was founded on 30 May 1953,[7] and was disbanded in the late 1960s during the Cultural Revolution, then reactivated following the end of that period.[7]

In 1980, the CCP Central Committee approved a request by the United Front Work Department to create a national conference for religious groups.[8]: 126–127  The BCA was one of five such religious groups, which also included the Islamic Association of China, the Chinese Taoist Association, the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, and the Catholic Patriotic Association.[8]: 127 

In 1994, Zhao Puchu tried to limit the practice of businesses and municipalities building outlandishly large mountaintop and cliffside Buddha statues. Noting that China has at least one mountaintop Buddha for each of the cardinal directions he stated "That's enough", and clarified. "From now on, there is no need to build any more outdoor Buddha statues." These efforts were entirely unsuccessful.[9]

In 2006, the BCA and the Hong Kong Buddhist Association hosted the second World Buddhist Forum for dialogue between Buddhist monks and scholars from 50 countries and regions. The forum lasted for four days in the city of Wuxi in Jiangsu province.[10] The organizer of events was the president of the BCA, Venerable Master Yicheng. The vice president is Gyaincain Norbu, a disputed 11th Panchen Lama.[11][12]

In 2017 the BCA declared the longstanding tradition that the first offering of incense of the new year are particularly auspicious to have no grounds in Buddhist doctrine.[13]

In 2018, the BCA's parent organization, the State Administration for Religious Affairs, was absorbed into the CCP's United Front Work Department.[1]

In August 2018 Xuecheng resigned as president of the Buddhist Association of China following reports of sexual harassment by six female monks. The scandal was seen as part of the wider me too movement.[14]

In February 2023, the BCA launched a searchable database of official practitioners.[15]

Presidents

The past presidents of the Buddhist Association of China include:

Honorary presidents of the Buddhist association of China include:

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Joske, Alex (May 9, 2019). "Reorganizing the United Front Work Department: New Structures for a New Era of Diaspora and Religious Affairs Work". Jamestown Foundation. Archived from the original on 2019-07-21. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  2. ^ Congressional-Executive Committee on China, Tibet Special Report 2008-2009 Archived January 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, October 22, 2009
  3. ^ Jichang, Lulu; Li, Lin (2022-07-18). "The party in monk's robes: The cultivation of global Buddhism within CCP influence operations". Sinopsis. Archived from the original on 2022-07-30. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  4. ^ Raymond, Gregory V. (2020-12-10). "Religion as a Tool of Influence: Buddhism and China's Belt and Road Initiative in Mainland Southeast Asia". Contemporary Southeast Asia. 42 (3): 346–371. doi:10.1355/CS42-3b. ISSN 0129-797X. JSTOR 26996200. S2CID 234577366.
  5. ^ Joske, Alex (2022). "The Goddess of Mercy: Buddhism as a tool of influence". Spies and Lies: How China's Greatest Covert Operations Fooled the World. Hardie Grant Books. pp. 171–185. ISBN 978-1-74358-900-7. OCLC 1347020692.
  6. ^ Ashiwa, Yoshiko; Wank, David L. (2009). Making Religion, Making the State: The Politics of Religion in Modern China. Stanford University Press. p. 130.
  7. ^ a b Jones, Derek (2001). Censorship: A World Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 366. ISBN 9781136798641.
  8. ^ a b Guoyou, Wu; Xuemei, Ding (2020). Zheng, Qian (ed.). An Ideological History of the Communist Party of China. Translated by Sun, Li; Bryant, Shelly. Montreal, Quebec: Royal Collins Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-4878-0392-6.
  9. ^ Mingqi, Zhou (23 October 2018). "Buddha-mania: Understanding China's Buddha Building Boom". Sixth Tone. Archived from the original on 21 September 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  10. ^ "2nd World Buddhist Forum opens in E Chinese city". Wuxi: Xinhua. 2009-03-28. Archived from the original on April 2, 2009. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
  11. ^ "China's Panchen Lama voted VP of state Buddhism body: report". Agence France-Presse. 2010-02-03. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved 2009-02-03.
  12. ^ Watts, Jonathan (8 September 2003). "Struggle over Tibet's 'soul boy'". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 22 August 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  13. ^ Zhou, Laura (29 January 2017). "Chinese Buddhist Association pours cold water on tradition of being first to offer incense". www.scmp.com. South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 21 September 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  14. ^ Hangyu Chen, Aria. "China's Top Buddhist Monk Has Resigned Amid Sexual Harassment Allegations". Time.
  15. ^ "China rolls out searchable public databases of officially approved religious leaders". Radio Free Asia. 23 February 2023. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  16. ^ Ownby, David; Goossaert, Vincent; Zhe, Ji; Che, Chi (2017). Making Saints in Modern China. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190494568. Archived from the original on 2023-08-26. Retrieved 2019-10-28.
  17. ^ Master Xuecheng elected president of China's Buddhist association
  18. ^ Mackerras, Colin (1991). The Cambridge handbook of contemporary China. Amanda Yorke. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-38755-8. OCLC 22388974. Archived from the original on 2022-09-24. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  19. ^ "Pagbalha Geleg Namgyai". China Vitae. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  20. ^ "Chinese Buddhist master passes away in Shenzhen". Xinhua. 2012-04-02. Archived from the original on 2012-04-05. Retrieved 2012-04-22.
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