“Astute” —Buddhadharma, Winter 2004

“The most thorough examination of Foguangshan’s doctrinal views and social and political practices to date” —China Quarterly, March 2005

“A nearly comprehensive ethnography that will delight not only scholars of globalization but also students of contemporary Buddhism and modern Chinese religious thought and practice” —China Review International, Spring 2005

“Extremely well-documented ... It can also be used as required reading for upper-level undergraduate courses as well as graduate seminars on Buddhism and Eastern traditions.” —Journal of Chinese Religions 32 (2004)

“Chandler has done an excellent job in documenting the tensions that have arisen from Master Xingyun’s attempts at making Chinese Buddhism relevant to contemporary life and turning Foguang into a global movement.” —H-Net Reviews, August 2005 (Read full review)

“Establishing a Pure Land on Earth is a highly engaging and in-depth study of one of the most important Buddhist movements of the twentieth century. The scholarship is original and sound and the writing style clear and lively. Chandler focuses on issues of modernization and globalization, but he also deals with issues of interest to everyone who studies religious movements.” —Barbara Reed, St. Olaf’s College

“Stuart Chandler’s masterful analysis of the texture and trajectory of the Foguang Buddhism of Taiwan answers many pressing questions. What became of Pure Land Buddhism, a mainstay of Chinese spirituality, in a time of realpolitik and cultural dismemberment? How did a tradition focused on the afterlife and the mercy of the Radiant Buddha evolve into a ‘Buddhist Humanism’ embodied in clinics, schools, universities, and social service projects? How did a teaching of personal salvation embrace the modernizing currents of democracy, capitalism, social equality, women’s rights, and globalization? Chandler’s unusual access to Master Xingyun’s inner circle during a period of rapid growth and international controversy places the reader inside an organization struggling at the intersection of competing forces: tradition vs. modernity, homogenized vs. multiple identities, sacred vs. secular, and local vs. global. Establishing a Pure Land on Earth tells a story of socially engaged Buddhism that will take its place alongside those of Thich Nhat Hanh and the Vietnamese antiwar movement, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar and the conversion movement of India’s untouchables, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan liberation movement, and many others.” —Christopher Queen, Harvard University

With more than 150 temples in thirty countries, Foguangshan has developed over the last thirty-five years into one of the world’s largest and most influential Chinese Buddhist movements. The result of two years of fieldwork in Foguangshan temples in Taiwan, the U.S., Australia, and South Africa, this volume is an unprecedented examination of the inner workings of a dynamic and innovative religious movement.

Based on direct observations, private interviews, and careful textual and historical analysis, Stuart Chandler looks at the challenges faced by Foguangshan’s leader, Master Xingyun, and his followers as they try to adhere to traditional practices and values while tapping into the advantages afforded by modern, global society. Foguangshan’s slogans (“Humanistic Buddhism” and “Establishing a Pure Land on Earth”) are placed in historical context to reveal their role in shaping the group’s attitudes toward capitalism, women’s rights, and democracy, as well as toward the traditional Chinese virtue of filial piety and the Chinese Buddhist concept of “links of affinity” (jieyuan).

Chandler goes on to analyze Foguangshan’s educational system and its understanding of how precepts relate to contemporary problems such as abortion and capital punishment. The book’s final chapters consider the cultural and political dynamics at play in Foguangshan’s ambitious attempt to spread Humanistic Buddhism around the world and how its followers have reinterpreted the Buddhist ideal of homelessness to take advantage of the spiritual potentialities of people’s lives as global citizens.

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Stuart Chandler is assistant professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Read the introduction (PDF).