The religious varieties of ethnic presence: a comparison between a Taiwanese immigrant Buddhist temple and an evangelical Christian church

Sociology of Religion, Summer, 2002 by Carolyn Chen

Cultivating a Culture of Charity

Just as Grace Taiwanese Church attempts to cultivate an institutional culture of evangelism, Dharma Light attempts to cultivate an institutional culture of charity. To encourage its devotees towards greater charity in 1999, Dharma Light promoted the theme "Three Good Movements," referring to "say good words, have a good heart, and do good things." Walking through the temple grounds, it is impossible not to notice all of the Dharma Light volunteers in their purple-vested uniforms who are attempting to put the "three good movements" into practice. In fact, at times it seems that there are more volunteers than devotees at the temple. Some are giving tours, some are sweeping the grounds, others are answering phones, working in the kitchen, managing the parking lot or running the gift shop. Dharma Light takes volunteering seriously and volunteers must go through a requisite training course. Furthermore, while volunteering activities might appear to be casual and fun, volunteers are hardworking and diligent in atte nding to their tasks. Their reasons for volunteering are multiple. Some come for social reasons, others come because they have the leisure time. Some have even admitted that they come for the vegetarian food. Whether consciously articulated or not, devotees associate volunteering with doing good and the accumulation of merit. Volunteering is mutually beneficial for both the temple and the devotee. For the temple, the presence of a readily available, trained volunteer corps is both cost-effective and convenient. At the same time, to the volunteer it offers opportunities for spiritual enhancement and merit cultivation.

Just as Grace Taiwanese Church becomes an institution of salvation through preaching the gospel, Dharma Light becomes an institution of salvation by giving its devotees the opportunity to do good. It is no longer solely through ritual and ceremony that one cultivates merit, but also through actions in one's practical daily life. Dharma Light extends this charity outside of its temple walls to engage in the world. Having cultivated a culture of charity, Dharma Light is able to mobilize this readily available volunteer corps to direct acts of charity towards the public. For example, when the temple wanted to organize a disaster relief for the victims of Hurricane Mitch, the human apparatus was already in place for a timely and effective response. In a culture where good deeds are a moral imperative, people are quite willing to donate their time and money for the cause, not only within the Taiwanese immigrant community but also the larger local community.

Interreligious dialogue and cooperation

Another important way in which Dharma Light performs good deeds in the world is through interreligious dialogue and cooperation. Dharma Light regards the cultivation of respect and communication between different religious groups as important steps towards world peace. Sponsoring the annual "World Peace Day" and inviting leaders from different religious traditions is one example of Dharma Light initiating interreligious cooperation. In Taiwan, the Dharma Light order has frequently been the initiator of Buddhist-Catholic dialogues. The Dharma Light Temple participates in monthly Roman Catholic-Buddhist dialogues with local Buddhist and Catholic religious leaders. In addition, Dharma Light enjoys a friendly relationship with a local African American Methodist Episcopal Church. Dharma Light monks and the AME gospel choir have performed at each other's communities. Both the temple and church have collaborated in a charity drive in the local area.