Buddhist Revitalization and Chinese Religions in Malaysia

Tan Lee Ooi is Head of the Department of Mass Communication at UOW Malaysia KDU Penang University College in Malaysia. He completed his PhD at the National University of Singapore. He published a book with the National University Press of Malaysia on the dynamics of cyberspace during the Reformasi Movement, in the Malay language.

"Tan Lee Ooi’s Buddhist Revitalization and Chinese Religions in Malaysia provides a corrective to the study of Buddhism as it not only documents—historically and ethnographically—how Buddhist actors in Malaysia respond to modernity, but also how membership in different minority Buddhist traditions in Malaysia shapes ideas about religion and the state more widely. What also makes Tan’s study important to the field of Buddhist studies is the uniqueness of Malaysia as a country in which all three forms of Buddhism are quite vibrant and are equally responding to what it means to be a minority in a Malay-Muslim nation state."- Jeffrey Samuels, Review of Religion and Chinese Society 8 (2021)

• List of Tables Abbreviations List of Chinese Characters Orthography Chapter 1 Introduction The Origins of Buddhist Revitalization Methodology Chapter Overviews Chapter 2 A Brief History of Buddhist Transnational Connections Theravada Buddhist Communities in Malaya Early Mahayana Buddhism in Malaya Pan-Asian Phenomena of Buddhist Modernism Summary Chapter 3 Reforming Chinese Buddhism through the Zheng Xin (Right Faith) Movement The Discourse of Zheng Xin Defending Zheng Xin Buddhism in Malaysia Buddhicizing the Hungry Ghost Festival The Role of the MBA The Buddhist Youth Movement and Zheng Xin Buddhism Summary Chapter 4 New Transnational Connections with Taiwan Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Merit Society Tzu Chi and Malaysian Buddhism Mass Participation Fo Guang Shan Fo Guang Shan and Malaysian Buddhism Differences between Tzu Chi and Fo Guang Shan Similarity of the Esthetics of Religious Space and Material Summary Chapter 5 Remaking Chinese Buddhists Chinese Community and Buddhism in Malaysia The Emergence of Second-Generation Religious Leaders: A Case of Venerable Chi Chern Cultural Reformation in Chinese Community The Experience of Fo Guang Shan's Celebration: Chinese New Year Lantern and Floral Festival Tzu Chi's Chinese New Year Relief The Declining Role of Chinese Associations Summary Chapter 6 Counterforces to Buddhist Revitalization Dreams about Father Case 2: A Battle between Chinese Religions and Buddhism at Kampung Baru Jenjarom Case 3: An Urban Miracle of the Talking Buddha Statues Multiple Counterforces to Buddhist Revitalization The Relaxation of Political Correctness in Zheng Xin Buddhism Summary Chapter 7 Conclusion Appendices Bibliography Index