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Acknowledgments The material utilized in this book was gathered through fieldwork conducted from 1996 to 1998. I spent most of that period at the Foguang headquarters in Kaohsiung County of the Republic of China, although for four months I escaped southern Taiwan’s brutal summer heat to live at Nan Tien Temple, the Foguang branch in Wollongong, Australia. I also spent a month at Hsi Lai Temple, just outside Los Angeles, and several days in the fall of 1999 at Nan Hua Temple in Bronkhorstspruit , South Africa. At all four locations, my time was devoted to interviewing and having informal conversations with Foguang clerics and lay devotees, observing or participating in Dharma functions, lectures, meetings, and conferences, reading Foguang literature, and generally becoming as immersed as possible in the community ’s daily life. As with any study based on fieldwork, the list of people to whom I am indebted is very, very long. Innumerable monastic and lay devotees graciously took the time to answer my questions, solve my problems, suggest or even locate relevant materials, and generally reveal to me what it means to be a Foguang Buddhist. First and foremost, I must thank Foguangshan’s founder, Master Xingyun. Not every monastic community would be open to allowing an unknown scholar, along with his wife and four-year-old son, to live in their midst. Master Xingyun made sure that I and my family had everything we needed for a comfortable and rewarding stay: we were provided a two-room apartment in the Foguang senior citizen home; my son attended the kindergarten run by the monastery for local children; and a nun was assigned to tutor my wife in Chinese. The monastery’s openness extended to my research as well. When I indicated that I hoped to be permitted to attend meetings and planning sessions to which only monastics were normally invited, Master Xingyun immediately let it be known that I was welcome to observe any meeting. He also took time out of his very hectic schedule on several occasions so that I could interview him or ask specific questions. The master’s warm hospitality made fieldwork run about as smoothly as it can. Master Xingyun was not the only high-ranking member of the Foguang community to set aside time to help me. The Venerables Cizhuang, Cihui, Cirong, Xinding, Yikong, Huikai, and Huiri and other members of the Veterans Council and Religious Affairs Committee sat down with me for interviews, and all showed great concern about my family’s well-being. xvi • Acknowledgments On a day-to-day basis, it was the office staff of the International Buddhist Progress Society (IBPS) who made sure that my family was properly cared for. I will never forget Ven. Juemen’s straightforward yet gentle manner, Ven. Yi’en’s playfulness with my son, Evan, Ven. Juezhong’s quiet kindness, Ven. Miaoqi’s sense of humor, Ven. Huishang’s concern for my wife’s comfort and happiness, and Zhou Pingzheng’s patience in helping me read through many of Master Xingyun’s lectures . Most of all, I would like to thank Ven. Manhua, the general secretary of the IBPS office during most of my stay at Foguangshan. I had never known that anyone could show such compassion for stray cats, homeless dogs, and itinerant doctoral students. I also must thank the dean and teachers of the Foguang kindergarten for the wonderful care they took of my son. Our neighbors in the senior citizen home, especially Ven. Huida and Mr. Han, truly made us feel part of an extended family, as did the staff of the Great Mercy Children’s Home and the faculty and students at Pumen High School. Others at Foguangshan who aided my research include Vens. Jiankuan, Yilai, Yi Heng, Yifa, Yihua, Yiquan, Manqian, Manhe, Jueji, Juehui , Miaoru, and Miaohong as well as the laypeople Jijin, Miaohong, Meixuan, Madeline Wheeler-Gibbs, and Gordon Gibbs. The list could go on and on. Equally important in guiding me in this project have been advisers and friends within the academic community. Special thanks go to the Rocky Foundation, without whose two-year grant fieldwork would have been impossible. I would also like to express my gratitude to my thesis adviser, Professor Tu Wei-ming, and to Professors Diana Eck and Robert Gimello, who served on the reading committee for the dissertation from which this book eventually evolved. Kenneth Tanaka, Charles Prebish, Christopher Queen, Martin Baumann, and Julia Huang all provided...

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