Taiwan’s Tzu Chi as Engaged Buddhism: Origins, Organization, Appeal and Social Impact by Yu-Shuang Yao (review)

initiated into the Jingming form of Daoism, the book provides no information about the geographical significance of this choice, not to mention about the specific character of this form of Daoism. The case of the Iron Master Lineage in Lanzhou is somewhat more developed, and Wang provides precious information about the lineage poem of this tradition, which he uses very effectively to analyze the generational belongings of the many individuals mentioned on the preserved steles for the Xuanmiao guan 玄妙觀 in Lanzhou. But, once again, one would have liked to know why this tradition came to be predominant in this area, what the relationship of the tradition may have been to other traditions such as Shenxiao, and, not least, what role the alleged founder of the Iron Master Lineage, Sa Shoujian 薩守堅, may have played in this connection. In the Qing and Republican times, the name of the Xuanmiao guan had been changed to Donghua guan 東華 觀, in honor of Donghua dijun 東華帝君, the legendary founder of the Quanzhen tradition, who already in the mid-Ming period had a hall in the temple. One would have liked to know whether the change of name reflected a Quanzhen takeover of this ancient Zhengyi temple and, if so, when and how this happened. Some related critical remarks concern the often very odd translations of basic Daoist terms that have been worked through already by scholars in the field of Daoist studies, and which therefore have established interpretations along with conventional renderings. The haphazard way of dealing with such terms is all the more surprising since Wang clearly is well acquainted with a wide range of works in this field and certainly with all its basic reference works. To mention but a few examples, the term feitian 飛天, ‘‘flying to heaven,’’ used for various prayer wheels and repositories of the Daoist Canon, is translated first as ‘‘Flying Heavens,’’ and on the next page quite simply as ‘‘Celestial’’ (pp. 168–169). More disturbingly, the name of the supreme Daoist god of thunder, Leisheng puhua tianzun 雷聲普化天 尊 [Celestial Worthy Who Transforms All Through the Sound of Thunder], is given on p. 167 as ‘‘the Universe-Converted Heavenly Worthy of Thunder.’’ The above complaints should be taken with a grain of salt, as they obviously reflect the specific expertise and desiderata of this reviewer. In any case, they do not at all detract from my immense appreciation of this book as a ground-breaking contribution to the social history of Daoism. Wang obviously did not intend to join the forces of traditional Daoist studies, but rather to do the historical groundwork that, among other things, will provide an excellent stepping stone for research into issues such as those mentioned above. In this he has been extremely successful. POUL ANDERSEN University of Hawai‘i at M anoa YU-SHUANG YAO, Taiwan’s Tzu Chi as Engaged Buddhism: Origins, Organization, Appeal and Social Impact. Leiden: Global Oriental, 2012. xiv, 243 pp. J65/US$ 90 (hb). ISBN 978-90-04-21747-8 This book is based on the doctoral dissertation in sociology of religion at the University of London (2001) by the Taiwanese scholar Yu-Shuang Yao 姚玉霜 BOOK REVIEWS 187 who is currently an Assistant Professor at Fo Guang University 佛光大學 in Taiwan. It focuses on the study of a Buddhist organization in Taiwan, Tzu Chi 慈 濟 (The Buddhist Compassion Merit Society 佛教慈濟功德會), arguably one of the largest civic organizations in Taiwan. The book is divided into nine chapters. The first chapter gives a brief review of the factors behind the emergence of Tzu Chi. Yao describes Taiwan’s religious context as ‘‘limited pluralism’’ with Buddhism as ‘‘the most popular religion’’ (pp. 6–7). She stresses that religious practice in Taiwan is not necessarily exclusive as with monotheistic religions; therefore, ‘‘Tzu Chi emerged and shares the religious traditions of Taiwan and brings a new dimension to them’’ (p. 7). The author assesses that ‘‘[m]any Taiwanese, therefore, have felt obliged to seek a traditional Taiwanese religious group, which nonetheless is ‘new’ and has a strong lay emphasis’’ (p. 29). Later chapters prove that this compliance with existing religious/cultural norms helps to explain the popularity of Tzu Chi in Taiwan. The second chapter—‘‘Research approach and methods’’—reads...