Soliciting Resources from a Buddhist Approach: Is Money Evil?

Chuehmen Shih

Today Chinese bhiksunis, especially in Taiwan, comprise the largest community of highly educated Buddhist nuns in the world. Bhiksunis are influential and esteemed in contemporary Taiwanese society and, increasingly, internationally. By contrast, Sri Lankan bhiksunis, the initiators of the Chinese bhiksuni lineage in the fifth century, still face many hardships. The bhiksunis of Sri Lanka are considered more fortunate than nuns in other Theravada countries and the monastic leaders (mahanakayas) and other monks in Sri Lanka are gradually recognizing their status. Yet bhiksunis in Sri Lanka are still propagating the Buddha’s message in impoverished conditions. Why?

Living in close association with many Sri Lankan nuns for the past ten years, I have observed the conservatism of their approach and identified some issues that may be hindering their prosperity and inhibiting their progress. As a Buddhist nun trained in one of the largest monasteries in Taiwan, I would like to share my experiences and my monastery’s approach to management and soliciting resources. The monastery manages to preserve traditional monastic practice, while developing a global, systematic, modern approach to Buddhism that reaches out to all people.  Though some aspects of this approach may not be relevant in certain countries, the approaches that Fo Guang Shan Monastery has adopted over the past 40 years have benefitted people from all walks of life and inspired them to build a pure land on earth. These approaches may serve as a useful reference for those who are interested.

The first part of the paper is a study tour of temples for Sri Lankan nuns, using pseudonyms out of respect for their privacy. The second part explains the monastery’s utilization of monies for Buddhist culture, Sangha education, secular education, devotees’ education, charity, and maintaining the monastery as a place of Buddhist cultural interest.