37
THE BUDDHIST CAREER
A lecture delivered on October 30, 1961
HOLMES WELCH, M.A.
First I think I should tell you a little bit about what I have been doing. Last spring I was awarded a grant by the Social Science Research Council to find out how Buddhist monasteries in China used to operate before 1950, what the monks did from day to day, and why. This is a subject on which almost nothing has been published: the best sources of information are the monks themselves. There are about 200 of them in Hong Kong, most of whom are not natives of the Colony, but come from all parts of China: from the northeast, northwest, the central provinces, and the south. Unfortunately all but a few left the mainland ten years ago or more, and their memories are beginning to fade. Furthermore, some are in their seventies or eighties and not only have fading memories, but it is a question how much longer they will be here to talk to. Their knowledge, unless it is recorded now, will be lost to all future students of China. That is one of the reasons I am doing what I am.
It is not an easy job to interview these monks. First, they speak in a baffling variety of dialects and accents. Second, they find it hard to understand why I should be asking them so many questions. Furthermore, they are not accustomed to answering questions about the practical side of monastic life. They are accustomed to expounding the sutras and the dharma, or Buddhist law. I have done only six months of interviewing so far and many points are still obscure.
Many points are still obscure. What I am giving you today, therefore, is not in the nature of conclusions, but a kind of interim field report.
The subject of my talk is the Buddhist career. By that I mean the stages that a Buddhist went through in following his religion. Not everyone went through all these stages; in fact, almost no one did. But I shall describe them all, one by one, so that you can see what the possibilities were. I shall disregard the great majority of Chinese, for whom Buddhism was just one
AL.
Mr. Holmes Welch is currently engaged in a study of Buddhist organisations in modern China. He is author of a book on the history of the Taoist movement, The Parting of the Way.
37
THE BUDDHIST CAREER
A lecture delivered on October 30, 1961
HOLMES WELCH, M.A.'
First I think I should tell you a little bit about what I have been doing. Last spring I was awarded a grant by the Social Science Research Council to find out how Buddhist monasteries in China used to operate before 1950, what the monks did from day to day, and why. This is a subject on which almost nothing has been published: the best sources of information are the monks themselves. There are about 200 of them in Hong Kong, most of whom are not natives of the Colony, but come from all parts of China: from the northeast, northwest, the central provinces, and the south. Unfortunately all but a few left the mainland ten years ago or more, and their memories are beginning to fade. Furthermore, some are in their seventies or eighties and not only have fading memories, but it is a question how much longer they will be here to talk to. Their knowledge, unless it is recorded now, will be lost to all future students of China. That is one of the reasons I am doing what I am.
It is not an easy job to interview these monks. First, they speak in a baffling variety of dialects and accents. Second, they find it hard to understand why I should be asking them so many questions. Furthermore they are not accustomed to answer questions about the practical side of monastic life. They are accustomed to expounding the sutras and the dharma, or Buddhist law. I have done only six months of interviewing so far and many points are still obscure.
are still obscure. What I am giving you today, therefore, is not in the nature of conclusions, but a kind of an interim field report.
The subject of my talk is the Buddhist career. By that I mean the stages that a Buddhist went through in following his religion. Not everyone went through all these stages; in fact. almost no one did. But I shall describe them all, one by one, so that you can see what the possibilities were. I shall disregard the great majority of Chinese, for whom Buddhism was just one
AL./
Mr. Holmes Welch is currently engaged in a study of Buddhist organisations in modern China. He is author of a book on the history of the Taoist movement, The Parting of the Way.
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