Attached Paper Annual Meeting 2024

Forging a Distinctly Korean Buddhist Tradition: The Korean Ch'ŏnt'ae Order's Lay-Centered Community

Abstract for Online Program Book (maximum 150 words)

The Korean Ch’ŏnt’ae order is one of the most successful contemporary Buddhist movements in Korea. After the 1970s, the Ch’ŏnt’ae order continuously interacted with Japanese Tendai and Chinese Buddhism. In 2007, Ch’ŏnt’ae donated 5,000 copies of the Chinese version of their catechism, which were distributed to Chinese temples and university libraries. While seeking religious identity in China, Korean Ch’ŏnt’ae emphasized a unique Korean Buddhist form worthy of being re-exported to China. Ch’ŏnt’ae presented itself as a lay-centered community, a characterization that was also reflected in the observations of Japanese monks and Chinese scholars. They noted practitioners, numbering up to 10,000, gathering in large halls at local temples, joint monastic-lay administration, a well-organized nationwide Lay Association, and 24-hour practice spaces. These elements, such as modern mega-temples, large collective dharma halls, lay-centered communities, and accessible practices, were recognized as distinctly Korean characteristics within the Ch’ŏnt’ae order itself.