2015
Lina Verchery
- Doctoral Candidate
- Harvard University
![Picture of Lina Verchery](https://www.acls.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/6B5B0686-E7F8-E411-9417-000C29879DD6.jpg)
Abstract
This dissertation explores modern Chinese Buddhist monasticism and the cultivation of moral personhood through the first ethnographic study of Master Xuan Hua's (1918-1995) transnational Buddhist monastic organization, the Fajie Fojiao Zonghui (Dharma Realm Buddhist Association, DRBA). Using the DRBA as a case study, this study situates the phenomenon of religious conservativism within a larger program of self-cultivation that promotes a particular vision of moral personhood. I show that this vision is inextricably modern, and has much to contribute to current discussions of personhood, agency, and ethics in the broader field of Buddhist Studies.