contributed by Chen Shouxin, translated from Chinese by Nan Ouyang, 26 August 2020

Touzi Monastery is located on Mt. Touzi 投子寺, Tongcheng, Anqing, Anhui Province, and about 3 km away from the downtown area of Tongcheng. The monastery was first built in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 AD) and initially named “Auspicious Monastery” (Shengyin si 勝因寺). It is believed that during the Three Kingdoms period (222–263 AD), when Military Advisor Lu Su 魯肅 of Eastern Wu (222–280 AD) was defeated by the armies of Cao Wei (220–266 AD), Lu entrusted his son to the Buddhist monks of the monastery on the mountain. That is why later the monastery changed its name to “Touzi Monastery” (literally meaning “Entrusting-one’s-son Monastery”) and became a famous monastery related to the Caodong lineage of Chan Buddhism.

Figure 1: Monastics at Touzi Monastery (Photo credit: Chen Shouxin)

This case study of the Touzi monastery was conducted from May to July 2020. Currently, the monastery has 17 resident monks, hailing from seven different provinces all over China (Shandong, Yunnan, Guangdong, Shanxi, Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Anhui). The average age of the monks is 48.6, ranging from 27 to 67 with 70% over the age of 50. In terms of education level, 70% of the monks have received high-school or post-secondary level education, five of whom have graduated from Buddhist academies. The remaining 30% received junior high school or lower-level education.

The abbot, Master Yanyi 演一, received the tonsure on Mt. Jiuhua in 2010 and obtained full ordination at Dajue Monastery on Mt. Yunmen in Guangzhou in 2012. Before entering the Sangha, Master Yanyi worked as a tutor for the Advanced Seminar on Chinese Painting of the School of Continuing Education at Tsinghua University. He is also a member of the Chinese Fine Arts Association, a member of the Chizhou Municipal Federation of Literal and Art Circles, Director of Creative Research Office of Mt. Jiuhua Buddhist Culture Research Society, and a Visiting Professor at Mt. Jiuhua Buddhist Academy. Under his influence, most of the resident monks at Touzi Monastery have interests in calligraphy and painting. Master Yanyi held the Seminar on Chinese Painting for Contemporary Painter-Buddhists at the monastery twice from 2017 to 2019. He also made pilgrimages to the Four Great Buddhist Mountains (Mt. Wutai, Mt. Putuo, Mt. Emei, and Mt. Jiuhua) for learning and painting in 2018.

The reaction to COVID-19 pandemic

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Touzi Monastery has followed the policies stated in the “Notice to the Suspension of Relative Activities during the Pandemic” formulated by the Chinese Buddhist Association, and prioritized preventing the spread of COVID-19 in their daily routine. The monastery immediately carried out the policy of “Double Suspension” (i.e., suspension of opening religious institutions to the public and suspension of all collective religious activities).

Firstly, all the monks halted their “collective cultivation” activities - morning and evening cultivation routines and dining together in the dining hall, were converted to individual activities. Secondly, the monastery closed the mountain and the monastery to the public, to cooperate with the local government in coping with COVID-19. Nevertheless, the monastery could not entirely halt their public outreach activities; instead, they began using new technologies to communicate remotely with their followers.

The monks at Touzi Monastery patiently explained related regulations and rules to lay people and other believers via WeChat and phones, guided the followers to stay calm during the pandemic, and encouraged them to trust the government. They asked the followers to stay at home as much as possible to act in accordance with the call of fighting against the pandemic, so that the followers could study and cultivate by themselves at home, pray for all human beings, and share the burden of protecting the nation from further spread of the COVID-19 virus. They also requested lay people not to believe in or spread rumors, asked them to be alert about misinformation promoted under the name of Buddhist teachings, and urged them to identify and criticize the heterodoxies and fallacies about COVID-19.

Due to their efforts, the usually busy “get-together activity model” during the Spring Festival at the monastery was swiftly turned to the “stay-at-home self-cultivation model.” During the period of the pandemic, when important Buddhist festivals (including the Buddha’s birthday) happened, Touzi Monastery halted all the collective religious and celebratory activities, persuaded the believers to stay at home safely and calmly, and strictly followed the prescribed measures for the control and prevention of COVID-19.

Figure 2: Touzi Monastery at night. (Photo credit: Chen Shouxin)

Buddhism underscores spiritual cultivation. Although the monastery had closed its door to the public and halted all collective activities, individual Buddhist monks never stopped their personal cultivation. Every Buddhist master made a personal cultivation plan with a fixed amount of daily works. Starting on February 18^th, 2020, the monastery began inviting experienced masters to give lectures on Buddhist teachings and monastic regulations based on the needs of the time via independent media platforms.

Each of the monks was required to participate in the lectures after their personal morning routines. Hence, at 7 am every morning, the monastery held a one-hour session of lecture on Buddhist scriptures for the monks via WeChat Group. Master Yanyi and Master Ruxu gave lectures on diverse topics, including “Buddhism and Society,” “Buddhism and Life,” The Sutra of Forty-two Chapters, and Platform Sutra, among others.

During these lectures, the two masters also guided the monks to correctly cope with the pandemic, to increase their awareness of protection and prevention, to disinfect scientifically, to cultivate good hygiene habits including washing hands frequently, wearing masks, and ventilating the rooms regularly, in order to help them stay positive and optimistic, to recognize the situations peacefully and reasonably, to strengthen their confidence and resolution to defeat the pandemic. In these sermons, the masters also insisted on combining traditions with innovations, research with application, which was well received amongst the audience. The lectures are still in progress.

Buddhism cherishes people’s life and the value of life. During the fight against the pandemic, Touzi Monastery showcases the selfless spirit of Buddhism. In the period covered by this study, all the monastics chanted scriptures daily to pray for the defeat of the pandemic. A majority of painter-monks also drew paintings to pray for blessings. Although the monastery suffered economic difficulties, they managed to donate essential supplies and money with a total value of about 30,000 RMB to epidemic prevention personnel in the local area and in Wuhan. 

Self-subsistence and mutual help at Touzi Monastery

Usually, the resident monks can receive 1000 RMB of monthly subsidy per person. And some of the young monks need this money to take care of their immediate families back at home. During the pandemic, the monastery was closed to the public, and no visitors could enter. Without any pilgrims, only the fragrance of incense lingered at the monastery and the Buddha statue sat with lowered eyebrows.

Despite a lack of revenue from visitors’ donations, the abbot mobilized the monks to donate about 160,000 RMB so that the monthly subsidy could be distributed as usual. At the same time, Touzi Monastery actively expanded their means to sustain themselves and promoted the good tradition of “dual focus on farming and Chan meditation” in public monasteries. During the most severe days of the pandemic in spring, the resident monks seized the time to till the farmlands and participated in agricultural cultivation within their capacities. As a result, they could support themselves with melons, fruits, and vegetables grown themselves. They also used the extra time to plant trees and grow flowers, to clean the monastery, and to care for the local environment.

Figure 3: Touzi Monastery in Summer. (Photo credit: Chen Shouxin)

By the end of May, after the Joint Meeting of National Religious Organizations, the level of the prevention and control of the pandemic was downgraded from emergency to normalization. The monasteries, including Touzi Monastery, gradually resumed services to the public. As to the guidance of presenting incense and worshipping at the monastery, Touzi Monastery encourages the followers to measure temperature, to wear masks, to wash their hands and disinfect frequently, to keep social distance, to use disposable chopsticks and spoons in dining, and not to bring incense individually. The monastery also chose not to hold any large-scale Buddhist activities yet.

Conclusion

To maintain solidarity and provide mutual support is considered a central ideology of Chinese Buddhism. The fight against the pandemic has perhaps strengthened the patriotic spirit of the monks and lay people of Chinese Buddhism. Their attitudes of acceptance of the overall situation and the act of putting the general interests above individual interests, their understanding and support of the special measures adopted by the government during the abnormal pandemic period, all demonstrate their strong commitment to the country and accountability to others in society.

 

Chen Shouxin 陳壽新, with the pen name Er’dong 爾冬 is a member of the Chinese Writer Association, a member of the Expert Committee of Anhui Contemporary Film and Television Creation Research Institute, and Vice-Chairman of the Chizhou Writer Association. He is currently working at Mt. Jiuhua Federation of Literature and Arts Circles and Mt. Jiuhua Buddhist Culture Research Society.

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the blog editorial team or the Asia Research Institute.

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