GREAT MOTHER  BUDDHISM
also called
Ekayana or Original   Buddhism

CHINESE MOTHER RELIGION

1. SUBTITLE
A continuity from pre-patriarchal time until the present day. A proposal for scientific research.

2. BRIEF DESCRIPTION

My research is divided in five main chapters:

+ The universal Great Mother and her hero
+ The process of restoring the old religion
+ Its implications for society
+ The special position of Tao Te Ching: not the beginning, but the closure of an era
+ The continuity of folk religion from pre-patriarchial times until present days

In the first chapter the original myth of pre-patriarchal time will be elaborated, in which the Source of the universe is being depicted as a Womb, a Vacuum from which the Divine – the Light – is emerging. In Chinese mythology this is symbolized by the Great Mother sending her messengers – with Maitreya Buddha as the most prominent one – to the earth in order to save mankind. Through comparative research traces of the original myth will be collected both from various ancient civilizations as well as those from China, the latter a.o. derived from a large series of Chinese folk religious texts, the so-called pao-chüan or “precious volumes”. In the second chapter these texts will serve as a source to describe the attempts of restoring the old religion – a.o. against the background of the pressure of the surrounding dominant patriarchal society. In the third chapter both the role of women and the claim on hegemony are the central issues, like women and Enlightenment and Maitreya as the savior and revolutionary. In the forth chapter the Tao Te Ching will be looked at in its original meaning. Finally, an attempt will be made to prove the continuity of folk religion from pre-patriarchal times until present days.

3. CENTRAL PROPOSITION

The central proposition is to show, that pre-patriarchal religious myths have survived until the present day and their possible value for modern society. To talk about “pre-patriarchal” time is difficult, since written texts only start with the “great wise men”. The Tao Te Ching plays a key role here though. It is an attempt to “restore the original (pre-patriarchal) tradition” with corresponding insights into that era. (It can be considered as the closure of the previous era, rather than the beginning of a new). The book very much underlines the interpretation which I try to emphasize in this thesis.

4. CENTRAL QUESTION TO BE ANSWERED

The central question to be answered is: “Is there a continuity in religious tradition from pre-patriarchal times until the present day?” Sub-questions are: “Does comparing creation myths from around the world with those from China have any validity?” and “Do the pao-chüan texts in any way relate to those original myths and if yes, how?”

5. RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PRESENT STATE OF RESEARCH

Current research is mainly discussing the phenomenon - the pao-chüan texts with their corresponding sects - as such, or its relationship to its actual surrounding dominant patriarchal environment. Usually, the former is considered to be a reaction to the latter. My study, however, is trying to prove the relationship between the texts and pre-patriarchal time, while considering the actual situation merely as a trigger. While existing studies are diagnosing the rising of sects as attempts “to create new religions”, my research on the other hand is interpreting the same phenomenon as an attempt – consciously or unconsciously - to “restore the old pre-patriarchal religion”.

6. MAIN THEORETICAL CONCEPTS AND SCHOLARS

The guidelines along which I hope to develop my thesis are fourfold. They include: a. The continuity of religious folk beliefs, myths and concepts throughout the ages, despite their changing appearances; b. The interaction of a particular phenomenon with its context, both actual, historical and with regard to inner religious life; c. The concept of society as a process of dialectic dynamism between the dominant minority and the (suppressed) majority; d. Culture as a phenomenon of continuous decay, permanence and recovery. With regard to the methodology I am favoring an optimum between empirism and hermeneutics, keeping in mind what my most revered teacher has said: “My primary methodological concern is to avoid reductionism as much as possible, that is, to meet the subject in question at every level on which it presents itself, without distortion”. (Overmyer, D.L. Folk Buddhist Religion. Harvard East Asian Series 83), 1976. Interpreting phenomena in their original context, trying to give them their original meaning back, will be a major task. Besides Daniel L. Overmyer I am indebted to J.J.M.De Groot, R.Chu, C.K.Yang, Chuang Chi-ga, Ch’e His-lun and others.

7. SEEKING MY PROMOTORS, I.E. SUPERVISION COMMITTEE

My favorite option would be to find an optimal environment in which I would be able to fully develop the power of my thesis. More in particular I am seeking a university, i.e. a department and a promoter, who are specialized in either Chinese folk religion, e.g. pao-chüan literature or/and women studies. Because of the character of my approach – religious, historic, cultural, social and women – I would like to be able to choose co-promoters from various disciplines.

8. SOURCES, I.E. EMPIRICAL DATA

The available sources can be divided in seven different categories: a. Literature about archaic, i.e. creation myths from around the world; b. Women studies about pre-patriarchal cultures; c. The Tao Te Ching d. The historic documents of pao-chüan literature with emphasis on the role of the Great Mother (Wu-Sheng lao mu) and Maitreya Buddha respectively, divided into at least twenty big volumes, each containing many sub-chapters (in Chinese); e. The interpretation of those texts by a number of Chinese scholars, f.e. Tseng Tsu-liang, Chuang Chi-ga, Wang Hsi-yuan and Ch’e Hsi lun (in Chinese); f. Books written by renowned scholars, like J.J.M. De Groot and others as mentioned above, with special emphasis on the publications of Daniel L. Overmyer; g. The few theses available on this subject, like that of Chuang Chi-ga.

9. ACCESS TO SOURCES

All necessary sources are available, from the library of the Sinological Institute in Leiden (NL), the Columbia University Library (USA) to the National Library of China in Beijing (PRC), Shanghai Public Library, Soochow University, various sources on Taiwan, like reprints by the Min-te t’ang temple in Taichung, Taiwan, besides common sources all over the world and the internet. The collection of pao-chüan texts of Prof.dr.Daniel L. Overmyer seems to be most complete though. I will certainly ask Mr. Overmyer to what extent his collection is available for the purpose of my research.

10. SIGNIFICANCE I.E. RELEVANCE

With regard to my own scientific field the thesis is a major extension of the scope of interest, extending Chinese folk religion to its original roots. Usually, studies like this (and others) are limiting themselves to sources from after the rise of patriarchy only. My study, however, goes beyond. Furthermore, its social significance may lay in the fact, that by connecting religion to its pre-patriarchal origins, a glimpse of a “feminine world view” may become visible. Since institutions of a particular society are reflecting the underlying world view, which in their turn are largely related to religious and philosophical pre-concepts, changing them changes the very foundation on which such a society is built. In our society such a change is not only desirable, but a matter of sheer survival.

11. PRACTICALITIES

My background includes MA Social Science (Regional Development) at the ISS (Institute of Social Science) in The Hague, The Netherlands. Since then (1993) I have been pursuing a career as a therapist and teacher in Traditional Chinese Medicine with a full operating clinic since 1999. My combined interest in religion, Chinese culture, women studies and their social relevance, made me decide to resume my studies. However, I am still at the very beginning of my re-orientation in the academic field. At the moment I am involved in getting together the most relevant priorities, like a team of promoters, a scholarship, a supervisor and a university.

12. RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS

Besides above mentioned Chinese sources a provisional bibliography includes:
De Groot , J. J. M. The Religious System of China. 6 vols. Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1892-1910
---------- Sectarianism and Religious Persecution in China.
2 vols. Amsterdam, Johannes Muller, 1903
Thompson, L. G. Chinese Religion. Belmont. Wadsworth, 1979
Overmyer, D. L. Folk Buddhist Religion. Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1976
Jordan, D. K. and Overmyer, D. L. The Flying Phoenix, Aspects of Chinese Sectarianism in Taiwan. New Jersey, Princeton University Press, 1986.
Overmyer, D. L. Precious Volumes, An Introduction to Chinese Sectarian Scriptures from the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. Cambridge, 1999.
Overmyer, D. L. Messenger, Savior, Revolutionary, Maitreya in Chinese Popular Religious Literature of Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. In Sponberg and Hardacre, H. Maitreya, The Future Buddha, Cambridge University Press, 1988
Gia-Fu Feng and English, J. Lao Tsu, Tao Te Ching. London, Wildwood House, 1978.
Chun-Fang Yü. Kuan Yin. New York, Columbia University Press, 2001.
Toynbee, A. J. A Study of History. New York, Oxford University Press, 1947.
Neumann, E. The Great Mother. New York, Princeton University Press, 1963
Bachofen, J. J. Myth, Religion, & Mother Right. New York, Princeton University Press, 1967
Sered, S. S. Priestess, Mother, Sacred Sister, Religions Dominated by Women. New York, Oxford University Press, 1994
Lerner, G. The Creation of Patriarchy. New York, Oxford University Press, 1986
Werlhof, C. Von. MutterLos. Munich, Frauenoffensive, 1996
Goettner-Abendroth, H, Die Goettin und Ihr Heros. Munich, Frauenoffensive, 1997

Mei Yu, M.A.

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