Buddhist Meditation and Generosity to Chinese Buddhists during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Chinese Buddhists in mainland China, Taiwan, the United States, and other countries drew on meditation and generosity during the COVID-19 pandemic to maintain well-being and community resilience. The article traces practitioners' motivations for these practices and how Buddhist sites adapted services for followers. The authors argue that faith helped nurture resiliency in the Chinese Buddhist community and offer recommendations for leveraging Buddhist tenets to reduce pandemic risks and support the faith's prosperity during health crises.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This article studies the practices of meditation and generosity among Chinese Buddhists in 2020 during the COVID-19 outbreak to provide insight into the interplay of religion, faith, well-being, and the pandemic more broadly, as well as to understand the specific ways in which Chinese Buddhists may draw on their faith to combat the ill effects of the pandemic. In particular, we trace the experience of Chinese Buddhists in mainland China, Taiwan, the United States, and other countries, identifying two popular Buddhist practices: meditation and generosity. We study their motivation for those practices, and the different ways Buddhist sites have sought to remain active in offering services to followers. We explore the role of faith in nurturing resiliency in the Chinese Buddhist community and conclude with specific recommendations for the prosperity of Chinese Buddhism during a pandemic and for leveraging specific tenets of the faith to reduce pandemic risks.