Research On The Vegetarian In Xiamen:From Identity To Practice

Traditional anthropology of religion pays more attention to beliefs and rituals,while the presence of the subject of faith is lacking.To understand religious belief,religious experience,and religious behavior from the practice of believers in daily life can enrich the cases of anthropological studies on religion.The vegetarian diet has always been regarded as an important commandment and practice of the Buddhist believer.In recent years,however,many Buddhist vegetarians express the vegetarian diet with modern words such as "healthy"and "eco-friendly".Through the anthropological fieldwork of participant observation and in-depth interviews,the paper studies how the modern vegetarian view and Buddhist belief affect the identity construction and practice of the Buddhist vegetarian in Xiamen,with a view to understanding the interaction between Buddhism and Modernity,and the reflection on the social problems brought out by the culture of consumption.The process of Buddhist Vegetarians’ identity construction is a process that is influenced by three main forces;the shaping of the external meaning of vegetarian diet,the embodiment of individual values and bodily experiences and the interaction of groups in practice.The social aspect of shaping the identity of the Buddhist vegetarian is not only the traditional vegetarian expression of Buddhism,but also the introduction of modern vegetarianism discourse from the West,as well as the influence of the Buddhist tradition and Humanistic Buddhism in Xiamen;Buddhist vegetarians actively combine external vegetarianism discourse with their internal values and embody it through individual bodily experiences,which is the embodiment of the identity of Buddhist vegetarians on the individual level;Buddhist vegetarians,through their individual experiences,combine their vegetarian identity with public charity practice and participate actively in social activities,so as to confirm and strengthen their vegetarian identity in the group.It can be seen from the discourse and practice of the Buddhist vegetarians that the Buddhism has introduce the modern discourse which is in accord with Buddhist ethic,and has integrated it into its value system.,On one hand,this results in expressions and actions that can be accepted by modern thinking and also,enables Buddhism to actively meet the challenges of modernity with scientific and rational perspectives;On the other hand,Buddhism has responded to global issues such as consumerism and the ecological crises brought about by modernity.Through the research on the identity and practice of Buddhist vegetarians,we can reflect on the global ecological problems brought about by consumerist culture.