Ufrieda Ho
The Nan Hua Temple in Bronkhorstspruit rises like a displaced pagoda in the middle of fields of sun-bleached highveld grass.
For the new abbess of the Buddhist temple, these contrasts and contradictions are opportunities to fire up the great melting pot of modern culture. Venerable Man Ya (47), who joined the temple at the beginning of May, is the first female abbess to serve as director of the temple and Buddhist centre.
The Fo Guang Shan (Buddha’s Light Mountain) Order was established in South Africa nine years ago. As director Man Ya will oversee temple projects as well as the development of a new multimillion-rand temple.
There are plans to start a women’s college early next year, bringing together graduates in fields such as teaching, environmentalism, psychological counselling and health care. Students will learn to use Buddhist philosophy as an alternative approach in their professional lives. The course will include hands-on exercises in organic agriculture, recycling, conflict resolution and healing therapies.
“We want people to be able to have wisdom, light and creativity in their work,” says Man Ya.
The diminutive nun, who takes just one main meal a day, chose monastic life in the mid-Eighties after scaling the corporate ladder in her native Taiwan.
Her principle aim in South Africa is to demystify Buddhism and reveal a fresh, African relevance for this ancient Eastern wisdom.
“People have become miseducated and they have become attached to the rituals or to the words. I think that if the Buddha was around today he would do things differently. We have to become skilful in our approach to working with people,” she says.
“We are not trying to reach everyone. People have different pasts and different needs. I say to Buddhists that where there isn’t a temple they should take their children to church. Children need to learn about morality somewhere. They need to learn to love themselves.
“The religion doesn’t matter, what matters is that we help people to open their minds and to awaken. The temple is here for all people to come and see if this is what they want.”
The tolerance hasn’t always been reciprocal. When the temple first opened there were incidents of people running inside, throwing themselves on the floor and brandishing signs such as “Jesus Saves”.
Today the Bronkhorstspruit community realises that not only is the temple harmless but it is also a tourist attraction and a money-spinner for the town.
South Africa’s challenges are quite different from Malaysia, where Man Ya last served. Buddhism and Eastern philosophy are more naturally assimilated in the East. South Africa is fast becoming Westernised and only just manages a wobbly balance with its own cultural past.
Still, she maintains that religion is not nation-specific. The growth of Buddhism on the African continent is part of global efforts to develop humanistic Buddhism under the Fo Guang Shan Order. This worldwide order was started by Venerable Master Hsing Yun, a Chinese monk who moved to Taiwan in 1949 and set about revitalising the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism. Part of the order’s mission is for the Nan Hua Temple to be run by locals and within 20 years they hope to have an African abbot or abbess at the helm.
“Everybody from the receptionist to those who give lectures should be local people,” Man Ya says.
The temple’s support base is made up largely of South African Taiwanese. But Buddhism in South Africa and on the rest of the continent is booming.
There are already small Buddhist centres in Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Novice monks from Malawi, Madagascar, Botswana, Angola and Mozambique have joined their South African counterparts at the Nan Hua seminary. There are currently 29 novice monks in residence.
“There is a growing curiosity about Buddhism … Buddhism is about searching from within and coming to the centre to remove the cause of suffering. It’s about taking personal responsibility and living one moment at a time,” Man Ya says.