Buddhism is the major religion in Taiwan. Their mode of practice is according to the formal Buddhism scriptures.
Though the Taiwanese hardly follow the pure forms of Buddhism, there are two major Buddhist organizations based in Taiwan with branches spread globally. They are the Fo Guan Shan and Tzu Chi. Buddhism originated in Taiwan since the time of Ming dynasty from the provinces of Fukien and Kwangtung. The recent statistics show that Taiwan's Buddhist population grew from 800,000 in 1983 to 4.9 million in 1995. Taiwanese provide considerable support and effort to revive the essence of Buddhism in mainland China, reversing the centuries old relationship.
The Buddhist temples can be found in many places of Taiwan. The people who actually claims to be Buddhist hardly follow the religion in its pure form and for the rest, Buddhism is just an element of accumulation of every possible religion in Taiwan. Without doubt Buddhism is growing in Taiwan and these Buddhist organizations also spread the religion globally. Today these organizations are affluent and are sending their priests to gain further educational degrees.
Taiwan is the only Asian country where ordination of women as Buddhist nuns are heartily accepted. As a result women play a significant role in Taiwan Buddhism. The Taiwanese are making impressive use of media and technology to promote Buddhism all over China, Taiwan and all over the globe. In fact Dalai Lama, the spiritual Buddhist leader have sent 18 priests to Taiwan for spreading the true meaning of the religion.
