Hybridity and linguistic adaptability of Tibetan Buddhism in Taiwan

Abstract This paper examines the hybridity and linguistic adaptability of Tibetan Buddhism in Taiwan, highlighting how preservation and innovation are negotiated in a predominantly Chinese-speaking environment. It traces how Tibetan Buddhism has been introduced, localised, and sustained, demonstrating that contemporary practices in Taiwan are neither direct reproductions of Tibetan ritual traditions nor fully assimilated into local religious culture. Instead, they constitute a distinctive form of practice that is simultaneously Taiwanese and deeply rooted in Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Drawing on three case studies, the paper illustrates how hybridity is enacted in lived religious contexts. Using mixed methods — including ethnographic observation, surveys, and interviews — the research identifies the trilateral hybrid prayer format as a key strategy of linguistic translation, ritual adaptation, and cultural negotiation. This format operates across institutional, domestic, and household settings, revealing hybridity as a flexible strategy that maintains doctrinal continuity while enabling participation and lay empowerment. The study contributes to cognitive linguistics by showing how meaning is constructed in ritual contexts and advances research on religious transnationalism by demonstrating how multilayered linguistic practices mediate cultural negotiation in diasporic settings.