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Causes and Consequences
“Welcome to a second series of monthly talks about Buddhism in terms of our lived experiences. It has been nearly a year since the first of these were given. Looking back, I realize that our world is still struggling with the pandemic and a number of troubling issues long after we hoped all would be under control. My concern in this talk is to present some of the Buddhist ideas of ‘cause’ in a fashion that gives relevance to the issues that are besetting us. Our world is dealing with debates that concern ‘disinformation.’ From left and right come claims and counterclaims. What do Buddhists have to say that can give us some guidance in such a situation? Can we determine what ‘cause’ is in terms of information available to us?”
Translated Sūtra, Transcultural Dharma: Three Father-Son Parables of the Lotus Sūtra in English and French from Kumārajīva Chinese Version
On Reincarnation and Emptiness
The importance of the idea of reincarnation was brought to me one afternoon in a small Sherpa village in Nepal near Mt. Everest. The village had a small Buddhist temple and it contained Tibetan texts that interested me. When I asked if I could look at the texts that were housed in the shrine room, the guardian of the temple said they were being kept for the Lama and were not available to others. I asked if I could meet the Lama, expecting to hear that he was on a trip and away. Instead, the person said, “You can. He is just over there in that house” and he pointed to it nearby. I walked over and was greeted by a woman holding a young child. They were both very beautiful and their resemblance noticeable. As you may guess, the child in her arms was the Lama. She explained, looking at the boy with a mix of pride, reverence, and sadness: “This Lama has come to me and I must care for him until he is ready to be trained again.” She was aware that by the time he was five or six, he would be taken from her to live his life as a Lama.
Compassion and Enlightenment: Exploring the Depth of Human Connection and Awakening
The Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā) and Religious Tolerance
Teaching Buddhism through Art: Fourteenth-Century Tibet and Canada Today
Master Mingkai’s Humanistic Buddhist Thoughts: Origins, Methods and Uses in Contemporary China
This paper delves into the Humanistic Buddhist thoughts of Master Mingkai (明開長老) from Xiyuan Temple and its profound origins. By meticulously tracing Master Mingkai’s life experiences and intellectual background, the paper reveals his unique contributions to the formation of Humanistic Buddhist thoughts. Humanistic Buddhism originated from Master Taixu’s concept of “Human Life Buddhism” and was further developed by figures such as Venerable Master Hsing Yun and Master Fancheng, who emphasized the application of Buddhism in real life and its concern for society. As a student of Master Taixu, Master Mingkai integrated the traditional wisdom of Chinese Buddhism with the developmental needs of modern society, creating a distinct and characteristic system of Humanistic Buddhist thoughts.
Perception of the Reality for the Benefit of Sentient Beings: With Special Reference to the Bodhisattvabhūmi
Cultivating Social Historical Knowledge to Walk the Bodhisattva Path
In many regards, the future of Humanistic Buddhism can be considered in relation to its past. Developed as a response to social and political reforms in China during the transition from Qing dynastic rule to Republican governance, Humanistic Buddhism, as conceptualized by Master Taixu, proposed a reform of Chinese Buddhism that redirected its focus from ritual practices for the dead to emphasizing the human concerns of practitioners in this life. Thus, it prioritized an objective of engagement with human needs in a worldly context. While Humanistic Buddhism as expanded in Taiwan under the guidance of Venerable Master Hsing Yun maintains this focus on addressing human concerns, a reexamination of this historic foundation might prove fruitful in yielding new directions for the future growth of Humanistic Buddhism, especially in regards to its propagation throughout the world.
