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A Study of Gender Equality in Humanistic Buddhism
Since Humanistic Buddhism was first proposed by Master Taixu, the issue of gender equality has gradually kindled widespread discussion in the field of Buddhism. During the Republican Era, Master Taixu and the female Buddhists of the Pure Bodhi Vihara have actively expressed their views on gender equality. Eventually, they reached a consensus of respecting a woman’s character, protecting her rights, and advocating equal status between men and women. After 1949, under the impetus of Venerable Master Hsing Yun, Venerable Yin Shun, Venerable Sheng Yen, Venerable Chaohwei, thoughts on gender equality in Taiwan have made great strides. After 1980, the rejuvenation of Humanistic Buddhism in Mainland China in turn developed thoughts on gender equality. As a result, the overall status of female Buddhists in Mainland China has remarkably improved.
Remarks on Current Research on Taixu and the Pure Land in the Human Realm
One could translate the Chinese term commonly rendered “Humanistic Buddhism” more literally as “Buddhism in the Human Realm” (renjian fojiao 人間佛教). The term “human realm” (renjian 人間) has both an everyday meaning in modern Chinese and a more expansive technical Buddhist meaning. In everyday parlance, it means “the human world,” “humanity,” or “social relations,” and within a modern scientific world view, humanity exists in only one place—the planet Earth. Hence, English-language texts sometimes render the term “Humanistic Buddhism” as “Earthly Buddhism.” In traditional Chinese Buddhist texts, however, the term has a more specialized, technical meaning arising from premodern Buddhist cosmology. In this context, it indicates one in a list of five or six possible paths of rebirth. To be reborn in the human realm means that one’s past karma has led to rebirth as a human being, and in Buddhist cosmology, the Earth is not the only place where humans reside. The fact that the term renjian has different definitions in these two contexts has led to some confusion when scholars confront the terms “Humanistic Buddhism” and “The Pure Land in the Human Realm” (renjian jingtu 人間淨土). Variations in the way Buddhists and scholars understand the meaning and purpose of Humanistic Buddhism only compound the confusion.
Humanistic Buddhism in Singapore
The term “Humanistic Buddhism” (人間佛教) brings to mind the thisworldly Buddhist teachings of Master Taixu (太虛, 1890–1947), Master Yinshun (印順, 1906–2005), and Venerable Master Hsing Yun (星雲, 1927–). Needless to say, transnational Taiwanese “mega-temples” such as Fo Guang Shan (佛光山) and Tzu Chi Foundation (慈濟功德會) have played a significant role in the propagation of Buddhism and promotion of cultural and philanthropic activities in global-city Singapore and around the world. Yet, unknown to many scholars (and Buddhists) perhaps, the early ideas of Humanistic Buddhism have arrived in Singapore even before these well-known global Taiwanese Buddhist organizations. In my talk, I will discuss the history of Singapore’s Humanistic Buddhism from the early twentieth century to the present. I will present the development of Humanistic Buddhism in Singapore into three phases: 1) Taixu’s Human Life Buddhism (人生佛教); 2) Yen Pei’s (演培, 1917–1996) Humanistic Buddhism; and 3) development of Taiwanese Humanistic Buddhist organizations in contemporary Singapore.
The Debate in China on Humanistic Buddhism
How does religion relate to society? Are they in opposition or in harmony? This question became very important in modern times in China, and formed a line which divided religious traditionalists from religious reformers. We shall first examine the traditionalist stance of the Chinese thinker Liang Shuming (1893-1988), who upheld a clear separation between Buddhism and society, thereby preserving the function of religion as a vehicle of radical criticism. We shall also examine the agenda put forth by the Buddhist monk Taixu (1890- 1947), the most important Buddhist reformer of the first-half of the twentieth century in China. We shall then examine the debate which arose between Liang on one side, and Taixu, his disciple Yinshun (1906-2005) and the sangha on the other. Since Liang regarded Buddhism to be a religion of pure transcendence, he opposed using it to tackle social problems. Liang instead advocated Confucianism, as a form of upāya, which could more effectively lead towards the ultimate Buddhist goal of renouncing to the world.
