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Chinese Origin of Humanistic Buddhism and Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s Contribution in the Contemporary Humanistic Buddhist Movement in Taiwan
Humanism has been defined in various ways. It is a contemporary cult or belief calling itself religious but substituting faith in man for faith in god.1 Similarly, humanism is also explained as the faith in the supreme value of self-perfectibility of human personality. However, humanism broadly indicates to a shifting of focus from supernaturalism to naturalism, from transcendental to the existing, from absolute reality to the living reality. Humanism is the term for those aspirations, activities and attainments through which natural man puts on “super nature”.
Modern Buddhism Without Modernity? Zhaijiao (“Vegetarian Sects”) and the Hidden Genealogy of “Humanistic Buddhism” in Late Imperial China
The concept of “Humanistic Buddhism” as it came into being in the past century is generally acknowledged as a leading feature of the modern transformation of Buddhism in Chinese societies. It has been understood as an answer to the urgent task of adopting Buddhism to the profound and unprecedented political, social, and economic changes that the Chinese world had to face since the late nineteenth century. Therefore, Humanistic Buddhism may be interpreted as a way to fit into the “national body” of the evolving nation-state in the first half of the twentieth century. Particularly during the 1920s and 1930s, countless Buddhist as well as other temples and monasteries were object to large-scale acts of confiscation and expropriation for the aim of building a new China. The KMT government imagined Buddhism in particular and religion in general to contribute financially, socially, and morally to their project of modernity. On the other side, Humanistic Buddhism may be seen as part of a larger reform movement which has been initiated in the late nineteenth century by such notables as Buddhist layman Yang Wenhui 楊文會 (1837–1911). This development too can be traced back to the encounter of clerics and laymen with modern Western notions of how to define the proper place of religion in both the state and society as well as in the life of the people.
Rethinking the Precept of Not Taking Money in Contemporary Taiwanese and Mainland Chinese Buddhist Nunneries
Around two and half millennia ago, the order of nuns was established when the Buddha allowed women to join the Buddhist monastic community. Buddhist nuns play prominent and respected roles in the Therīgāthā (Verses of the Elder Nuns) from ancient India. The historical work the Biqiuni zhuan 比丘尼傳 (Biographies of Nuns) reports how Buddhist nuns influenced and contributed to Chinese Buddhism in the medieval era. In recent decades, there has been a strong revival of Chinese Buddhism, amid which Buddhist nuns have exerted an ever-growing impact on the monastic environment, and their opinions have gradually become very influential, particularly in Taiwan. Indeed, as aptly put by Chün-fang Yü (Light 1), “Taiwanese nuns today are highly educated and greatly outnumber monks, characteristics unprecedented in the history of Chinese Buddhism.” In Mainland China, some prominent nuns (e.g., Shi Longlian) have held posts in the official organization of Chinese Buddhism or made significant contributions to Buddhist education and Dharma teaching. However, contemporary Mainland Chinese nuns’ religious life has scarcely been explored or discussed. This study aims to rectify this imbalance by examining a central ethical issue of monastic daily life to which scant scholarly attention has hitherto been paid.
Chan Buddhism During the Times of Venerable Master Yixuan and Venerable Master Hsing Yun: Applying Chinese Chan Principles to Contemporary Society
Linji Venerable Master Yixuan 臨濟義玄 (d. 866) and Fo Guang Venerable Master Hsing Yun 佛光星雲 (1927–), although separated by more than a millennium, innovatively applied Chan teachings to the societies in which they lived to help their devotees discover their humanity and transcend their existential conditions. Both religious leaders not only survived persecution, but brought their faiths to greater heights. This paper studies how these masters adapted Chan Buddhist teachings to the woes and conditions of their times. In particular, I shall review how Venerable Master Yixuan and Venerable Master Hsing Yun adapted the teachings of their predecessors, added value to the sociopolitical milieu of their times, and used familiar language to reconcile reality and their beliefs.
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.
The Construction of Chinese Buddhist Canon With Special Reference To Fo Guang Buddhist Canon
It was in the tenth century that the Chinese imperial court began to carve the entire Buddhist canon onto wooden printing blocks from which large number of xylograph prints could be taken. The first edition of the Chinese Buddhist Canon, which was constructed from 971 to 983 in Chengdu, Shu (current Sichuan Province), is known as Shuben ( 蜀本) or Sichuan edition of the Song dynasty 宋 (960-1279) or Kaibao Canon 開寳藏.
Humanistic Religion: From Guodian to Vimalakirti
This paper will argue that the term “Humanistic Buddhism,” which Venerable Master Hsing Yun describes as central to all of Buddhism, is also fundamental to Chinese religion as a collective group. Such an expansion is in keeping with the spirit of his recent publication 365 Days for Travelers: Wisdom from Chinese Literary and Buddhist Classics. Here we see an enlargement of humanism to include a general assessment of Chinese culture. It because of this expansion that this paper uses the term “Humanistic Religion” instead of “Humanistic Buddhism.” Crucial support for the centrality of humanism to Chinese religion comes from it being expressed with the greatest clarity and earliest date in the recently excavated Guodian corpus ( 郭店楚簡). As such, Guodian represents a missing link between Buddhism and other pre-Han religious systems. Venerable Master Hsing-yun sees Humanistic Buddhism as a system that has particular utility for overcoming divisions; as such it is interested in developing the linkages with indigenous Chinese religion that I will be detailing in this paper. Specifically, Humanistic Buddhism: Holding True to the Original Intents of Buddha, states that the schisms which arose after the passing of the Buddha can be overcome with humanism.2 In the publications by Fo Guang Shan I have reviewed so far, however, recently excavated manuscripts have not been considered and this will one of the contributions of this paper.
當代漢傳佛教中菩薩戒與毗奈耶的相容性——兩岸比較研究（上）
菩薩思想自中世紀以來就穩步發展，成為漢傳大乘佛教的主要特徵。承襲大乘佛教傳統的比丘和比丘尼在三壇大戒戒會中也會受持菩薩戒；換言之，兼受菩薩戒與比丘／比丘尼戒兩種律儀，是大乘佛教出家僧人的顯著特徵。這一情況延伸出值得探討的議題：在台灣和中國大陸當前的社會文化背景下，中國僧侶對於菩薩戒的認知、理念及其相關實踐為何？雖然這兩個地區根源於相同的漢傳佛教傳統，修行、實踐方式等仍有些許不同。再者，這項長期、跨兩岸的比較研究，也揭示佛教戒律與菩薩思想之間潛在的矛盾與衝突。
當代漢傳佛教中菩薩戒與毗奈耶的相容性——兩岸比較研究（下）
菩薩思想自中世紀以來就穩步發展，成為漢傳大乘佛教的主要特徵。承襲大乘佛教傳統的比丘和比丘尼在三壇大戒戒會中也會受持菩薩戒；換言之，兼受菩薩戒與比丘／比丘尼戒兩種律儀，是大乘佛教出家僧人的顯著特徵。這一情況延伸出值得探討的議題：在台灣和中國大陸當前的社會文化背景下，中國僧侶對於菩薩戒的認知、理念及其相關實踐為何？雖然這兩個地區根源於相同的漢傳佛教傳統，修行、實踐方式等仍有些許不同。再者，這項長期、跨兩岸的比較研究，也揭示佛教戒律與菩薩思想之間潛在的矛盾與衝突。
人間佛教和中國佛教的未來
佛教傳入中國，佛典開始得到翻譯和流傳，始於二世紀後漢桓帝時代。自此以後，在王朝的興亡盛衰以及各朝各代治世的背景下，譯經僧陸續從印度、西域來到中國；其中也有從中國前往西域、印度求法的僧侶，他們擔負起譯經僧的角色，並在回國後開始弘揚佛教，佛教因此逐漸在中國社會產生廣泛且深遠的影響。在這一過程中，為了適應時代的變化，佛教吸收了中國固有的思想及信仰，呈現出了與印度佛教不同的風貌。因此，這種已成為中國化且延續至今的佛教，我們總稱為中國佛教（Chinese Buddhism）。
