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Bodhisattva Precepts and Their Compatibility with Vinaya in Contemporary Chinese Buddhism: A Cross-Straits Comparative Study (Part 1)
Bodhisattva ideas have steadily developed since medieval times, to become key characteristics of Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhism. Monks and nuns in the Mahāyāna tradition generally have bodhisattva precepts conferred upon them while undergoing the Triple Platform Ordination, and adhering to both these precepts and the bhikṣu/ bhikṣuṇī precepts is a conspicuous feature of Mahāyāna monastic practice. Against this backdrop, it is worth exploring Chinese monastics’ perceptions of the bodhisattva precepts and ideal, and the practices surrounding them, in the current sociocultural contexts of Taiwan and Mainland China. Though both these regions share the same tradition of Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhism, it has very different manifestations. This long-term, cross-Straits comparative study also reveals a hitherto under-theorized conflict between vinaya rules and the bodhisattva ideal.
Bodhisattva Precepts and Their Compatibility with Vinaya in Contemporary Chinese Buddhism: A Cross-Straits Comparative Study (Part 2)
Bodhisattva ideas have steadily developed since medieval times, to become key characteristics of Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhism. Monks and nuns in the Mahāyāna tradition generally have bodhisattva precepts conferred upon them while undergoing the Triple Platform Ordination, and adhering to both these precepts and the bhikṣu/ bhikṣuṇī precepts is a conspicuous feature of Mahāyāna monastic practice. Against this backdrop, it is worth exploring Chinese monastics’ perceptions of the bodhisattva precepts and ideal, and the practices surrounding them, in the current sociocultural contexts of Taiwan and Mainland China. Though both these regions share the same tradition of Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhism, it has very different manifestations. This long-term, cross-Straits comparative study also reveals a hitherto under-theorized conflict between vinaya rules andthe bodhisattva ideal.
National Recognition of a Religious Festival: Comparing Buddha’s Birthday Celebration Organized in Taipei to the Northern Wei Buddha’s Birthday Parade
Festivals make up a major feature of all religions1 and human societies. A festival means to most people a “special day or period, usually in memory of a religious event, with its own social activities, food and eremonies,” or an “organized set of special events, such as musical performances.” A religious festival presents a unique opportunity to gain insight into the confluence of religion, culture, and politics. Among Buddhist festivals, Buddha’s birthday stands out as the most popular and most public. When religious celebrations go outside the temple gates, it is an indication of wide acceptance of Buddhism by its host populace. In this paper, I shall compare two significant Buddha’s birthday celebrations: one in antiquity and one in recent times. These two circumstances are significant because the heads of state are conspicuously present outside their symbols of power and the entire capital city observed the occasion. By comparing large-scale commemoration of Buddha’s birthday celebrations held before the Office of the President in contemporary Taipei with a city-wide parade held in Luoyang during the Northern Wei Dynasty (386–534), this paper will identify the factors critical to indigenous Chinese people accepting major festivals of a foreign religion.
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”.
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.
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。
臨濟義玄與星雲大師之中國禪宗理念在其當代社會的應用
臨濟義玄（?-866）與佛光山星雲大師（1927-）的年代雖然相隔逾千年，但他們在社會裡，同樣創新地應用禪宗教義幫助發掘人的良善本性，並為當前的生存境況創造超越的價值。二位宗教領袖不僅在迫害中倖存，也將自己的信仰推向了更高的境界。本文研究二位大師將禪宗教義落實在他們所處時代的困境和因緣條件的歷程，尤其著重在回顧義玄、星雲大師如何運用前輩的教誨，改善當時的社會政治環境，並以大家聽得懂的語言，融合現實生活與信仰。
