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Appendix: Loving-Kindness and Compassion
On Modernity and Tradition in Humanistic Buddhism: From Master Taixu to Venerable Master Hsing Yun
Humanistic Buddhism was initially proposed by Master Taixu in early modern times, then refined in theory and verified in practice by a number of eminent monks. It now is a major ideological trend and practical model for Chinese Buddhism in Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao. Fo Guang Shan in Taiwan, under the leadership of Venerable Master Hsing Yun, has brought the model of Humanistic Buddhism development worldwide. This has become an important channel for Chinese culture to the world. How is it that Humanistic Buddhism has become a major Buddhist ideological trend on the Chinese mainland? How has it become the way for Buddhism to modernize and to survive? Humanistic Buddhism not only responds to the practical needs of this era, but it is rooted in long-standing Buddhist spiritual traditions and the Buddha’s original intents.
The Modernization and Globalization of Humanistic Buddhism and Chinese Buddhism
The most prominent element in the success of Humanistic Buddhism is the modernization and internationalization of Chinese Buddhism. Under the premise of returning to the original intents of the Buddha, advocates and practitioners of Humanistic Buddhism look forward to spreading the Dharma in ways that are readily embraced by people of current times. For example, in the 1950s and 1960s, Fo Guang Shan’s Venerable Master Hsing Yun was already advocating for reform in Buddhism: its ranks, its organizations, its administrative systems, its precepts, its means of propagating the Dharma, its education, its culture, and its internationalization.
Humanistic Buddhism and It’s Humanization, Modernization, and Incorporation into Daily Life
Since the twentieth century, Chinese Buddhism has entered a golden age of development and an opportune time for the development of Humanistic Buddhism. As a stronghold of today’s Humanistic Buddhism, Fo Guang Shan has made great contributions to its development and shoulders the responsibility of creating a new era of Humanistic Buddhism. Since we have the good fortune of being able to participate in Fo Guang Shan’s development of Humanistic Buddhism, we naturally also bear its mission. This is a great opportunity that should be cherished. Venerable Master’s philosophy of Humanistic Buddhism is deep and wide like the ocean, and his undertakings have been brilliant.
Exploring the Meaning and Practice of Fo Guang Humanistic Living Chan through Hsing Yun’s Chan Stories
This paper discusses the meaning and practice of Fo Guang Humanistic Living Chan from two aspects: (1) Dharma can only be found in the world: the meaning of Humanistic Buddhism in Hsing Yun’s Chan Stories; and (2) Enlightenment cannot be attained away from the world: daily practice in Hsing Yun’s Chan Stories. Together, these two aspects detail the integration of Humanistic Buddhism into the everyday lives of Fo Guang members. Using Hsing Yun’s Chan Stories as the research subject, Humanistic Buddhism Chan meditation was popularized among Fo Guang members through television broadcasting in the early period (1987). The propagation of the Dharma through such a ubiquitous medium highlights Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s response to the audience’s needs. This approach allowed for exposure and the rapid uptake of Chan meditation in many households, culminating in the worldwide spread of Humanistic Buddhism. The humanistic aspect of Chan meditation can be discussed from the two aspects of “embracing sentient beings” and “self-awakening and liberating others.” Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s has exhorted practitioners of Chan Buddhism to embrace the suffering of sentient beings as the bodhisattva path. As for application in one’s daily life, this paper explores its two aspects of “diligently practice with discipline, and live with simplicity and gratitude” and “skillfully apply it in a lively, interesting and vigorous way.” The application of Humanistic Living Chan is primarily focused on living in accordance with the recepts, contentment, and limiting desires. The expedient ways that Chan masters can help us achieve breakthroughs, realize our true nature, and liberate other beings, underscores the power of Chan meditation.
The Dharma Gate of Non-Duality: Joy and Harmony
The following is an excerpt from Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s diary, which can be found in Chinese within the Complete Works of Venerable Master Hsing Yun. The title “Joy and Harmony” was the theme of the first general conference of the Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA), which was held at Hsi Lai Temple in California. The “Gate of Non-Duality” refers specifically to the gate at the entrance to Fo Guang Shan Monastery in Taiwan, and more generally to the concept of awareness beyond dichotomies. A couplet above the entryway reads, “This gate is called ‘non-duality,’ duality or non-duality, both are one’s true face. This mountain is Vulture Peak, mountain or no mountain, nothing is not my pure body.” The diary entries provide an intimate look at Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s thoughts and activities over a period of two weeks. Seeing the amount of events he attended, and the number of guests he met, we get a sense of how a “humble monk” was able to create something as great as Fo Guang Shan. Among the mundane details he documented, there are also spiritual gems he left for us to discover. -Ed.
Venerable Master Hsing Yun and the Reinterpretation of the “Pure Land” within Humanistic Buddhism
This essay examines the teaching of Venerable Master Hsing Yun, one of the leading active proponents of Humanistic Buddhism. It begins by discussing the historical and contemporary status of Humanistic Buddhism, contextualizing it as a movement borne out of modernist influences and demands placed upon Buddhism to adapt and reform according to an everchanging social world. Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s notion of “the Pure Land,” a Buddhist concept he reinterprets as demanding the creation of an “earthly” Pure Land is examined. This interpretation, it is argued, is tied to pragmatic concerns regarding the necessity to reform Buddhist practices in order to successfully spread Buddhist teachings in the modern world. The essay draws parallels between the example of socially engaged practices of Christian missions at the turn of the century in China and the rationale underlying the drive to reform among nascent Humanistic Buddhists, such as in the teaching of Master TaiSxu. The example of Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s advocacy for creating an “earthly” Pure Land demonstrates how contemporary Humanistic Buddhist theory follows this logic and interprets traditional Buddhist teachings as advocating for socially engaged practices among both monastics and laypeople. To this end, Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s teaching regarding “life education” reinterprets spiritual development as practices designed to improve the external world rather than solely the individual’s internal world. This is demonstrated in Fo Guang Shan’s strategy of spreading Buddhism in mainland China through cultural education and activities rather than proselytization.
Human World Buddhism at Fo Guang Shan: Localising Anthropocentric Dharma
In this short essay, I look at “Humanistic Buddhism” as taught and practiced at Fo Guang Shan 佛光山 according to the vision of Venerable Master Hsing Yun 星雲 (born 1927). My first aim is to add some conceptual clarity around the misleading English term “Humanistic Buddhism,” and to propose alternative terms such as “Human World Buddhism” or “Anthropocentric Buddhism.” Secondly, I add some reflections about the tension between what I term “centripetal” (parochial, insider-oriented) and “centrifugal” (global/glocal, outreach-oriented) modes of engagement in the context of Fo Guang Shan. Finally, I look at the underlying ethos of dharmic “service” to the community in the context of “appropriate” or “skillful means.”
Studies on Humanistic Buddhism II: Practical Applications: Venerable Master Hsing Yun on Humanistic Buddhism
Studies on Humanistic Buddhism II: Practical Applications: Venerable Master Hsing Yun on Humanistic Buddhism
Managing the Mind: at the Heart of Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s Applied Management
Venerable Master Hsing Yun founded Fo Guang Shan and established the operational management guidelines for the monastery: collective effort, leadership by system, doing only what is in accord with Buddhism, and relying on nothing but the Dharma. He also clearly defined the organizational principles and functions of Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA), so that both monastics and lay disciples have a set of regulations and procedures for the sustainable development of the Fo Guang community. The issues of financial control and the exercise of authority are inevitable in the operation of an organization. Venerable Master Hsing Yun also put forward his views on managing money, exercising authority, and handling human resources. In his opinion, the primary objective of managing human affairs is to manage the mind, which is no different from the practice of the Dharma. Furthermore, one must flexibly practice compassion and wisdom simultaneously, so that the entire organization achieves the ideal state of oneness and coexistence. Venerable Master Hsing Yun holds in high regard the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss as a realm where “all of the most virtuous people are gathered in a single place,” and looks up to Amitābha Buddha as the greatest management expert. He has infused a sense of sanctity into the secular concept of management, and also demonstrated a positive connection between worldly dharma and Buddha Dharma.
