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The Localization of Music during the Late Stages of Buddhism’s Spread around the World: A Comparison of the Japanese and Dai Buddhist Music
This article begins with a discussion of several common elements and similar phenomena found in the history of music in the Buddhism of the Dai people of China and in Japanese Buddhism during the late stages of the spread of Buddhism around the world. Then, using these clues, the relevant documentary materials available in Chinese are used to further describe the early localization of music in Japan. Finally, based on a comparison of field surveys and relevant documentary data, a comparative analysis of these two schools of Buddhist music is made, taking into account their status and respective conditions within the opposed courses of globalization and localization, and in relation to being either a transmitter or receiver of musical ideas.
Recent Conclusions on the Theory of Humanistic Buddhism: Looking at Venerable Master Hsing Yun from Hear Me Out: Messages from a Humble Monk
The book Hear Me Out: Messages from a Humble Monk was written by Venerable Master Hsing Yun and published in 2015. The book, among the nearly thirty million Chinese characters written by the Venerable Master so far, has two distinct features. Firstly, it is a work of Buddhist apologetics in the contemporary era, written in response to the recent accusations against the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation made by the Taiwanese media. The special causes and conditions of its writing endow this book with a distinctive theme, and with a high degree of realism and relevance.
Editor’s Preface: A Treasury of Academic Thought on Humanistic Buddhism
Taking the Retrocession of Taiwan in 1945 as the starting point of the restoration of Chinese Buddhism, along with the emergence of the four major monastic orders on this island, Humanistic Buddhism has just celebrated its seventy-first birthday. However, we should consider that Master Taixu (hereinafter Taixu) first proposed the concept of “Humanistic Buddhism” in his article “On The China Times and the so-called ‘Sūtras and Mantras to Save the Nation’” published in Ocean Waves Magazine Vol. 13, No. 9 (1932), and that he delivered his lecture on “How to Build Humanistic Buddhism” at the Hankou Chamber of Commerce in October of the following year. These first definitions of Humanistic Buddhism included a preliminary explanation of the methodology and philosophy of Humanistic Buddhism, and how it could be developed from this foundation. From this other perspective, it can be said that modern Humanistic Buddhism has been practiced for more than eighty years.
Humanistic Buddhism: Plurality and Humanism in Buddhism in the Context of a Buddho-Christian Comparison
One of the unique characteristics of Buddhism is its plurality, which can be seen in its objects of faith, scriptures (or teaching methods), and practices. The fundamental reason for this plurality is in its religious perspective of “humanism,” which is demonstrated in the Buddha teaching the Dharma in different ways to different people. Completely grounded in the human as an individual, teachings are given in response to the individual’s capacity, and medicine is prescribed according to the ailment of the individual patient.
A Study on 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.
Situating Buddhist Modernism within a Global Context: The Global Spread of Fo Guang Shan
Only in the last decades has modern Buddhism become a serious topic of academic investigation. Today, however, the field is flourishing. Modern Buddhism in its many forms is studied in many languages and disciplines. Despite this recent advancement, the subject of investigation is not always that clear. What are we talking about when we are speaking of modern Buddhism? This paper aims to tackle this question by considering the global spread of Fo Guang Shan from a transnational perspective. Transnationalism describes a recent advance within the social sciences and humanities to move away from a research approach that examines its object of interest solely by placing it within the context of one nation state. In contrast to the notion of “international,” which according to the transnational perspective refers to the relationship between states, “transnational” refers to the sustained linkages and ongoing exchanges among non-state actors that cross national borders. Thus, if we apply the transnational lens to the study of modern Taiwanese Buddhism, it follows that instead of examining the religion by solely placing it within the boundaries of the ROC, we also consider the many border-crossings, linkages, and movements between Taiwan, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and the rest of the world that have together shaped its current state.
A Contemporary Artist’s Expressions of Buddhas & Pure Lands in the Human Realm
In Taiwan’s Socially Engaged Buddhist Groups, David Schak and Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao (2005) highlighted a new religious phenomenon in Taiwan: the rise of socially engaged Buddhism, with Buddhist groups committed to working for the improvement of society and the well-being of the needy and the sick. The tremendous expansion of Buddhism in Taiwan, especially in the category of a local socially engaged type, is termed renjian fojiao (人間佛教 which translates directly as “terrestrial” i.e. “this-world” Buddhism), or expressed as “engaged” or “socially engaged.” Another frequently used phrase is rushi (入世 “entering” or “being in” the world), in contrast to chushi (出世 “leaving the world”)—mirroring a belief that the Pure Land is this earth, and their goal to purify it.
The Concepts and Practices of Vinaya in the Humanistic Buddhism: A Case Study of Fo Guang Shan Monastery
Greed, Desire, and the Universal Need for Master Hsing Yun's Humanistic Buddhism: A View from the United States
Greed. We all know greed is a problem. U.S. citizen Bernie Madoff’s successful investment fund attracted wealthy investors. Every year his returns on investment were much larger than those of other funds. In the end it turned out that he was not investing his customers’ money at all. Instead, he was running a Ponzi or “pyramid” scheme, paying off the investors who withdrew their money with the money he was taking in from new investors. While the Ponzi scheme was going strong, he was the toast of New York City and highly admired by others in the finance world. When thousands of his customers lost large sums of money, he became the poster boy of greed. Yet of course his customers were greedy too.
Geneaology and Taxonomy of the ‘Twentieth-century Renjian Fojiao 人間佛教’Mapping a famen 法門 from Mainland China and Taiwan to Europe
The first part of this paper will discuss concepts and practice of‘twentieth-century renjian fojiao’; it will start analyzing theoretical meanings and doctrinal implications of renjian fojiao in modern and contemporary Mainland China and Taiwan, and assess various case studies of ‘renjian fojiao in practice’ among Buddhist communities since the Republican period onwards and also from the pre-modern Imperial time. I will attempt a taxonomy of these principles and practices, and then ponder whether this renjian fojiao should not be classified as an overall ‘school’(zongpai 宗派) but considered rather as a ‘Dharma gate’ (famen 法門). Secondly, I will consider the transmission of renjian fojiao to Europe, more precisely the Netherlands, in particular I will look at how (Mainland China) Longquan monastery 龍泉寺 (located in Utrecht) and (Taiwan) Fo Guang Shan 佛光山 (located in Amsterdam) are adopting and adapting ‘twentieth-century renjian fojiao’ in the Netherlands. Finally, this paper will conclude by questioning how ‘twentieth-century renjian fojiao’ could be more present in international platforms that are working towards conflict resolutions and peace building, and therefore could intervene and facilitate dialogue and constructive interaction among different cultures and religions in today’s globalized and pluralistic society.
