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Mapping Fo Guang Shan and the Spread of Humanistic Buddhism
With over 250 temples throughout the world, Fo Guang Shan (FGS) has emerged as a global Buddhist movement and significant force in the spread of Humanistic Buddhism. In this talk, I will demo an interactive map of FGS temples (existing and retired) developed by the project team at the Institute for the Study of Humanistic Buddhism at the University of the West. The map is constructed using QGIS technology and includes basic information for each temple (name, address, GPS coordinates) and a sliding timeline by which the user can view the historical spread of FGS temples across the world. QGIS allows for additional layers in which the user can also develop their own components (e.g., Taiwan’s population and GDP growth) and visually analyze the relationship of other data to the base map. As such, the interface provides scholars with a powerful research tool and significant starting point that can be used to investigate the geo-social dimensions of Buddhist institutions and understand the factors that have contributed to the growth of Humanistic Buddhism.
Transcending Borders: Using Regional and Ethnographic Studies to Envision the Future of Humanistic Buddhism
Ellison Onizuka (1946-1986) made this observation upon viewing the Earth from Space Shuttle Discovery in 1985. A National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut, Onizuka became the first Asian-American and the first Buddhist to reach space. Raised as a Shin Buddhist in Hawaii affiliated with the Kona Hongwanji, Onizuka was struck by the lack of boundaries or borders—political, racial, or egoistic—visible from such a distance.
Humanistic Buddhism and Contemporary Chinese Art
As we enter into the third decade of the twenty-first century, at least two observations can be made. On the one hand, the human condition faces its own extinction as artificial intelligence and climate change substitute basic human habits and habitats. These substitutions simulate—but can arguably never replace—natural human ones. It is not surprising, then, that fundamental aspects of the human world buried by progress into the ashcan of history have risen from the dead. The current renewal of human tribalism and authoritarian systems challenge assumptions of what “progress” and “modernity” as defined by Western Enlightenment is and can be. Indeed, cultural critics have discussed the phenomenon of postmodernity as characterizing the late twentieth century. Can we speak of neo-tradition and post-progress as veins running through the early twenty-first century? We clearly feel the pulse of these veins, but remain unsure of their paths or purpose.
Laity and Naturalization of Humanistic Buddhism in the Workplace
The story told through this paper is a snapshot of one dimension of Humanistic Buddhism’s future in Australia. A dimension, in the hands of lay members who seek to witness to their beliefs in their place of work. Macy (2010, p. 1) describes the characteristic of the people who underpin the credibility of this study, “it is an incredible privilege that we have been given, human life with a self-reflective consciousness that makes us aware of our own actions.” Further, Macy (2010, p. 2) urges lay Buddhists to use their skills, no matter how small or insignificant they may personally feel about them, since one shared insight can escalate to initiating “meaningful societal change.”
The Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā) and Religious Tolerance
Teaching Buddhism through Art: Fourteenth-Century Tibet and Canada Today
Intertextual Relationships between Ming Period Dramas and Novels:Two Examples from the Han Xiangzi Narrative Complex
Perception of the Reality for the Benefit of Sentient Beings: With Special Reference to the Bodhisattvabhūmi
Cultivating Social Historical Knowledge to Walk the Bodhisattva Path
In many regards, the future of Humanistic Buddhism can be considered in relation to its past. Developed as a response to social and political reforms in China during the transition from Qing dynastic rule to Republican governance, Humanistic Buddhism, as conceptualized by Master Taixu, proposed a reform of Chinese Buddhism that redirected its focus from ritual practices for the dead to emphasizing the human concerns of practitioners in this life. Thus, it prioritized an objective of engagement with human needs in a worldly context. While Humanistic Buddhism as expanded in Taiwan under the guidance of Venerable Master Hsing Yun maintains this focus on addressing human concerns, a reexamination of this historic foundation might prove fruitful in yielding new directions for the future growth of Humanistic Buddhism, especially in regards to its propagation throughout the world.
Humanistic Buddhism in Singapore
