站內檢索
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.
【Buddhist Encounters: Finding a Home in the Human Condition】Introduction
Since the outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Dr. Lewis R. Lancaster, Emeritus Professor of the University of California, Berkeley, USA, has been giving online lectures for the Department of Religious Studies at University of the West, USA (one of the universities established by Fo Guang Shan). Through his engaging teaching approach, he has guided students to explore the depths of Buddhist teachings and its application. In the hope for more people to benefit from his lectures, they will be featured as a column series in the Humanistic Buddhism: Journal, Arts, and Culture journal, which will be published in both Chinese and English. Dr. Lancaster has granted permission for the FGS Institute of Humanistic Buddhism to translate the content into Chinese. We included an introduction written by Dr. Lancaster in this current issue of the journal to set the stage for this unique column series.
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 Relationship Between Buddhism and Chinese Culture
Buddhist culture is part of Chinese traditional culture. The issue of culture has recently become a hot topic of discussion in intellectual and cultural circles. Concerning this discussion, my understanding is shallow and my thoughts immature. However, I believe that the development of human culture is a continuous process, thus traditional and contemporary culture cannot be completely separated. We should draw out all the valuable essentials of traditional culture to enrich and develop a socialist-oriented national culture. My view is that traditional Chinese culture should also include Buddhist culture. At present, there is a biased opinion of equating the former with Confucian culture, and entirely eradicating the role and contribution of Buddhist culture in traditional Chinese culture. This is unfair and not reflective of historical facts.
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.
EXPRESSIONS OF THE DHARMA: BUDDHIST ART & CULTURE IN EVERYDAY LIFE
University of the West & Hsi Lai Temple, Los Angeles, CA EXPRESSIONS OF THE DHARMA: BUDDHIST ART & CULTURE IN EVERYDAY LIFE For more information on the conference, please visit Artistic and c.....
Editor’s Preface:The Glocalization of Buddhism
Volume three of Studies on Humanistic Buddhism contains fourteen articles relating to the glocalization of Buddhism. Glocalization here refers to the spread of Buddhism globally as it situates itself locally. An increased flow of people, goods, and information has allowed Buddhism to rapidly spread across the world, and for greater interaction between Buddhist traditions. Concomitant with Buddhism’s globalization is its localization. As Buddhism settles into new environments, there is an acculturation process. The people who bring Buddhist teachings to a new area must acculturate to the local society in order to come up with skillful means to impart Buddhist teachings in a manner that is appropriate to the dominant culture, and that empowers them to carry on the Buddhist teachings themselves.
Translating Fo Guang Dictionary of Buddhism: Building Online Collaborative Buddhist Translation Projects with Small Crowdsource Platforms
As a second generation Chinese immigrant in Australia, my parents provided well for us to grow up and to receive an education in the Australian language and culture. Nevertheless, on the weekends, they also brought us to the local Fo Guang Shan temple—the Nan Tien Vihara, so that we can reconnect with our Chinese roots through continued learning of the Chinese language and participation in the Chinese religious experience inside Nan Tien Temple. Certainly, we were very happy to have that opportunity to also witness the development of Humanistic Buddhism in Australia.
Studies on Humanistic Buddhism III: Glocalization of Buddhism
Studies on Humanistic Buddhism III: Glocalization of Buddhism
Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s Perspective on Humanistic Buddhism’s Life Education
Venerable Master Hsing Yun is the most important practitioner promoting the development of the contemporary Humanistic Buddhism movement. After arriving in Taiwan, he devoted himself to various causes aimed at maintaining the Dharma in the human world. This has entailed extensive practical efforts for its realization, focused specifically on six aspects: 1. popularizing Buddhism 2. propagating Buddhism 3. Buddhist education 4. establishing culture 5. building Dharma centers and 6. charitable works.