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Śamathavipaśyanā in Fo Guang Chan
Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s Humanistic Buddhism places great importance on the study and practice of Chan. Fo Guang Chan is founded upon the Buddhist scriptures and commentaries, as well as the traditions of Chinese Buddhism, and is adapted to the needs of modern society, with a system of progressive cultivation which includes the paths of accumulation (saṃbhāramārga), preparation (prayogamārga), morality (śila), concentration (samādhi), wisdom (prajñā), vision (darśanamārga), cultivation (bhāvanāmārga), and the adept path (aśaikṣamārga). Among these, the paths of concentration and wisdom are at the core of Fo Guang Chan. Śamathavipaśyanā in Fo Guang Chan is based on the concepts of concentration and wisdom of early Buddhism, and further integrates the Mahāyāna doctrine of prajñā wisdom and the Tiantai practice of śamatha and vipaśyanā, with special emphasis on its application in daily life.
The Changing Functions of Renjian Fojiao (人間佛教) in Mainland China
Since the revival of Buddhism in the People’s Republic of China following the Cultural Revolution, renjian fojiao (人間佛教), often translated as “Humanistic Buddhism,” has become a very prominent label. It has served as a basic concept for various purposes, from the political self-legitimation of Buddhists, to the revival of traditional(ized) thinking, to religious innovation. It has undergone a continuous process of adaptation to Buddhists’ needs at the moment in question. With its initial role, quite early in the 1980s, emphasized officially by Zhao Puchu 趙朴初 (1907-2000), the president of the Buddhist Association of China (BAC), it became an important element of the statutory purpose of the BAC and developed separately from, but not without the influence of, later dynamics in Taiwan. This article reflects on some of the steps in the 40-year development of what has been declared in the People’s Republic of China as renjian fojiao (“Humanistic Buddhism”). It focuses on its metamorphosis within the context of the BAC’s statutory purpose, asking what the concept has been necessary for and how it might still be relevant today.
Interpreting Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s Commentaries on the Guanyin Faith
Along with the modernization of Buddhism and the theoretical and practical development of Humanistic Buddhism by Venerable Master Hsing Yun, devotion to Guanyin has also undergone a humanistic transformation. The main characteristics of this humanistic transformation are a shift in emphasis from a dependence on divine blessings toward independent self-awakening, and a shift in practice from passive prayer toward active spiritual cultivation. By analyzing his thoughts on divine connection, liberation, and practice as laid out in his commentaries on Guanyin, this paper explores Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s contribution to the humanistic turn in Guanyin devotion, i.e., enlightenment not through worship and prayer, but through individual spiritual cultivation aimed at emulating and then becoming one with Guanyin.
Editor's Preface：Human Life
Volume four of Studies on Humanistic Buddhism contains eight translated articles, two commentaries, two original articles, and a perspective piece all relating to human life. Human life is a topic with a vast scope. It was chosen because it is central to Humanistic Buddhism. As several articles in this volume and previous volumes discuss, Humanistic Buddhism developed as a response to the perception that Buddhism no longer related directly to human life. By the nineteenth century in China, Buddhism was seen to provide what came to be mainly perfunctory rituals to be performed upon the death of a family member. Humanistic Buddhism revived Buddhism as an intrinsic part of daily life.
Editor’s Preface
Volume five of Studies on Humanistic Buddhism contains eight articles translated from Chinese, one article that was written in English, and four student papers. The theme of the articles is Chan Buddhism, particularly Fo Guang Chan as developed by Venerable Master Hsing Yun. Chan is the Chinese version of what in English is often known by the Japanese pronunciation—Zen.
Editor’s Preface
In Buddhism, the concept of upāya kauśalya refers to using skillful means to teach each person according to their capability to understand. What might be appropriate for some people at a certain time might not be appropriate for others at different times. In other words, tailoring the message so that it resonates with the audience. Although the means of guiding sentient beings are only partial aspects of the ultimate truth, using language and teaching methods that inspire others to begin on the path toward enlightenment. Skillful means is one of the perfections (paramitā) of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Just like a bodhisattva motivated by wisdom and compassion, Venerable Master Hsing Yun made a great vow to help bring out the spiritual potential of sentient beings. He crafted a version of Humanistic Buddhism that integrated Buddhist doctrine with the daily life of people of current times and cultures. He not only adapted his teaching to effectively transmit the Dharma, he also used skillful means to propagate the Dharma. The articles in this volume discuss some of the various ways he grew the Fo Guang Shan into a worldwide Buddhist organization through building temples throughout the world, founding the Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) for lay practitioners, globalizing and localizing, education, natural aesthetics, and through developing the concepts of collective effort and leadership by system.
Preliminary Study on Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s Educational Leadership Style
Over the past fifty years, Venerable Master Hsing Yun has promoted Humanistic Buddhism in Taiwan, and has been devoted to the cause of schooling and education. He has been a prominent educator, having established a large number of education institutions, including comprehensive universities, secondary schools, elementary schools, and kindergartens. His style of educational leadership can be summarized as: (1) rooted in Humanistic Buddhism, (2) with a passion for education, (3) good at fundraising for building schools, (4) skillful at appointing specialized professionals to run schools, (5) caring for disadvantaged students, (6) leading in teaching innovation, (7) holding the teaching profession in high esteem, and (8) focused on rebuilding the humanities.
Humanistic Religion From Guodian to Vimalakirti
This paper will argue that the term “Humanistic Buddhism,” which Venerable Master Hsing Yun describes as central to all of Buddhism, is also fundamental to Chinese religion as a collective group. Such an expansion is in keeping with the spirit of his recent publication 365 Days for Travelers: Wisdom from Chinese Literary and Buddhist Classics. Here we see an enlargement of humanism to include a general assessment of Chinese culture. It because of this expansion that this paper uses the term “Humanistic Religion” instead of “Humanistic Buddhism.” Crucial support for the centrality of humanism to Chinese religion comes from it being expressed with the greatest clarity and earliest date in the recently excavated Guodian corpus (郭店楚簡). As such, Guodian represents a missing link between Buddhism and other pre-Han religious systems. Venerable Master Hsing-yun sees Humanistic Buddhism as a system that has particular utility for overcoming divisions; as such it is interested in developing the linkages with indigenous Chinese religion that I will be detailing in this paper. Specifically, Humanistic Buddhism: Holding True to the Original Intents of Buddha, states that the schisms which arose after the passing of the Buddha can be overcome with humanism. In the publications by Fo Guang Shan I have reviewed so far, however, recently excavated manuscripts have not been considered and this will one of the contributions of this paper.
Humanistic Religion: From Guodian to Vimalakirti
This paper will argue that the term “Humanistic Buddhism,” which Venerable Master Hsing Yun describes as central to all of Buddhism, is also fundamental to Chinese religion as a collective group. Such an expansion is in keeping with the spirit of his recent publication 365 Days for Travelers: Wisdom from Chinese Literary and Buddhist Classics. Here we see an enlargement of humanism to include a general assessment of Chinese culture. It because of this expansion that this paper uses the term “Humanistic Religion” instead of “Humanistic Buddhism.” Crucial support for the centrality of humanism to Chinese religion comes from it being expressed with the greatest clarity and earliest date in the recently excavated Guodian corpus ( 郭店楚簡). As such, Guodian represents a missing link between Buddhism and other pre-Han religious systems. Venerable Master Hsing-yun sees Humanistic Buddhism as a system that has particular utility for overcoming divisions; as such it is interested in developing the linkages with indigenous Chinese religion that I will be detailing in this paper. Specifically, Humanistic Buddhism: Holding True to the Original Intents of Buddha, states that the schisms which arose after the passing of the Buddha can be overcome with humanism.2 In the publications by Fo Guang Shan I have reviewed so far, however, recently excavated manuscripts have not been considered and this will one of the contributions of this paper.
