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Modern Religious Tourism in Taiwan: A Case Study of Fo Guang Shan Buddha Memorial Center
Fo Guang Shan Buddha Memorial Center, founded by Venerable Master Hsing Yun, is a newly opened Buddhist site in Taiwan, which not only serves as a combined museum, art gallery and religious landmark, but also a diverse cultural, education and art center whose total number of visitors in the first year of its opening exceeded ten million, higher than that of the Louvre in 2012, and has continued to rise in successive years. The Center also became the youngest museum to be recognized as a member of ICOM, receive ISO50001 certification, and listed on Tripadvisor as one of the top three tourist destinations in Taiwan within the first four years of its opening.
A Modern Interpretation of Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s Belief that ‘Life Does Not Die'
In his first preface to Humanistic Buddhism: Holding True to the Original Intent of Buddha, Venerable Master Hsing Yun adopted simple and easily understood words to summarize the articles of faith and essence of Humanistic Buddhism. In the second preface titled “My Understanding of Humanistic Buddhism,” Venerable Master Hsing Yun identified the general misconceptions and doubts many people have about Humanistic Buddhism.
Establishing a Humanistic Pure Land
What is a Pure Land? It is a wonderful land of purity and dignity. More precisely, it is an excellent society, or an elegant world. From our study of the sūtras, we are aware that there is an Amitābha Buddha teaching the Dharma to sentient beings in the Western Pure Land, ten trillion buddha lands away from our sahā world. It is a majestic place of treasures and magnificence, where people lead unparalleled lives, happy and carefree. The Buddha’s teachings have allowed us to recognize that this is undoubtedly true. However, we have never heard of a humanistic Pure Land. Just look around: the negativities around us portray an image of misery.
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 of the Jin'gang pi
Tiantai school flourished during the time of its founder, Zhiyi (538-597), and went into decline after his disciple Guanding (561-632) passed away. The adjust it to the changing environment of the Tang China composed a number of exegetic and explanatory works. His effort culminated in his final masterpiece: Jin'gang pi (The Diamond Cutter). In this text, Zhanran presented specifically Tiantai interpretation of the idea that even insentient beings possess the Buddha nature; an argument which opposed the widely accepted interpretation of the Mahaparinirvāṇa sutra statement that only sentient beings possess the Buddha nature.
A Theoretical Analysis on the Possibility of Attaining Buddhahood Using the Mental Cultivation Methods of Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s “I am Buddha” and Chan Master Huangbo’s “This Mind is Buddha”
Humanistic Buddhism teaches the concept of “I am Buddha.” Engaging the spiritual attitude of a Buddha, many kinds of Buddhist activities can be undertaken in our daily lives. Subjectively, this attitude strengthens one’s resolve. Objectively, it leads to one making significant contributions to society. The Chan approach to spiritual cultivation is “This mind is Buddha.” Being in the state of mind where no thoughts arise, and having the mind of a Buddha, is a manifestation of “I am Buddha.” If one attains the former state, then no matter when one achieves Buddhahood, in this life one will do the Buddha’s work. If one attains the latter state, then no matter when one achieves Buddhahood, one will always be in the state of Buddha-mind. The former is the embodiment of bodhicitta and the latter an embodiment of prajñā. Both modes complement the other and combine to create one of Humanistic Buddhism’s most popular teachings: “I am Buddha.” It is not of the first importance when practitioners of this method actually attain Buddhahood. With confidence, application, and the abandonment of wrong views, the practitioner is already on the path to becoming a Buddha.
Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s Environmental Thoughts: A Beautiful Mind for a more Sustainable World
The world is on fire. 2020 saw global temperatures rise 1.2°C above pre-industrial levels. The rising temperatures have triggered violent weather events such as recent heatwaves in Canada, floods in Germany, and wildfires in Australia. Adversely, impacting our food supply, health, economic livelihood, and living conditions. From the famous Fire Sermon in Ādittapariyāya Sutta of the Pāli canon, the Buddha depicts a seemingly similar burning world where “everything is burning…burning with the fires of greed, hate, and delusion.” Our degrading environment can thus be seen as a man-made crisis driven by the three fires of “greedy consumer cultures (i.e. greed), dissatisfaction (i.e. hatred), and other attitudes that can be looked upon as vices (i.e. delusion).” Traditional Buddhist texts indicate this plausible connection between our degrading environment and our deteriorating human nature. As world leaders gather at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) for a way out of our environmental mess, we also look to one of the world’s renowned Buddhist leaders for how Buddhist teachings may offer guidance to address our looming environmental problems.
My Understanding about Humanistic Buddhism
Humanistic Buddhism inspires us to elevate and have faith in ourselves; because this self embodies the wisdom and virtue of the Buddha. Thus we must realize that we are all buddhas and be proud to say that “I am a buddha.” Such is the spirit of Humanistic Buddhism. Instead of placing our fate in the hands of divine entities, we should take responsibility for our own lives. The saying in the Āgamas, “Rely on the self, rely on the Dharma, rely on nothing else,” is a rendition of the faith of Humanistic Buddhism.
Interpreting the “Humanistic” in Renjian Fojiao (人間佛教) as Advocated by Venerable Master Hsing Yun of Fo Guang Shan
Śākyamuni Buddha expounded the Four Noble Truths as his first teachings to demonstrate to human beings the causes of suffering, and more importantly, to give hope that suffering can end. For this reason, the Buddha is often referred to as the doctor who tends to human beings in their very fundamental need: fulfillment in attaining freedom from suffering. As human interests and values are given broader definitions, the Buddhist movement also becomes much more diverse in scope, giving Buddhism a humanistic character regarding various aspects of life.
Interpreting the “Humanistic” in Renjian Fojiao (人間佛教) as Advocated by Venerable Master Hsing Yun of Fo Guang Shan
Sakyamuni Buddha expounded the Four Noble Truths as his very first teachings out of the intention of showing human beings the cause of suffering, and more importantly, to give hope in that such sufferings can be ended. For this reason, Buddha is often referred to as the doctor who tends to human beings in their very fundamental needs: fulfillment in attaining freedom from suffering. As human interests and values are given broader definitions, the Buddhist movement also becomes much more diverse in scope, giving Buddhism the characteristic of humanism on various aspects of life. The purpose of this paper is to examine the elements of humanism traceable in the teachings and practices of Buddhism and find relevance between such and Renjian Fojiao (Humanistic Buddhism).
