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Humanistic Buddhism: Holding True to the Original Intents of Buddha Foreword
“What is your faith?” A asks B. “Humanistic Buddhism.” Answers B. “If your faith is Buddhism, then it’s just Buddhism. Why add ‘Humanistic’?” Asks A again. “Because the founder of Buddhism, Sakyamuni Buddha, was not a god but simply a human being. The uniqueness of Buddhism is that it was founded by a human being, that is why it is called Humanistic Buddhism.”
Humanistic Buddhism: The Essence of Learning for Life in Guang Ming College
Giving importance to education and cognizant of the multifaceted talents of many Filipinos, Venerable Master Hsing Yun founded in June 2014 in the Philippines the fifth consortium school of Fo Guang Shan educational system, the Guang Ming College. Being the pioneer Humanistic Buddhist College in the Philippines, Guang Ming College is open to students of all faiths who are willing to learn and to mutually respect one another̕s customs, cultural traditions, and religious affiliations.
Localization Of Humanistic Buddhism In The West
In Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s diary summary for the latter half of January 1990, a period where he spent his time at Hsi Lai Temple in Los Angeles, we read a record highlighting two important steps in the localization of Humanistic Buddhism in the West: Starting from Hsi Lai Temple we are actualizing the first step of “The Dharma waters constantly flow throughout the five continents”, and the founding of the Buddha Light International Association will further enhance harmonious interaction and exchange between each nation worldwide. Finally, we are not letting down the Patriarch’s intention in coming from the West!(Hsing Yun 1994)
Humanistic Buddhism: The Essence of Learning for Life in Guang Ming College
Giving importance to education and cognizant of the multifaceted talents of many Filipinos, Venerable Master Hsing Yun founded in June 2014 in the Philippines the fifth consortium school of Fo Guang Shan educational system, the Guang Ming College. Being the pioneer Humanistic Buddhist College in the Philippines, Guang Ming College is open to students of all faiths who are willing to learn and to mutually respect one another's customs, cultural traditions, and religious affiliations.
Objectively Validating the Practice of Humanistic Buddhism
Venerable Master Hsing Yun once said that Humanistic Buddhism is the union of tradition and modernity; it fuses mountains and forests with society, temples with homes, monastics with lay practitioners, profound words with service and practice. Therefore, an important future direction for the practice of Humanistic Buddhism would be to embed the spirit and values of Buddhist traditions into all levels of society.
The Concept of Wealth in Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s Humanistic Buddhism
Venerable Master Hsing Yun has actively promoted the propagation and practice of Humanistic Buddhism. He believes that, “In the twentieth century, due to the awakening of Buddhists, Buddhism returned to its traditional fundamental teachings, and at the same time adapted itself through modernization. Therefore, the ‘Humanistic Buddhism’ of the twenty-first century was born to meet the needs of the time,” and that “what is known as Humanistic Buddhism needs to have humanity, altruism, joy, universality, timeliness, and an emphasis on daily life. It should be based on bodhicitta and traveling the bodhisattva path, always moving upward, forward, toward truth, wholesomeness, and toward the ultimate and perfection of the Buddhist way.”
Fundamental Tenets of Humanistic Buddhism
The Buddha was born in the human world, engaged in spiritual cultivation in the human world, and propagated the Dharma in the human world. He taught humans, not demons, hungry ghosts, or animals. Therefore, Buddhism is of the human realm. In addition to this, we often say that the Buddha was not a god; he was a human being and the Buddhism he founded is fundamentally Humanistic Buddhism. These days, some argue that Humanistic Buddhism is yours, his, or someone else’s. However, it is not. What the Buddha of the human world was practicing is Humanistic Buddhism.
My Understanding of 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.
Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s Humanistic Buddhism–New Dawn of True Dharma
The title “venerable master” as used by contemporary Chinese Buddhists appears to have been demeaned and misused, to the extent of sometimes being generally used in reference to male and female monastics. In fact, the word “master” has the Sanskrit root of “śāstṛ,” and is a rather highly esteemed title in Buddhism. As the Itivṛttakasūtra5explains, the title refers to sagely monastics who have attained at least the stage of stream-entere, and up to that of a buddha. Their presence in this world ensures that the wisdom of the Dharma can guide others towards transcending the mundane, bringing boundless benefit and joy to them.
Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s Ten Great Contributions to Buddhism
Since the nineteenth century, Humanistic Buddhism has been the most powerful school of thought in Chinese Buddhism. I recently proposed that while Taixu was distinguished as an advocate of modern Humanistic Buddhism, Venerable Master Hsing Yun, as the founder of modern Humanistic Buddhism, has been an exceptional proponent. Venerable Master Hsing Yun proposed using the concept of the “three greatnesses” from the Treatise on the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna as the basic principle of the Humanistic Buddhism: greatness of essence, greatness of attributes, and greatness of function. He profoundly influenced the essence, the attributes, and the function of Humanistic Buddhism.
