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What is Chan? Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s Point of View
This article explores Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s views on the meaning of Chan by examining his answers to the important question: What is Chan? This article has three parts. First, Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s expression of Chan is described, showing a multitude of answers to this issue. The second part focuses on Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s view that Chan is the foundation of Humanistic Buddhism. The third section describes Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s idea that Chan is life in more depth. The idea that Chan is life is thenfurther examined. Essentially, Chan is a life guided by an ordinary mind, a life lived in true reality, a life oriented toward what is good. In other words, a beautiful life. This article concludes that Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s idea of Chan is creative, fusing the teachings based on the scriptures with those outside the texts, combining Chan and Pure Land, and harmonizing the three doctrines of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism.
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.
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
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.
