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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.
Commentary: Yang Renshan, a Living Bodhisattva
Yang was born in an eminent family of Confucian literati in Anhui Province in 1837, two years before the outbreak of the Opium War. He witnessed the years of turmoil in nineteenth century China: the Taiping Rebellion and subsequent series of China’s defeats and humiliations. When he was twenty-seven years old, his father died of illness and the following year Yang Renshan himself contracted the plague. After his recovery in Hangzhou, he continued to suffer from depression. By chance, he read two texts entitled Dacheng Qixin Lun (Mahāyānśraddhotpāda Śāstra; Mahayana Treatise on the Awakening of Faith) and Lengyan Jing (Śūraṅgama Sūtra).
Appendix: Yang Renshan, a Bodhisattva
A Study of Humanistic Buddhism Returning to India: Observations and Reflections on the Fo Guang Shan New Delhi Educational and Cultural Centre
The journey of Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s Humanistic Buddhism back to India can generally be divided into two stages. The first stage spanned from 1963 to 2008, when the Venerable Master made eight pilgrimages to India and gradually affirmed his desire to bring Buddhism back there. He and some of his monastics began to develop a preliminary plan. The second stage began with the establishment of the New Delhi Educational and Cultural Centre (hereinafter referred to as the Centre). By building a temple, initiating educational programs, setting up charitable clinics, and engaging in cross-cultural exchanges, Buddhism was reestablished in India.
The Localization of Music during the Late Stages of Buddhism’s Spread around the World: A Comparison of the Japanese and Dai Buddhist Music
This article begins with a discussion of several common elements and similar phenomena found in the history of music in the Buddhism of the Dai people of China and in Japanese Buddhism during the late stages of the spread of Buddhism around the world. Then, using these clues, the relevant documentary materials available in Chinese are used to further describe the early localization of music in Japan. Finally, based on a comparison of field surveys and relevant documentary data, a comparative analysis of these two schools of Buddhist music is made, taking into account their status and respective conditions within the opposed courses of globalization and localization, and in relation to being either a transmitter or receiver of musical ideas.
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.
Recent Conclusions on the Theory of Humanistic Buddhism: Looking at Venerable Master Hsing Yun from Hear Me Out: Messages from a Humble Monk
The book Hear Me Out: Messages from a Humble Monk was written by Venerable Master Hsing Yun and published in 2015. The book, among the nearly thirty million Chinese characters written by the Venerable Master so far, has two distinct features. Firstly, it is a work of Buddhist apologetics in the contemporary era, written in response to the recent accusations against the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation made by the Taiwanese media. The special causes and conditions of its writing endow this book with a distinctive theme, and with a high degree of realism and relevance.
Editor’s Preface: A Treasury of Academic Thought on Humanistic Buddhism
Taking the Retrocession of Taiwan in 1945 as the starting point of the restoration of Chinese Buddhism, along with the emergence of the four major monastic orders on this island, Humanistic Buddhism has just celebrated its seventy-first birthday. However, we should consider that Master Taixu (hereinafter Taixu) first proposed the concept of “Humanistic Buddhism” in his article “On The China Times and the so-called ‘Sūtras and Mantras to Save the Nation’” published in Ocean Waves Magazine Vol. 13, No. 9 (1932), and that he delivered his lecture on “How to Build Humanistic Buddhism” at the Hankou Chamber of Commerce in October of the following year. These first definitions of Humanistic Buddhism included a preliminary explanation of the methodology and philosophy of Humanistic Buddhism, and how it could be developed from this foundation. From this other perspective, it can be said that modern Humanistic Buddhism has been practiced for more than eighty years.
Dharma Function with Sound, Dharma Propagation with Music–A Study of Buddhist Chants and Buddhist Songs of Fo Guang Chan
This paper introduces the historical development and current state of Buddhist chants and songs at Fo Guang Shan, an international Buddhist headquarters founded by Venerable Master Hsing Yun. This study also offers academic analysis of the musical forms from a selected set of Buddhist chants and songs with a specific focus on how particular musical forms are manifested in these as well as why they have become popular. Most of the musical scores are transcribed by the author, some of them from recordings made in the main shrine of Fo Guang Shan, and others provided by the Fo Guang Shan Institute of Humanistic Buddhism.
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.
