站內檢索
Humanistic Buddhism for the Social Well-being (Ⅰ):An Overview of Grand Master Hsing Yun's Interpretation in Theory and Practice
Venerable Dr. Hsing Yun is the Grand Master of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order, the 48th Patriarch of Lin Ji Ch'an tradition, and the foremost Chinese scholar-monk of our times. He has been impressed, since his adolescence, with humanism as the all-pervading characteristic of the teachings of the Buddha. He has devoted a life-time of study, research, contemplation, discussion, and teaching to clarify and elaborate the philosophical concepts inherent in Buddhism and their practical implications. The ultimate result of this effort is the identification of core teachings of the Buddha, which are relevant and immediately applicable to life in this modern world. He calls these teachings Humanistic Buddhism (Renjian Fojiao). He sees in it an enormous potential for social well-being and individual advancement.
Humanistic Buddhism for Social Well-being (II): An Overview of Grand Master Hsing Yun's Interpretation in Theory and Practice
Venerable Dr. Hsing Yun is the Grand Master of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order, the 48th Patriarch of Lin Ji Ch'an tradition, and the foremost Chinese scholar-monk of our times. He has been impressed, since his adolescence, with humanism as the all-pervading characteristic of the teachings of the Buddha. He has devoted a life-time of study, research, contemplation, discussion, and teaching to clarify and elaborate the philosophical concepts inherent in Buddhism and their practical implications. The ultimate result of this effort is the identification of core teachings of the Buddha, which are relevant and immediately applicable to life in this modern world. He calls these teachings Humanistic Buddhism (Renjian Fojiao). He sees in it an enormous potential for social well-being and individual advancement.
Ancient Indian Buddhist Attitude Towards Women (I)
Ancient Indian Buddhist Attitude Towards Women (II)
Remarks on Current Research on Taixu and the Pure Land in the Human Realm
One could translate the Chinese term commonly rendered “Humanistic Buddhism” more literally as “Buddhism in the Human Realm” (renjian fojiao 人間佛教). The term “human realm” (renjian 人間) has both an everyday meaning in modern Chinese and a more expansive technical Buddhist meaning. In everyday parlance, it means “the human world,” “humanity,” or “social relations,” and within a modern scientific world view, humanity exists in only one place—the planet Earth. Hence, English-language texts sometimes render the term “Humanistic Buddhism” as “Earthly Buddhism.” In traditional Chinese Buddhist texts, however, the term has a more specialized, technical meaning arising from premodern Buddhist cosmology. In this context, it indicates one in a list of five or six possible paths of rebirth. To be reborn in the human realm means that one’s past karma has led to rebirth as a human being, and in Buddhist cosmology, the Earth is not the only place where humans reside. The fact that the term renjian has different definitions in these two contexts has led to some confusion when scholars confront the terms “Humanistic Buddhism” and “The Pure Land in the Human Realm” (renjian jingtu 人間淨土). Variations in the way Buddhists and scholars understand the meaning and purpose of Humanistic Buddhism only compound the confusion.
The Relationship between Buddhism and Life
There are two main schools of Buddhism, Theravāda and Mahāyāna. The former spread from southern India to Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, and the island of Java during King Asoka’s reign in ancient India. The latter spread from northern India to Tibet, China, Korea, Japan, and the Ryukyu Islands during the reign of the Chinese Emperor Ming of the Han dynasty. It has since disseminated into all parts of Malaysia in the last two or three hundred years. Buddhism has spread throughout the world in two thousand and five hundred years. Today, it is distributed vastly, found not only in the Southeast Asian countries, but also Europe and the United States. The religion is practiced by people in the East and West, and has a significant number of devotees.
Buddhism and Hospice Care
Buddhism examines how to end the cycle of birth and death. When Siddhārtha Gautama renounced worldly life and sought enlightenment, his goal was to address the problem of life and death. In the Ming dynasty, Master Hanshan stated, “Since ancient times renunciation has been concerned with the issue of birth and death. The Buddha came into this world in order to teach all sentient beings about this. There is no other Dharma than that concerning birth and death; there is no birth or death other than what the Dharma teaches us.”
On Modernity and Tradition in Humanistic Buddhism: From Master Taixu to Venerable Master Hsing Yun
Humanistic Buddhism was initially proposed by Master Taixu in early modern times, then refined in theory and verified in practice by a number of eminent monks. It now is a major ideological trend and practical model for Chinese Buddhism in Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao. Fo Guang Shan in Taiwan, under the leadership of Venerable Master Hsing Yun, has brought the model of Humanistic Buddhism development worldwide. This has become an important channel for Chinese culture to the world. How is it that Humanistic Buddhism has become a major Buddhist ideological trend on the Chinese mainland? How has it become the way for Buddhism to modernize and to survive? Humanistic Buddhism not only responds to the practical needs of this era, but it is rooted in long-standing Buddhist spiritual traditions and the Buddha’s original intents.
The Modernization and Globalization of Humanistic Buddhism and Chinese Buddhism
The most prominent element in the success of Humanistic Buddhism is the modernization and internationalization of Chinese Buddhism. Under the premise of returning to the original intents of the Buddha, advocates and practitioners of Humanistic Buddhism look forward to spreading the Dharma in ways that are readily embraced by people of current times. For example, in the 1950s and 1960s, Fo Guang Shan’s Venerable Master Hsing Yun was already advocating for reform in Buddhism: its ranks, its organizations, its administrative systems, its precepts, its means of propagating the Dharma, its education, its culture, and its internationalization.
The Localization and Spread of Japanese Buddhism
It is well-known that Japanese Buddhism came from China, and in the course of its acceptance and accommodation into Japanese society, it underwent many changes, whether planned or unintentional. Are these changes original innovations or complacent degeneration? The distinction may be subtle. It is certainly not our role here to resolve this question by passing value judgements, as there might be necessary reasons behind these changes. Rather than simply making a value judgement, the researcher prioritize the pursuit of truth. Having said that, when considering the nature of religion, we must necessarily be concerned with how changes affect the vitality of religion.