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The Buddhist Maritime Silk Road (1)
Professor Lewis R. Lancaster is the founder and Director of the Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative (ECAI). With over 20 years spent on the “Atlas of Maritime Buddhism” research, Dr. Lancaster has recently entrusted his writings The Buddhist Maritime Silk Road to the Fo Guang Shan Institute of Humanistic Buddhism for translation and publication. The book comprises five chapters, to be published chronologically in this journal.
Bodhisattva Precepts and Their Compatibility with Vinaya in Contemporary Chinese Buddhism: A Cross-Straits Comparative Study (Part 1)
Bodhisattva ideas have steadily developed since medieval times, to become key characteristics of Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhism. Monks and nuns in the Mahāyāna tradition generally have bodhisattva precepts conferred upon them while undergoing the Triple Platform Ordination, and adhering to both these precepts and the bhikṣu/ bhikṣuṇī precepts is a conspicuous feature of Mahāyāna monastic practice. Against this backdrop, it is worth exploring Chinese monastics’ perceptions of the bodhisattva precepts and ideal, and the practices surrounding them, in the current sociocultural contexts of Taiwan and Mainland China. Though both these regions share the same tradition of Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhism, it has very different manifestations. This long-term, cross-Straits comparative study also reveals a hitherto under-theorized conflict between vinaya rules and the bodhisattva ideal.
The Buddhist Maritime Silk Road (2): Origin and Spread of Buddhism
The Buddhist tradition can be traced back to its founder Sakyamuni, a wandering ascetic, who traversed the Ganges River basin, teaching and attracting a group of followers. It was a significant time for the history of social and economic developments in the basin, which was covered with what can be called a “rainforest.” One part of the area, at the delta, was made up of the largest mangrove forest in the world. Along the embankments of the Ganges and its tributaries, some settlements have been characterized as the “Second Urbanization” of the subcontinent. Archaeological remains show that the “First Urbanization” of the Indian region had occurred along the Indus River as far back as the third millennium BCE. The “Second Urbanization” was in full bloom by the 6th century BCE, composed of cities and towns spread throughout the Ganges basin. The economy was based on active trade between the population centers.
Bodhisattva Precepts and Their Compatibility with Vinaya in Contemporary Chinese Buddhism: A Cross-Straits Comparative Study (Part 2)
Bodhisattva ideas have steadily developed since medieval times, to become key characteristics of Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhism. Monks and nuns in the Mahāyāna tradition generally have bodhisattva precepts conferred upon them while undergoing the Triple Platform Ordination, and adhering to both these precepts and the bhikṣu/ bhikṣuṇī precepts is a conspicuous feature of Mahāyāna monastic practice. Against this backdrop, it is worth exploring Chinese monastics’ perceptions of the bodhisattva precepts and ideal, and the practices surrounding them, in the current sociocultural contexts of Taiwan and Mainland China. Though both these regions share the same tradition of Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhism, it has very different manifestations. This long-term, cross-Straits comparative study also reveals a hitherto under-theorized conflict between vinaya rules andthe bodhisattva ideal.
A Letter to Dharma Protectors and Friends in 2019
“In every home a new day dawns; old peach wood charms are replaced anew.” 2019 is the Year of the Pig. Of the twelve zodiac signs, the pig symbolizes a way to round up the year and start a new beginning of life. For this year’s One-Stroke Calligraphy spring couplet, Venerable Master writes “Always Well-rounded and Auspicious,” wishing everyone perfect ease in body and mind. Under the care of his Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital medical team, Venerable Master has recovered well from his craniotomy two years ago. At 92 years old, Venerable Master says, “I am not in pain, nor am I sick. I am only slightly inconvenienced.” Concerned about Cross-Strait peace and the development of Humanistic Buddhism, Venerable Master says, “I need to work harder.” As it is rare to encounter the Buddha’s teachings and have such a great Dharma teacher, both monastic and lay disciples should strive vigorously to follow in Venerable Master’s footsteps of propagating Humanistic Buddhism.
The Buddhist Maritime Silk Road (3): The Great Circle of Buddhism and Its Rim
The spread of the Buddhist movement throughout the peninsula and across to Sri Lanka was impressive. However, a far greater challenge awaited the tradition outside the cultural and linguistic domains of India. The “Great Circle”would carry Buddhist ideas and practices thousands of miles away from India. New homes for it were found along the coasts and rivers, wherever merchants needed to go. Eventually, the arcs of the “Great Circle” of Buddhism would encompass the whole of Southeast Eurasia. One portion of the arc went from the West Coast of India up the Indus Valley and around the far end of the Himalayas to the Tarim Basin leading to Chang’an (Xi’an), a route of more than 4,000 miles. The connecting maritime segment of the “Great Circle” started on the western shores of India, circling the peninsula and Sri Lanka up the East Coast to the Bay of Bengal and then moving East around the coastlines of Bangladesh, Myanmar, Malay Peninsula, across to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, before turning north to East Asia and the ports of China, Korea, and Japan. The circumference of both arcs land and sea, measured enough miles to encircle the equator of the earth; the indented shorelines contained 20,000 miles of surface, five times the land route mileage.
The Buddhist Maritime Silk Road (4): Buddhism along the Sea Routes
The Buddhist Maritime Silk Road (5): Conclusion
The study of the spread of Buddhism eastward from the shores of India to the South China Sea is being changed by contemporary views of political history for these regions. No longer is there a goal of describing nation-states, “empires,” that had firm boundaries and centralized governance in a fixed capital city setting. The previous descriptions, of ancient “kingdoms” in control of the three major riverine areas and the islands off the coast of mainland Southeast Asia, are being challenged. Whether it is the Irrawaddy River of Myanmar, the Chao Phraya basin of Thailand, the Mekong Delta of Vietnam and Cambodia, or the islands and peninsula of Malaysia and Indonesia, significant shifts are occurring in our understanding of how these areas were governed in the past.
A Study of Gender Equality in Humanistic Buddhism
Since Humanistic Buddhism was first proposed by Master Taixu, the issue of gender equality has gradually kindled widespread discussion in the field of Buddhism. During the Republican Era, Master Taixu and the female Buddhists of the Pure Bodhi Vihara have actively expressed their views on gender equality. Eventually, they reached a consensus of respecting a woman’s character, protecting her rights, and advocating equal status between men and women. After 1949, under the impetus of Venerable Master Hsing Yun, Venerable Yin Shun, Venerable Sheng Yen, Venerable Chaohwei, thoughts on gender equality in Taiwan have made great strides. After 1980, the rejuvenation of Humanistic Buddhism in Mainland China in turn developed thoughts on gender equality. As a result, the overall status of female Buddhists in Mainland China has remarkably improved.
Greed, Desire, and the Universal Need for Master Hsing Yun's Humanistic Buddhism: A View from the United States
Greed. We all know greed is a problem. U.S. citizen Bernie Madoff’s successful investment fund attracted wealthy investors. Every year his returns on investment were much larger than those of other funds. In the end it turned out that he was not investing his customers’ money at all. Instead, he was running a Ponzi or “pyramid” scheme, paying off the investors who withdrew their money with the money he was taking in from new investors. While the Ponzi scheme was going strong, he was the toast of New York City and highly admired by others in the finance world. When thousands of his customers lost large sums of money, he became the poster boy of greed. Yet of course his customers were greedy too.