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The Buddha in Humanistic Buddhism
Generally speaking, ancient Indian people were more mystic in that they sought by contemplation and self-surrender to obtain unity or identity with the deity Mahābrahma, or the absolute or ultimate reality that is beyond human intellect understanding. But Siddhārtha Gautama, the historical Buddha, was quite different from them. He was more practical and concerned only with the things that were conducive to the elimination of human suffering and he did not believe in the very existence of a supreme god and an eternal soul.
Humanistic Buddhism in Singapore
The term “Humanistic Buddhism” (人間佛教) brings to mind the thisworldly Buddhist teachings of Master Taixu (太虛, 1890–1947), Master Yinshun (印順, 1906–2005), and Venerable Master Hsing Yun (星雲, 1927–). Needless to say, transnational Taiwanese “mega-temples” such as Fo Guang Shan (佛光山) and Tzu Chi Foundation (慈濟功德會) have played a significant role in the propagation of Buddhism and promotion of cultural and philanthropic activities in global-city Singapore and around the world. Yet, unknown to many scholars (and Buddhists) perhaps, the early ideas of Humanistic Buddhism have arrived in Singapore even before these well-known global Taiwanese Buddhist organizations. In my talk, I will discuss the history of Singapore’s Humanistic Buddhism from the early twentieth century to the present. I will present the development of Humanistic Buddhism in Singapore into three phases: 1) Taixu’s Human Life Buddhism (人生佛教); 2) Yen Pei’s (演培, 1917–1996) Humanistic Buddhism; and 3) development of Taiwanese Humanistic Buddhist organizations in contemporary Singapore.
Studies on Humanistic Buddhism IV:Human Life
Studies on Humanistic Buddhism IV:Human Life
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.
On the This-Worldly Emphasis of Humanistic Buddhism
As an aspect of social life, religion has the adaptive function of helping humans overcome psychological and daily obstacles, attaining inner stability and peace of mind; the integrative function of consolidating group cohesion through common beliefs, bringing out the organizational power of human communities; and the cognitive function of solving the enigma of ultimate meaning, answering fundamental questions on life, the universe, existence, and morality for humans. These three functions of religion imply its capacity to meet the three essential needs of survival, community integration, and addressing the ultimate concern in life, hence its importance cannot be understated.
The Future of Humanistic Buddhism
In the late 1920s, to address the longstanding flaws present in traditional Buddhist practices since the Ming and Qing dynasties, Master Taixu (1889-1947) dedicated his life to Buddhism for human life, which puts an emphasis on and develops life. Since then, his disciples and those he has inspired proposed Humanistic Buddhism, which focuses on the realities of society. In the 1980s, Buddhists on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and in other areas with ethnic Chinese population, actively advocated and practiced Humanistic Buddhism.
Tracking the "Human" in Humanistic Buddhism (Ⅰ)
Perhaps Buddhism's greatest strength has been its endless ability to adopt and adapt to new environments and cultural contexts. Buddhist practitioners down through the ages have been amazingly adept at applying Creative Hermen-eutics, that is, serving as effective messengers for the underlying meaning of Buddhist Dharma in innovative ways. As we seek to translate Buddhism into a fitting form for the contemporary world, Humanistic Buddhism demonstrates great potential to "speak" to every individual, initially as a human being but also as a "buddha to be."
Tracking the "Human" in Humanisitic Buddhism (Ⅱ)
This spiritual troubadour of Tibet had an exceptionally humanistic touch in his teaching style. Wandering through the mountains of Tibet he encountered a wide range of human types, from shepherds, bandits, and logicians, to housewives, merchants, kings, and scholars, even a dying follower of the Bon religion that preceded Buddhism in Tibet.
Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s Perspective on Humanistic Buddhism’s Life Education
Venerable Master Hsing Yun is the most important practitioner promoting the development of the contemporary Humanistic Buddhism movement. After arriving in Taiwan, he devoted himself to various causes aimed at maintaining the Dharma in the human world. This has entailed extensive practical efforts for its realization, focused specifically on six aspects: 1. popularizing Buddhism 2. propagating Buddhism 3. Buddhist education 4. establishing culture 5. building Dharma centers and 6. charitable works.
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.