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Recrafting Role Models: A Discussion of the Contemporary Application of Buddhist Life Education Through the Comic—The Ten Great Disciples
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.
Interpreting the “Humanistic” in Renjian Fojiao (人間佛教) as Advocated by Venerable Master Hsing Yun of Fo Guang Shan
Śākyamuni Buddha expounded the Four Noble Truths as his first teachings to demonstrate to human beings the causes of suffering, and more importantly, to give hope that suffering can end. For this reason, the Buddha is often referred to as the doctor who tends to human beings in their very fundamental need: fulfillment in attaining freedom from suffering. As human interests and values are given broader definitions, the Buddhist movement also becomes much more diverse in scope, giving Buddhism a humanistic character regarding various aspects of life.
Laity and Naturalization of Humanistic Buddhism in the Workplace
The story told through this paper is a snapshot of one dimension of Humanistic Buddhism’s future in Australia. A dimension, in the hands of lay members who seek to witness to their beliefs in their place of work. Macy (2010, p. 1) describes the characteristic of the people who underpin the credibility of this study, “it is an incredible privilege that we have been given, human life with a self-reflective consciousness that makes us aware of our own actions.” Further, Macy (2010, p. 2) urges lay Buddhists to use their skills, no matter how small or insignificant they may personally feel about them, since one shared insight can escalate to initiating “meaningful societal change.”
Human World Buddhism at Fo Guang Shan: Localising Anthropocentric Dharma
In this short essay, I look at “Humanistic Buddhism” as taught and practiced at Fo Guang Shan 佛光山 according to the vision of Venerable Master Hsing Yun 星雲 (born 1927). My first aim is to add some conceptual clarity around the misleading English term “Humanistic Buddhism,” and to propose alternative terms such as “Human World Buddhism” or “Anthropocentric Buddhism.” Secondly, I add some reflections about the tension between what I term “centripetal” (parochial, insider-oriented) and “centrifugal” (global/glocal, outreach-oriented) modes of engagement in the context of Fo Guang Shan. Finally, I look at the underlying ethos of dharmic “service” to the community in the context of “appropriate” or “skillful means.”
Cultivating Social Historical Knowledge to Walk the Bodhisattva Path
In many regards, the future of Humanistic Buddhism can be considered in relation to its past. Developed as a response to social and political reforms in China during the transition from Qing dynastic rule to Republican governance, Humanistic Buddhism, as conceptualized by Master Taixu, proposed a reform of Chinese Buddhism that redirected its focus from ritual practices for the dead to emphasizing the human concerns of practitioners in this life. Thus, it prioritized an objective of engagement with human needs in a worldly context. While Humanistic Buddhism as expanded in Taiwan under the guidance of Venerable Master Hsing Yun maintains this focus on addressing human concerns, a reexamination of this historic foundation might prove fruitful in yielding new directions for the future growth of Humanistic Buddhism, especially in regards to its propagation throughout the world.
Studies on Humanistic Buddhism IV:Human Life
Studies on Humanistic Buddhism IV:Human Life
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.
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.