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講演集 8:禪學與淨土
講演集 8:禪學與淨土  Master Hsing Yun’s Lecture Series: Chan and Pure Land
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.
A Contemporary Artist’s Expressions of Buddhas & Pure Lands in the Human Realm
In Taiwan’s Socially Engaged Buddhist Groups, David Schak and Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao (2005) highlighted a new religious phenomenon in Taiwan: the rise of socially engaged Buddhism, with Buddhist groups committed to working for the improvement of society and the well-being of the needy and the sick. The tremendous expansion of Buddhism in Taiwan, especially in the category of a local socially engaged type, is termed renjian fojiao (人間佛教 which translates directly as “terrestrial” i.e. “this-world” Buddhism), or expressed as “engaged” or “socially engaged.” Another frequently used phrase is rushi (入世 “entering” or “being in” the world), in contrast to chushi (出世 “leaving the world”)—mirroring a belief that the Pure Land is this earth, and their goal to purify it.
A Study on the Admonitions of Pure Land (Jingtu Jingyu) by Xingce
Xingce Jieliu 行策截流 (1626-1680) was a famous Pure Land Master during the Qing Dynasty. He devoted himself to the Pure Land practice for self liberation in his early years, and propagated the Pure Land practice for liberating sentient beings in his later years. The Admonitions of Pure Land (Jingtu Jingyu) is Xingce's representative work. Within this work, Xingce emphasized the True Faith for rebirth in the Pure Land and argued that the most expedient Buddhist teaching for rebirth in the Pure Land is the recitation of Amitabha Buddha's name. Xingce adopted Tiantai doctrines as the theoretical foundations to support Pure Land practice. In recognition of his great dedication, Master Yinguang honored Xingce as the 10th patriarch of the Pure Land School.
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.
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.
禪淨密三修獻燈祈福法會
禪淨密三修獻燈祈福法會  Chan, Pure Land, and Esoteric Dharma Function and Light offering Ceremony
禪淨密三修唱頌講座
禪淨密三修唱頌講座  Chan, Pure Land, and Tantric Singing and Dharma Lecture