Buddhism is the Buddha’s teachings to all sentient beings. The Buddha set up monastic orders and propagate the Dharma in different regions in order to educate and bring sentient beings to resonate with the ultimate truth. Since Buddhism came to China, monastics translated and explained the Dharma, various monasteries were established and the eight schools were developed. Till then, Buddhism had been developed prosperously. The construction of temples to settle monastics, the propagation of Buddhism through education, and the cultivation of Sangha talents, all of these have deeply influenced the core value and development of Chinese culture. After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Chinese Buddhism experienced many upheavals, and gradually became a passive, death-focused Buddhism in the eyes of the world. In the early years of the Republic of China, Chinese Buddhism faced the problems of temple deconstruction for education, foreign religious coercion, and the mixed quality of the monastics. With the political turmoil, Venerable Master Hsing Yun settled in Taiwan with the mission of reviving Buddhism. To propagate the Dharma, the most important goals are to attract young talents into the Sangha and to establish a complete sangha education system. From Shoushan Buddhist College founded by Venerable Master Hsing Yun in 1965 to current FoGuangShan TsungLin University, FoGuangShan Sangha education has been running for 50 years without a break. The graduates are distributed at different corners of the world through whom the Dharma has been propagated across five continents. Meanwhile, many Buddhist Colleges, suffering from insufficient student enrollment and teachers as well as education funding, faced with being forced to close or use scholarship to boost enrollment, which was against the essence of Sangha education. This article focuses on the sustainability, the blueprint and the characteristics of FoGuangShan Sangha education, architected by Venerable Master Hsing Yun. It analyzes the framework of Sangha education. All of these efforts are made to provide a guidance for potential educators. Through the discussion of this article, it is found that FoGuangShan Sangha education aims at cultivating young people to continue dharma propagation. Through actualizing education objectives in institutional leadership, the core value of the education never stays away from the Buddha’s original intention. In addition to establishing an education system of Buddhist Colleges that emphasize on cultivating monastic characteristics, FoGuangShan sangha education pays more attention to students’ lifelong practice and study after graduation. Through the diversified platform of dharma propagation, talented monastics can be properly allocated and applied to the fullest.
