試析星雲大師「菩薩性格」的論述－以《貧僧有話要說》為例=An Analysis of Venerable Master Hsing Yun's ""Characteristics of a Bodhisattva""--Based on ""Hear Me Out: Messages from a Humble Monk""
星雲大師=Venerable Master Hsing Yun; 菩薩性格=characteristics of a bodhisattva; 悲=compassion; 智=wisdom; 願=vow; 行=practice; 護法衛教=protect the Dharma and defend Buddhism; 善巧方便; skillful means
Venerable Master Hsing Yun (hereby known as Venerable Master) is the founder of Fo Guang Shan. In his eighty years as a monastic, he vows to propagate Humanistic Buddhism, and now has 1,300 monastic disciples and built over 300 branch temples across the five continents. The objective of this thesis is to determine that Venerable Master’s characteristics of a bodhisattvas enables him to lead Fo Guang Shan as an influential global Buddhist organization, as well as realize the modernization of Buddhism. This thesis will examine Hear Me Out: Messages from a Humble Monk, a book that is narrated by Venerable Master out of his compassionate vow, “Never have the heart to watch sentient beings suffer or allow the degeneration of Buddhism to happen”, to discuss how Venerable Master demonstrates the ideology and realization of “compassion,” “wisdom,” “vow,” and “practice.” These ideology relates to the explanation of the characteristics of a bodhisattvas by Venerable Master. In his explanation, Venerable Master listed “protect the Dharma and defend Buddhism” and “skillful means” as two important characteristics of a bodhisattva in view of modern society’s current situation and development. These two characteristics are especially important in propagating Buddhism and reaching out to all beings. However, Venerable Master’s explanation of the core values of the characteristics of a Mahayana bodhisattva, namely “compassion,” “wisdom,” “vow,” and “practice,” does not change despite the progress and transformation over time. In his explanation of the characteristics of a bodhisattva, Venerable Master states these are the characteristics shared by both traditional and modern bodhisattvas. Hence, Hear Me Out: Messages from a Humble Monk is a practical record of Venerable Master’s characteristics of a bodhisattva, presenting the reason why he could propagate Buddhism across the five continents.
