當代臺灣佛教道場與大專青年──以多樣化、轉向國際全球化的「佛光山道場」為例=Contemporary Taiwan Buddhist Sites and Higher Education Youths: A Case Study of the Shift from Diversification to Globalization of Fo Guang Shan Temple
The movement of higher education youths embracing Buddhism generates historic significance and makes contributions to the development of Buddhism in Taiwan. With the pluralistic era, declining birth rates, and the rise of technology such as Artificial Intelligence, Taiwanese Buddhist sites face multiple complexities and challenges in promoting the movement of higher education youths. A peculiar phenomenon is that despite challenging and unstable periods, there is still a stable mode of operation for Buddhist sites to cope and stabilize in this field. To unravel this enigma, this paper attempts to draw insights from the influential and representative Fo Guang Shan Temple. The focus of the discussion will be on how the historical background of political culture, economy, and religious market at the time affects the development visage of Buddhist studies among higher education youths, and how it "changes" in the later period of its rise and fall, shifting towards the discovery of "diversification, international globalization, and modernization". This paper attempts to adopt "qualitative" and "quantitative" analyses, revealing: 1) The values, participatory motives and needs of higher education youths are no longer the same as those in the past, and that "diversification" and "uncertainty" are the catchphrase of today's young people. In view of the uncertain or unstable environment, Buddhist sites can only seek "change" in the midst of ups and downs or uncertain changes; 2) In the midst of instability, Fo Guang Shan Temple, which is advancing with the times, is discovering the active route of "international globalization" through "diversification". Through these characteristics, we can discover the value of the interest of young people in this era, which will help to revitalize the Buddhist market that has been dormant for a long time.
