Tzu Chi; Buddhism; Venerable Master Yinshun; Venerable Master Cheng Yen; Max Weber; monastic community; altruism; enlightenment; Śramaṇa; upoṣadha; Dharma; interdependent arising; Economy of Goodness; Aśoka; Brāhmaṇa; Law of Manu; Sectarian Buddhism; equality; Gupta Empire; Mahāyāna Buddhism; Lonely Elder; decline of lay people; Zen; Indian Buddhism; Venerable Master Taixu; Compassion; bodhisattva; public; Tzu Chi Studies
摘要
This paper discusses the future of Buddhism through a historical perspective, using Tzu Chi Buddhism as a case study. It explores why Buddhism came to an end in India and declined in China in the Ming and Qing dynasties, after one thousand nine hundred years of existence. It argues that with the origin of Buddhism in India two thousand six hundred years ago, the Buddha transformed the mysticism of Brahmaṇism into rational moral practice, emphasising the Eightfold Path and the Four Immeasurable Minds. The paper argues that the demise of Indian Buddhism in the thirteenth century can be attributed to the fact that, in its middle and late stages, Indian Buddhism overemphasised abstract philosophy of mind and monastic self-cultivation, and did not fully establish a universal “knowledge system” and “value system.” Shifting to the contemporary period, it discusses how Tzu Chi Buddhism has responded to this history, building an organisation of lay followers over the past fifty years that has become one of the most rigorous groups of lay Buddhist followers in the world.
目次
Abstract 149 Keywords 149 Preface 149 Social Issues in India at the Time of the Buddha 151 The Buddha’s Solution to His Age 152 Buddhist Monasticism and Teachings 153 The Buddha’s Concern for the Human World 156 The Ideal of Lay Followers in Early Buddhism 159 Aśoka’s Buddhist Kingdom 161 The Characteristics of Sectarian Buddhism 164 The Worldly Concern of Mahāyāna Buddhism 166 The Age of Buddhism alongside Brahminism 169 The Demise of Buddhism in India 171 Southern Buddhism’s Enlightenment in the Human World 174 Buddhism and the Secular World in China 175 The Transformation of Buddhism for the Human World 180 The Establishment of the Tzu Chi School of Buddhism 185 The Influence of Tzu Chi on the Development of Buddhism 187 The Future Establishment of Buddhism and Tzu Chi 189 The Challenge of Tzu Chi Buddhism 190 The Vision of Tzu Chi Buddhism 193 Abbreviations 194 Bibliography 194
