聖嚴法師「建設人間淨土」與「一念心淨」之要義=Comparing Master Sheng Yen’s “Establishing a Pure Land on Earth” with the Essential Teaching on “A Single Moment of Purity” in Chinese Buddhism
Master Sheng Yen’s teaching on “Establishing a Pure Land on Earth in the Human Realm” is both subtle and profound in terms of Buddhist doctrine. This paper examines the uniqueness of the thought of “Establishing a Pure Land on Earth in the Human Realm” and focuses on the three key terms of “establishing,” “human realm,” and “pure land.” I argue that Master Sheng Yen’s notion of “Establishing a Pure Land on Earth in the Human Realm” is directly related to “A Single Moment of Purity” in Chinese Buddhism. Specifically, it is doctrinally grounded in Master Yongming Yanshou’s treatise on “Becoming Buddha in a Single Thought,” which expounds the effect of the purified mind. It inherits Master Ouyi Zhixu’s teaching on “A Single Manifest thought.” Master Yongming Yanshou’s thought is itself rooted in Huayan doctrine and Master Ouyi Zhixu’s thought is grounded in the Tiantai school. I argue that Master Sheng Yen synthesized the two masters’ thought to formulate his own movement of “Establishing a Pure Land on Earth in the Human Realm.” It is hoped that by investigating Master Sheng Yen’s intellectual thought through philosophical discourse that we may better appreciate the humanistic, caring side of his thought.
