星雲大師=Venerable Master Hsing Yun; 人間佛教=Humanistic Buddhism; 神佛不分=Buddha and Gods are regarded without differentiation; 北港朝天宮=Beigang Chaotian Temple; 神明聯誼會=When Buddha Meets the Gods Event
Taiwanese Buddhism experienced the deposition of Fujian and Guangdong Buddhism, Zhaijiao Buddhism, and Japanese Buddhism during the Qing Dynasty. Deification of Buddhist sages was prevalent and many Buddhist temples were decorated with the colors of the gods. Temples enshrining gods also worshipped Buddha images. It was commonplace for temples to enshrine Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, deities, as well as Confucian and Taoist saints together. Such practice culminated in a form of faith where “Buddha and Gods are regarded without differentiation”. In 1949, Buddhist monastics from Mainland China came to Taiwan to promote the Buddha Dharma, and with Venerable Master Taixu’s concept of New Buddhist Reform as the cornerstone, promoted Ren Shen Fo Jiao (Buddhism for Human Life). Missionaries such as Venerable Master Hsing Yun did not agree with the beliefs and customs of the "Buddha and deity fusion" in Taiwan, and responded by actively promoting the concept of the New Buddhist Reform. Buddhist monks entered towns and villages to teach the Buddha Dharma and build Buddhist temples. In the hopes of creating a new atmosphere for Buddhism in Taiwan, Buddhists strived to implement Buddhism in daily life, and allow Buddhism to realign with it’s original intent of benefiting beings. Among the reformists, Venerable Master Hsing Yun had implemented Humanistic Buddhism most thoroughly, allowing Fo Guang Shan (the Buddhist Order founded by Venerable Master Hsing Yun) to be externally regarded as a legitimate organization. In 2007, Venerable Master Hsing Yun hosted the "Mazu Memorial Song" event in front of the Chaotian Temple in Yunlin Beigang, advocating the endorsement of Mazu as a Dharma Protector of righteous faith. The polarity in classification of Mazu faith as either folk religion or Buddhism amongst both lay and academic circles have engendered ardent discussion. At the time of the opening of Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum in 2011, Venerable Master Hsing Yun instructed disciples that: “[We] should host the When Buddha Meets the Gods Event! [We] should offer deities the opportunity to make a pilgrimage to the Buddha Museum”. When news of such a proposition spread, it caused widespread discussion. This proposition shocked both Buddhist circles and the general populace, and the legitimacy of Fo Guang Shan was scrutinized based on the precedent of disagreement with the "Buddha and deity fusion". Was this the secularization of Taiwanese Buddhist beliefs? Or was it the pioneering work of Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s reform? Within this thesis, the author first tries to understand the interactions and ideological connotations of Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s encounter with folk religions early in his Buddhist career in Taiwan, and further explores, through the "Humanistic Buddhist Thought" framework of Venerable Master Xing Yun, the revelations and religious implications of the establishment of the When Buddha Meets the Gods Event.
