Humanistic Buddhism

"Humanistic" (human-realm) Buddhism (Chinese: 人間佛教; pinyin: rénjiān fójiào) is a modern philosophy practiced by new religious movements originating from Chinese Buddhism.

Nomenclature

Taixu, a Buddhist modernist, activist and thinker who advocated the reform and renewal of Chinese Buddhism, used the term "Buddhism for Human Life" (Chinese: 人生佛教; pinyin: rénshēng fójiào). The first two characters, "human" and "life", indicating his criticism of several aspects of late Ming dynasty and early Republican Chinese Buddhism that he wished to correct, namely, an emphasis on spirits and ghosts ("human"), and funeral services and rites ("life"). His disciples continued this emphasis.^[1]

Taixu also used the term "Buddhism for the Human World", or popularly "Humanistic Buddhism" (Chinese: 人間佛教; pinyin: rénjiān fójiào). It appears that at first the two terms were largely interchangeable. One of Taixu's disciples, Yin Shun, used the term "Humanistic Buddhism" to indicate a criticism against the "deification" of Buddhism, which was another common feature of much of Chinese Buddhism, in his articles and books. It was Yin Shun, and other disciples of Taixu, who brought both of these two terms to Taiwan in the wake of the Republican's defeat during the civil war against the Communist Party of China. It was in Taiwan that the term "Humanistic Buddhism" became the most commonly used term, particularly amongst the religious leaders who originally hailed from China.^[1]

Buddhism and new religious movements in Taiwan

Yin Shun was the key figure in the doctrinal exposition of Buddhism, and thus Humanistic Buddhism, in Taiwan. However, he was not particularly active in the social or political spheres of life. This was to be carried out by a younger generation: Hsing Yun, Sheng-yen, Wei Chueh and Cheng Yen. These four figures, collectively known as the "Four Heavenly Kings of Taiwanese Buddhism", head the "Four Great Mountains", or monasteries, of Taiwanese Buddhism and Buddhist new religious movements: Fo Guang Shan, Dharma Drum Mountain, Chung Tai Shan, and Tzu Chi.^[1]

See also

• Religious humanism

References

Further reading

• Guruge, Ananda Wp (2003). Humanistic Buddhism for Social Well-Being: An Overview of Grand Master Hsing Yun's Interpretation. Buddha's Light Publishing.  
• Jacqueline Ho. “The Practice of Yin Shun’s Ren Jian Fo Jiao: A Case Study of Fu Yan College, Dharma Drum Mountain and Tzu Chi Buddhist Compassion Relief.” MA thesis, University of Calgary, 2008. ISBN 978-0-494-44221-0
• Hughes Seager, Richard (2006). Encountering the Dharma: Daisaku Ikeda, Soka Gakkai, and the Globalization of Buddhist Humanism. University of California Press.  
• Gier, Nick. "The Virtues of Asian Humanism".  
• The Globalisation of Buddhist Humanism, Seager, Richard Hughes -ISBN 0-520-24577-6, March 16, 2006
• A New Humanism, D.Ikeda - ISBN 978-1848854833, Oct. 15, 2010
• Pittman, Don Alvin (2001), Toward a Modern Chinese Buddhism: Taixu's Reforms, University of Hawaii Press