To build a clear picture of Humanistic Buddhism, it would be best to start from a position that is based on the views of popular perception. Therefore, it is necessary to briefly explain the thoughts that are generally held in regard to Buddhism.Although more than two millennia have passed since Buddhism’s introduction into China, and traces of its existence can be seen in almost every corner of the poor and remote countryside, the truth about Buddhism is still hardly understood. As a result, the spirit and strength of Buddhism cannot be fully expressed.

What is a Pure Land? It is a wonderful land of purity and dignity. More precisely, it is an excellent society, or an elegant world. From our study of the sūtras, we are aware that there is an Amitābha Buddha teaching the Dharma to sentient beings in the Western Pure Land, ten trillion buddha lands away from our sahā world. It is a majestic place of treasures and magnificence, where people lead unparalleled lives, happy and carefree. The Buddha’s teachings have allowed us to recognize that this is undoubtedly true. However, we have never heard of a humanistic Pure Land. Just look around: the negativities around us portray an image of misery.

Buddhist culture is part of Chinese traditional culture. The issue of culture has recently become a hot topic of discussion in intellectual and cultural circles. Concerning this discussion, my understanding is shallow and my thoughts immature. However, I believe that the development of human culture is a continuous process, thus traditional and contemporary culture cannot be completely separated. We should draw out all the valuable essentials of traditional culture to enrich and develop a socialist-oriented national culture. My view is that traditional Chinese culture should also include Buddhist culture. At present, there is a biased opinion of equating the former with Confucian culture, and entirely eradicating the role and contribution of Buddhist culture in traditional Chinese culture. This is unfair and not reflective of historical facts.

The Buddha was born in the human world, engaged in spiritual cultivation in the human world, and propagated the Dharma in the human world. He taught humans, not demons, hungry ghosts, or animals. Therefore, Buddhism is of the human realm. In addition to this, we often say that the Buddha was not a god; he was a human being and the Buddhism he founded is fundamentally Humanistic Buddhism.These days, some argue that Humanistic Buddhism is yours, his, or someone else’s. However, it is not. What the Buddha of the human world was practicing is Humanistic Buddhism.

Humanistic Buddhism inspires us to elevate and have faith in ourselves; because this self embodies the wisdom and virtue of the Buddha. Thus we must realize that we are all buddhas and be proud to say that “I am a buddha.” Such is the spirit of Humanistic Buddhism. Instead of placing our fate in the hands of divine entities, we should take responsibility for our own lives. The saying in the Āgamas, “Rely on the self, rely on the Dharma, rely on nothing else,” is a rendition of the faith of Humanistic Buddhism.

As is widely known, Humanistic Buddhism is a new movement of teaching, understanding, and practicing modern Han Chinese Buddhism. It has developed rapidly and gained broad support in Mainland China and Taiwan. It has been very successful in Taiwan and has far-reaching influence wherever Han Chinese Buddhism spread. This is especially true of Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s philosophy and practice of it. Such achievements have reinvigorated Buddhism and signal the arrival of a new era in the development of Buddhism.

A very good afternoon to Venerable Tzu Hui, the master of ceremony, scholars, and experts from both sides of the Taiwan Straits, and venerables, whom I have come to know and respect. Let me speak standing, as I am still young. Of the close to twenty experts and scholars who are in attendance, the youngest should be Professor Shang, could you please raise your hand?

The title “venerable master” as used by contemporary Chinese Buddhists appears to have been demeaned and misused, to the extent of sometimes being generally used in reference to male and female monastics. In fact, the word “master” has the Sanskrit root of “śāstṛ,” and is a rather highly esteemed title in Buddhism. As the Itivṛttakasūtra5explains, the title refers to sagely monastics who have attained at least the stage of stream-entere, and up to that of a buddha. Their presence in this world ensures that the wisdom of the Dharma can guide others towards transcending the mundane, bringing boundless benefit and joy to them.

Since the nineteenth century, Humanistic Buddhism has been the most powerful school of thought in Chinese Buddhism. I recently proposed that while Taixu was distinguished as an advocate of modern Humanistic Buddhism, Venerable Master Hsing Yun, as the founder of modern Humanistic Buddhism, has been an exceptional proponent. Venerable Master Hsing Yun proposed using the concept of the “three greatnesses” from the Treatise on the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna as the basic principle of the Humanistic Buddhism: greatness of essence, greatness of attributes, and greatness of function. He profoundly influenced the essence, the attributes, and the function of Humanistic Buddhism.

Buddhism was founded by Śākyamuni Buddha, and is both a religion and a philosophy. As a religion, Buddhism has a unique belief system, organizational structure, and way of embodying belief through practice (including religious services). Compared to other religions, Buddhism has distinctive characteristics. With the exception of Buddhism, religions believe in an almighty god who is the center of their faith and doctrine. This god is the focus of their worship, and the purpose of their faith is salvation from sin. In contrast, Buddhism has an underlying doctrine and practice of “non-self.” This doctrine rejects the existence of any extrinsic god. It also denies the presence of an intrinsic soul. Therefore, the purpose of its belief is not to receive deliverance from sin, but rather to realize liberation from life’s pain and hardship.

Generally speaking, ancient Indian people were more mystic in that they sought by contemplation and self-surrender to obtain unity or identity with the deity Mahābrahma, or the absolute or ultimate reality that is beyond human intellect understanding. But Siddhārtha Gautama, the historical Buddha, was quite different from them. He was more practical and concerned only with the things that were conducive to the elimination of human suffering and he did not believe in the very existence of a supreme god and an eternal soul.

In recent decades, rapid economic, scientific, and technological development has modernized human society in leaps and bounds. Hence, societies and cultures face the dual issues of how best to treat one’s tradition and how to adapt to the reality of a changing society. If a given tradition is the modernized “medium” (i.e. carrier of specific ideas) of its ideology, then the social conditions under which it operates form the “foundation” (i.e. the direction and strategy) for its modernization.

When Buddhism was transmitted into China over two thousand years ago, during the time of the Han Dynasty, Daoist ritual techniques and arts for achieving immortality were prevalent. As Chinese Republican-period scholar Tang Yongtong pointed out: During the Han period, other than the major rituals of worshipping heaven, earth, mountains, and rivers, there were many other types of sacrificial worship. Prior to the Qin Dynasty, there was already the belief that one must perform specific Daoist ritual techniques and arts in order evoke higher spiritual powers.

There are contemporary approaches to the use of Buddhist practices that can be considered revolutionary in terms of how we study and evaluate the tradition. Since these practices are directed toward the public domain, they are one type of “Humanistic Buddhism.” A challenge for Buddhist groups is how to respond to these developments. A similar challenge exists for the academic study of Buddhism. How can we understand and deal with the contemporary world that has emerged?

The book Hear Me Out: Messages from a Humble Monk was written by Venerable Master Hsing Yun and published in 2015. The book, among the nearly thirty million Chinese characters written by the Venerable Master so far, has two distinct features. Firstly, it is a work of Buddhist apologetics in the contemporary era, written in response to the recent accusations against the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation made by the Taiwanese media. The special causes and conditions of its writing endow this book with a distinctive theme, and with a high degree of realism and relevance.