Chinese Buddhism Today: Conservatism, Modernism, Syncretism and Enjoying Life on the Buddha's Light Mountain

Fo Guang Shan, also known as "Buddhas Light Mountain," is a Buddhist movement founded in Taiwan in 1967 by Ven Hsing Yun, who had fled to Taiwan from mainland China in 1949. It is a form of Buddhism that emphasizes doing good to others and finding spiritual benefit in benefitting society. Hsing Yun has been a devoted disciple of Tai Xu and has incorporated various influences to create an institution that presents Buddhism as a source for benefiting society through making life enjoyable.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 142 pages
Publication date: 01 July 2022
Publisher: Equinox Publishing Ltd

Fo Guang Shan, also known as "Buddhas Light Mountain," is a Buddhist movement founded in Taiwan in 1967 and led by Ven Hsing Yun (b. 1927), who had fled to Taiwan from mainland China in 1949. It stands in the Chinese tradition of Mahāyāna Buddhism and more specifically is a form of Buddhism which in English is usually referred to as "Humanistic Buddhism" or as "engaged Buddhism." Humanistic Buddhism owes its origin to the Chinese monk Tai Xu (1890-1947). He found the Buddhism which surrounded him in China dreary and moribund, preoccupied with rituals for the dead, and offering nothing to help or guide people living in the world outside monasteries. His determination to reverse this decay centred on the idea that it was the vocation of a Mahayana Buddhist to do good to others, finding their own spiritual benefit in benefitting society.

Hsing Yun has been a devoted disciple of Tai Xu. It is telling that he founded a seminary before he founded a monastery, and has laid huge emphasis on education. As the sub-title of this book indicates, in order to make Buddhism widely attractive and relevant, he has incorporated every influence available. Gifted with a benign personality, he has turned his seemingly boundless energy and prodigious versatility to creating an institution which presents Buddhism as potentially a source for benefitting society through making life enjoyable.

This book hopes to convey the movements ethos primarily by focusing on his views and activities.

Dimension: 234 x 155 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781800502321