“Chinese Buddhism is traditionally divided into eight schools, but if you look at the morning and evening classes at every monastery of every school, they practice Pure Land, Chan and Tantra, as well as the Vinaya, all together. Although the various schools each study and advocate for their own take on Dharma within the Buddhist community, they cannot refute the views of others. I think it is a mischievous attempt to differentiate the Dharma and break up its integrity. In fact, Buddhism is one body and one kind.”
Venerable Master Hsing Yun calmly delivers his message of doctrinal unity through his television program, One Hundred Lessons on Monastery Languages and Affairs. Episodes of that program are used as part of an online course taught regularly by Hsi Lai Temple’s Humanistic Academy. Apart from a weekly video lecture uploaded online, the Academy holds a variety of weekend classes that teach Buddhist philosophy, meditation and traditional Chinese arts.
Indeed, championing the idea of one Buddhism, one philosophy, a way of living and thinking that is both spiritually oriented and humanistically grounded is central to Master Hsing Yun’s monastic and educational enterprise, whose center in North America sits high above the community of Hacienda Heights in Los Angeles. Hsi Lai (Chinese: 西来), meaning “coming to the West” in Chinese, is the name chosen by the master to signify the spreading of Buddhist and Chinese culture across the Pacific from the east. From the outside, Hsi Lai Temple is an unmistakable piece of Chinese-style architecture, complete with its perfectly symmetrical layout and imposing grandeur. Statues of bodhisattvas, arhats and various mythological figures in Chinese Buddhism can be found throughout the complex, along with structures infused with symbolic meanings. The main gate to the complex has three openings, mirroring the Three Doors of Liberation, namely emptiness (Sanskrit: sunyata), signless-ness (Sanskrit: animitta), and aimlessness (Sanskrit: apranihita). A pond in the garden bears the name, 慈航普度 (Ci Hang Pu Du), meaning “the boat of compassion delivers all sentient beings,” while the main walkway leading up to the main hall is named 成佛大道 (Cheng Fo Da Dao), meaning “the grand path toward becoming a buddha.”
Being the largest of its kind in North America, Hsi Lai Temple serves lay believers and Buddhist enthusiasts from all over the continent and beyond. 22.4% of the population in Hacienda Heights itself is Chinese, while the larger Los Angeles area has a large number of Chinese immigrants that are capable of sustaining a religious institute like Hsi Lai Temple. But simply relying upon an immigrant community for support could not have made the religious and educational institution as prosperous as it is today. In fact, Hsi Lai is but one of the many temples across the world established by Fo Guang Shan (Chinese: 佛光山), or “Buddha’s Light Mountain,” a Buddhist institution based in Taiwan that integrates traditional monasticism with charity, education, social activism, publishing and media. Monks and nuns elected by members of the monastic order head various enterprises within the nebula of organizations, including more than two hundred temples or centers across all six continents of the world.
Venerable Master Hsing Yun is arguably the most successful Chinese Buddhist monk in modern times, and he is not at all an unfamiliar name to me. Born in 1927 in my hometown of Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, Hsing Yun became ordained at the age of 12 and studied under several eminent Buddhist masters at the time. Despite leaving for Taiwan in 1949 after the mainland was overtaken by the Communist People’s Republic, up to this day he still speaks almost exclusively in the Yangzhou dialect, which always touches my heart with incredible warmth. Although he received training in the Linji School of Chan Buddhism, the master is known for his promotion of a unified approach called Humanistic Buddhism, which “teaches that one can live fully in this human world and practice Buddhism at the same time.” Hsing Yun himself does not take credit for the innovative term, for he claims that it is nothing new.
Indeed, from the very beginning Buddhism has been a philosophy oriented towards the human realm, aiming to liberate humans from the never-ending cycle of rebirth through right effort, right meditation and right morality. Although monasticism has always been a key component in the Buddhist religion, the notion that a lay believer could surpass a dedicated monk on his path towards enlightenment was a familiar one. The Mahayana classic Vimalakirti Sutra tells the story of a wealthy lay follower of the Buddha, Vimalakirti, who feigns illness and teaches the Dharma as he understands it to monks, officials and noblemen alike. Mahayana Buddhism encourages people to seek out their buddha-nature and to practice achieving the enlightenment mind (Sanskrit: bodhicitta), and it teaches that everyone has the capability of becoming a buddha. Similarly, Master Hsing Yun puts the emphasis of his teaching not on the monastic path of ascetic practices and studies, but on the applications of Buddhist philosophy to the everyday life of ordinary people.
The functions of Hsi Lai Temple are meant to reflect the scheme of Humanistic Buddhism. The community of followers supports and benefits from various events of worship conducted by the monastic order, while plenty of opportunities are offered to them so that they can learn about Buddhist philosophy, practice and meditation. The perfect follower actively engages in Buddha’s philosophy, using the monastic environment as a focal point of intense practice and a fountain of wisdom. The temple also stands as a solemn place where committed followers take vows of morality in front of monks and nuns. The institution is run by a small number of monks and nuns together with a community of volunteers, who are devout lay followers themselves.
Activities at Hsi Lai Temple can be roughly divided into four categories: Dharma functions, Three Jewels and Sila events, practicing events, and educational activities.
Dharma functions are various rituals of worship conducted by monastic members of the temple. Lay followers would gather to make offerings to gain merit. As an example, the Grand Offering to Celestial Beings is a Dharma function customarily conducted during Chinese New Year as a gesture to the celestial realm in return for its blessings and guardianship of Buddhism. After the ceremonial cleaning of every corner in and around the main hall with sprinkles of water, which lasts for an hour or so, lay followers chant words of propitiation after monks and nuns, welcoming the attendance of celestial beings. Then food is offered through elaborate proceedings, where each suppliant, guided by ringings of the bell, carefully and solemnly brings various dishes to the seats of those celestial beings. This process is only complete after traditional texts of praise and veneration, as well as a paper address to the gods, were chanted multiple times. The ceremony ends with burning the paper and more chanting of religious texts, including the Heart Sutra, while followers stand outside the hall waiting for their offerings, now imbued with celestial blessings, to be redistributed for human consumption. Rituals of various kinds fall on important dates throughout the year. Many are dedicated to specific objects of worship, while others are simply spiritual events where people gather and show commitment to the Buddhist ideals.
Sila events are designed for followers to take vows in the temples, as gestures of adherence to Buddhist ethics (Pali: Sīla). Three Jewels events are held as a kind of Buddhist baptism, where a person vows to take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, and thus become a recognized Buddhist. After undergoing that rite of passage, a believer can then participate in the starter level of Sila events, taking vows of morality including the five basic ones: no killing, no stealing, no false speech, no intake of intoxicants, and no sexual misconduct. Held a few times a year, these events are usually packed with faithful believers ready to take the monumental vows in front of monks and nuns. Higher level Sila events involve taking more vows in a similar fashion.
Practicing events may be thought of as similar to Christian gatherings on weekends and important days. They usually involve large crowds of followers coming together not only for worship, but also for collective learning and reflection. Group meditation sessions are a major part of the practicing events at Hsi Lai Temple. The monastic group offers sessions of various lengths, frequencies and intensities, catering to a wide range of interests in Buddhist meditation across the immigrant and convert communities. More traditional gatherings are usually attended predominantly by immigrant lay believers. For example, at 7:30 PM on each Saturday, led by monks and nuns, thousands of followers would gather in the temple and read various sutras and mantras. Learned monks and guest masters regularly give lectures on Buddhist classics and philosophy. There are also events where followers walk around the temple grounds and prostrate themselves to show dedication, and some others that require careful copying of Buddhist sutras in their original Chinese.
Finally, Hsi Lai’s educational programs are geared towards anyone interested in Buddhism. Classes on three aspects of Buddhism are offered – courses on traditional Buddhist learning, Buddhist practices, and traditional Chinese arts. The first two aspects correspond to the Chinese Buddhist subjects of practice and understanding (行 and 解, or Xing and Jie), which should facilitate each other in the advancement of one’s pursuit of the Dharma. The arts taught at the temple include Tai-chi and a variety of Chinese musical instruments, as well as gardening. Credits are assigned to different levels of courses and tuition rates differ from course to course. Apart from semester classes during weekends, summer programs are much more intense and vibrant in their activities and are aimed towards young kids.
More information about Hsi Lai Temple can be found at http://www.hsilai.org/en/index.php
Fo Guang Shan, the Buddhist headquarters in Taiwan, has an official website. Here is the link, https://www.fgs.org.tw/en/
Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s personal website is http://www.masterhsingyun.org/ (in Chinese)