Modern Thoughts Wise Mentality

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Oneness, coexistence and nature are the fundamental phenomena of all living being, while joy, harmony, respect, tolerance, equality and peace are the essential guidelines for interpersonal relationship. Therefore, it is fair to say that the speeches "One Truth for All" and "To Resolve and To Develop" are keys to the advancement of our society. When everyone has "self-awareness and Resolve to practice the Buddhia's way," "Change the world and Benefits Humanity, "then the state of "Wholeness and Freeness" can be attained through benefitting oneself and others.

Founder of the Fo Guang Shan (Buddha's Light Mountain) Buddhist Order and the Buddha's Light International Association, Venerable Master Hsing Yun has dedicated his life to teaching Humanistic Buddhism, which seeks to realize spiritual cultivation in everyday living.

Master Hsing Yun is the 48th Pariarch of Linji Chan School. Born in Jiangsu Province, China in 1927, he was tonsured under Venerable Master Zhikai at the age of twelve and became a novice monk at Qixia Vinaya College. He was fully ordained in 1941 following years of strict monastic training. When he left Jiaoshan Buddhist College at the age of twenty, he had studies for almost ten years in a monastery.

Due to the civil war in China, Master Hsing Yun moved to Taiwan in 1949 where he undertook the revitalization of Chinese Mahayana Buddhism. He began fulfilling his vow to promote the Dharma by starting groups, student and youth groups, and other civic-minded organizations with Leiyin Temple in Ilan as his base. Since the founding of Fo Gauang Shan monastery in Kaohsiung in 1967, more than two hundred temples have been established worldwide. Hsi Lai Temple, the symbolic torch of the Dharma spreading to the West, was built in 1988 near Los Angeles.

Master Hsing Yun has been guiding Buddhism on a course of modernization by integrating Buddhist values into education, cultural activities, charity, and religious practices. To achieve these ends, he travels all over the world, giving lectures and actively engaging in religious dialogue. The Fo Guang Shan organization also oversees sixteen Buddhist colleges and four universities, one of which is the Universities, one of which is the University of the West in Rosemead, California.

The Buddha's Light International Association (BLIA) was inaugurated in Los Angeles on May 16, 1992. For over fourteen years, members of the BLIA have followed the founding objectives in propagating the Dharma for the benefit of all beings, and in establishing a Buddha's Light Pure Land through various programs in education, cultural, charity and Buddhist practices. In 2003, the BLIA has also been was recognized as a non-governmental organization (NGO) with Special Consultative status in the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

Since the inauguration of BLIA, I have delivered a keynoted speech during the BLIA General World Conference annually, as a means to provide members with spiritual guidance and direction for future development of BLIA.

First of all, in order to spread happiness in society and to establish a world, in which people of different race and ethnic groups can live together in harmony, I have proposed the theme, Joy and Harmony. In addition, to enable everyone to understand that all sentient beings are interdependently in existence, I have introduced the theme, One Theme, One Concept.

In our modern society, it is essential to deal with people and matter with respect, and to benefit others with tolerance and open- mindedness. Hence, I have advocated the theme, Respect and Tolerance. Abuse of power in politics, uneven distribution of economic wealth amongst human race, and discrimination amongst religions or ethnic groups are consequences of inequality and conflicts. Thus, I have advocated the theme, Peace and Equality.

In life, there are many forms of imperfection, such as the sorrows of parting and the joys of union, sufferings and impermanence in life, or environmental pollution, affecting the body and mind of people. I thus raised the awareness of Wholeness and Freeness, a condition which people of this world truly admire and pursue. Nature is the basis of all phenomena. Our mind and life can only be set free when we respect and obey its laws. Thus, Nature and Life is delivered to awaken us, to cherish our lives and not act or think against the principles of nature.

Even though technological advancement has improved them improved the quality of our lives, it has also changed our values on life. Modern people tend to not be able to differentiate right from wrong; thus I advocated the theme, One Truth for All. Simply, One Truth for all is the wisdom underlying the law of causes, conditions and effects, as well as emptiness and dependent origination. Similarly, the principles of Justice and Morality, Non-self and Altruism are also One Truth for All. When everyone adheres to the morals of One Truth for All, justice and righteousness can be established in society.

"To resolve" is a very wonderful term in Buddhism; it refers to the development and active disclosure of our inner treasures. TO be more explicit, I mentioned the following for necessary resolutions: resolve to be compassionate, resolve to advance stead-fastfully, resolve to develop the mind of oneness, and resolve to achieve a Bodhi Mind. Other than developing our internal world, we should also resolve to develop our external world. Therefore, the above four resolutions should be complemented with the following four aspects of development; to develop truth, goodness and perfection in human nature; to develop a wealth of blessings, wisdom, and virtue in this world; to develop harmony , joy, love, and respect in the human race; and to develop oneness between the self and the Buddha. TO resolve is the construction of our selves, while to develop is the construction f our world. Thus, To Resolve and To Develop is our mission to our family, society, country, the universe, as well as ourselves.

In order to apply the teachings of the Buddha into our daily lives, and to plant the seed of Buddhism in the human world, I have undertaken the following four advancements for Buddhism with the theme of The Human World and Life: humanization of Buddhism, fill life with the fragrance of books, equalization of monastic and laity, and localization of temples.

Throughout the years, I am aware that Buddhist practice seems to be stagnated on aspects of believing, praying and paying respect to the Buddha. Hence, I advocated the theme, Self-awareness and Practicing the Buddha's Way, with the hope that everyone well make a solemn vow and say, "I am a Buddha." Furthermore, one should resolve to elevate their spirituality through self-awareness, and practice the Buddha's Way. A religion is accepted and sustained because of its effort to spread the right teachings to change the world for the better and to benefit humanity. Therefore, I propose Change the World and Benefit Humanity as the objectives for everyone who propagates the Dharma.

While the themes may differ every year, each of them conveys a concept of its own. Each of them conveys a concept of its own. Therefore, the title is One theme, One concept. These concepts are applicable across all time and space, and answer to the needs of contemporary human minds.

Oneness, coexistence and nature are the fundamental phenomena of all living beings, while joy, harmony, respect, tolerance, equality and peace are the essential guidelines for interpersonal relationships. Therefore, it is fair to say that One Truth for All and To Resolve and To Develop are keys to the advancement of our society. When everyone has Self-awareness and resolve to Practice the Buddha's Way, Change the World and Benefit Humanity then the state of Wholeness and Freeness can be attained through benefiting oneself and others.

In order to provide an integrative reading. Gandha Culture Company has compiled my keynote speeches over the years into a book, titled Wise Thoughts, Modern Modernity in combination with English translation. I hereby, briefly introduce these themes along with their origin and morals.