Wisdom Humanities Master Hua’s Vision for Education in the Buddhist Tradition Rev. Heng Sure Abstract: Education in the Buddhist tradition must find a middle ground between the disengaged academic programs of Buddhist studies departments and the traditional Buddhist training academies for monastics. The author, a senior disciple of the late Master Hsüan Hua, outlines some of the goals set out by his teacher concerning Buddhist education in the modern world. This paper was prepared for the third convocation of the World Buddhist Conference, held in Hong Kong in April 2012.
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Introduction
recently visited Buddhist institutions of higher education in Asia and I thought to share my personal interpretation of the late Venerable Master Hsüan Hua’s vision for “Education in the Buddhist Tradition.” The name is chosen carefully because in the West at present there are multiple Buddhist traditions––Mahayana, Theravada, Vajrayana, and others—each attempting to set down roots and adapt to the contemporary Western cultural environment. No single school or tradition can authentically speak for all of Buddhist education. When Master Hua formulated “Education in the Buddhist Tradition,” however, he spoke from a more inclusive perspective. It allows for freedom to reflect current innovations in education and changing cultural trends while remaining rooted in the foundations of the Dharma. I will point out what makes Master Hua’s vision for education in the Buddhist tradition, in general, and Dharma Realm Buddhist University’s (DRBU) implementation of that vision, in particular, different and significant in the world at this time. We have a specific example of Master Hua’s vision for Buddhist Education because in 1976, when the Master Hua founded Dharma Realm Buddhist University, it was his intent that the new university would
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Religion East & West