In early August, Chen Zhenru, Huang, Pan Huaisu, Zhang Jianfeng and other laymen happened to gather in Jinyun Mountain. On the eighth day, it rained cats and dogs, and the summer heat disappeared. Master Taixu took the opportunity to hold a Buddhist seminar in the lecture hall on this cool occasion. Attendees included Tao Yegong, Jin Juefan, Gong Xinglou, Wei Limin, Xiao, Wei Fang, Yin Shun, Chen Kong, Miao Qin and Zheng Guo. All the faculty and students of our college also attended the meeting as observers. The master personally came to see the chairman and first raised the question of whether Buddhism can improve the real society. Please take this as a conclusion and express your opinions. Only Chen Zhenru, Pan Huaisu and Master Yin Shun spoke for more than three hours. The master was ill because he persisted for too long and tried his best to speak. Too empty "autumn wind and autumn rain send new coolness"! Marco, like a layman, is a good knowledge wandering in the strict legal circles of China. During this period, he gathered on this mountain in unison, which was a rare coincidence. Our college (Sino-Tibetan Academy of Religious Sciences) has prepared a little rough tea and light rice, and holding this symposium is based on statutes and the same happiness. Let me start with a question, that is, whether Buddhism can improve the real society. Zhuangzi commented on the theory and thought at that time: "Everyone has his own way, and he wants to change the world." Changing the world means improving the real society. Especially at present, most theoretical thoughts focus on "how to improve the real society" for two reasons: First, because there are too many contradictions in the real society, infinite pain arises from these contradictions, especially in the murderous war. The so-called real society refers to the actually organized human society. Since human society has suffered, as long as it has thought and conscience, it will strive to improve. Second, due to the recent progress of various theories, it is indeed possible to solve the pain of society. Therefore, thoughtful people do not escape from reality and society, but concentrate on urgent improvement. In reality, the pain of human society is not natural, nor given by any god, but caused by human's own bad intentions and self-struggle. At present, there are four theories and ideas to transform this painful real society: one is nationalism, such as Germany and Japan, which emphasizes that nations want to conquer the world by force. The second is democracy, such as Britain and the United States. The third is the socialism produced by * * *, such as the Soviet Union. Fourthly, the Three People's Principles, such as China, were improved by integrating the three thoughts. The first doctrine will fail, the second democratic strength lies in the participation of the whole people in politics, the third strength lies in the dictatorship of labor, and the fourth strength is the strength to develop human survival. Of course, these three theories will continue, all of which use science for the purpose of improving the real human society. But can Buddhism also transform the real society? Is the existence of Buddhism what human beings need? If Buddhism cannot transform society and is not needed by human beings, then we can't talk about it. If it can be reformed, but now there are several doctrines that can be improved, isn't it necessary to practice? At a deeper level, we should understand what Buddhism is. What is a real society? From the perspective of Buddhism, should the real society escape? Or should it be improved? Or deny it at all, saying that there has never been any society. Buddhism can be observed from these aspects. But the theme of today's seminar is mainly whether we can improve modern society. Speaking of this, I remember that sixteen years ago, I met a Buddhist in Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou. I asked, "Does Buddhism also talk about salvation?" Can Buddhism save the world? " My simple answer at that time was "save the world and save the world". But the scope of the "world" is very wide, and now the focus is on the realistic human society. Two years ago, when Wang Jushi came to this mountain, we also convened a forum to discuss "What contribution did post-war Buddhism make to mankind"? He said: "Buddhism, like eyebrows, can solemnly guide mankind." At that time, some people criticized it for going too far, because other religious theories were not blind; But some people say that it is not enough, because Buddhism is not as beautiful as eyebrows, only human dignity and knowledge, which should be of great use to all mankind. Today's discussion is slightly similar. Now please express your views on this issue! Master Chen Zhenru just asked, "Can Buddhism improve the real society?" I think it's very concise. After listening to the master's lecture, I felt a lot. However, the forum time is short, and everyone should express their opinions. I can't say how I feel as much as possible, I can only say roughly. Buddhism is really important to the world! We Buddhists live in this real world and cannot live without this real human society, so we have a close relationship with this real human being. Not only Buddhists, but also believers of various religions. Buddhism has a great influence on human beings in the world, especially in China, but today in the new era, we should revitalize it and make it contribute to human society! So the master raised this question. However, I think Buddhists should first stick to their positions, especially monks who become monks. Buddhism was born as a mandarin duck, so there is a Sangha system and organization. This system and organization, some of which are outdated, have long been seen by this master and advocate reform. However, no one can deny that the purpose of this system is the birth! As for the system, it is certainly good to be able to reform. If not, then the old system should be kept anyway. A group of people have always thought that monks only eat the food of the country and are negative and world-weary social profit-sharing elements, which we can ignore. Why? Because we are a religion, no matter which country or nation needs religion. Buddhism is one of the great religions, and its value can never be erased by one word. But the depravity of the Sangha and the corruption inside the temple are also facts, which we should admit. In the cities and villages of China, people's living habits are more influenced by Buddhism than by Confucianism. For example, although some young people don't believe in Buddhism, whenever something happens to their family, their parents will go to the temple to break fast for monks or read Buddhism, which has a great influence. In short, Buddhism is based on birth, because there are monks, temples, systems and education; The responsibility of monks is to continue the wisdom of Tathagata. We must stick to our posts and stand firm, and we must never be shaken by the slander of others. Buddhism and the real world, in the eyes of the two brothers, social, political, economic and other issues are not the foreground of Buddhism, but the side. In other words, Buddhists should not engage in active political and economic activities. Because if you engage in active activities, whether in form or function, it is beyond the power of Buddhism. Historically, Buddhism has always been admired by emperors, and it is not uncommon for them to influence and improve the world. However, what they actively do is all secular things. For example, the Bodhisattva now puts the law first, and the general now puts the troops and military orders first. They must not be monks. If the cultivation of Buddhism includes the heart of the Bodhisattva, it will not kill the enemy and surrender, otherwise it will violate the heart of the Bodhisattva. Now it is a positive worldwide thing for a general to lead troops to hand-to-hand combat with the enemy. If he doesn't kill those who surrender to the enemy, it's Ponzi Buddhism. Only by recognizing this can we say that we recognize the real world. If Buddhism devoted itself to political and economic activities, I'm afraid there would be no Buddhism. During the chaos in China, Fu Jian sent someone to welcome Kumarajiva to China to preach Dharma, but Roche stayed in Liangzhou and could not come because of the fighting and killing. When Yao Xing sent troops to welcome Roche to Chang 'an, Fu Jian died early. This means that Buddhism is eternal and seeks happiness for all mankind. It is not as good as European religion and can be used as a tool of aggression such as politics. Therefore, even if we are politicians or economists, we should do our duty to positive world affairs, and Buddhism can only be assisted by others, which should be recognized! Another point is our disciples' understanding of Buddhism and how to practice bodhisattva. This is a fundamental problem. In other words, whether we are monks, workers or businessmen, what different performances should we have in the complex real society? From the standpoint of a Buddhist disciple, if there is any special performance among multiple beings, this performance is greater than any power! I thought that taking the Bodhisattva Road was just two words of "compassion and wisdom", so I should always remember it! "Sorrow" means great sorrow. Forget yourself unconditionally and do it for others. The pain of others is your own pain. For example, some pains in the world are not caused by all beings themselves, but by groups. This kind of pain can't be solved by the world, only a bodhisattva with great compassion can solve it. Such a great man is beyond the reach of other religions! The Bible says: Once upon a time, there was a man who wanted to make up the throne. He likes archery and can shoot birds in the air. When he shot an arrow at the king, it suddenly fell to the ground in front of the king. So the king is a bodhisattva. When he saw the arrow coming from the opposite side, he fell into samadhi, and the arrow fell to the ground. Seeing this phenomenon, the shooter was extremely frightened and prepared to shoot the second arrow. The king repeatedly said, "If you shoot again, you will kill yourself." . The shooter was greatly influenced by his words. From this story, it can be proved that the power of the sidewalk is great. If we use Buddhism to engage in active economic and political activities in society, we will lose our position and eventually go along with it. "Wisdom" is wisdom. With wisdom, we can know everything in the world. Seeing that the world is illusory, compassion and great compassion happen because of the killing of disputes, so sadness and wisdom are the same source. The benefit of Buddhism to all beings is to save the wisdom of all beings! There is plenty of time. I'll talk about it next time. Master Pan Huaisu put forward this problem, which shows that there are problems in society and need to be improved. For example, a world war is a wrong sign. Can science improve this problem? We know that the historical development of human beings is because there is life, and if there is life, we must live. In order to live, we should always run for life, even if it is dead. Now everything in society is developing upwards: huts can shelter from the wind and rain, and so can big houses, but big houses are better than huts. Therefore, the development of human society is due to the beautiful life of mankind. However, in the process of historical development, social struggles have occurred from time to time because of the selfish concept of human beings. In primitive society, life comes from nature; In aristocratic society, I think life support is a godsend; Now I think it's because of human's own struggle, so I want to struggle. For example, many people here only have a cup of tea, but they have to compete because of practical needs. Because of this, there are different ideas about you, me, China, foreign countries and so on. Another example is that Hitler launched a world war and emphasized the supremacy of the Germanic nation. From a scientific point of view, this is extremely wrong. If these misconceptions are corrected, then society can be improved. But what is the standard of "good"? I think we should take the interests of all mankind as the standard. This standard is a correct concept. If it is considered good only on the basis of personal subjective imagination, the result will be controversial because of different opinions. If the food we eat is made by everyone, we should enjoy it together and there should be no special class in it. Using this standard to measure society is the real measure. Therefore, to transform society, we should take the masses as the center. But all beings are boundless and have different personalities. It is impossible to do so now. Some people think that science is underdeveloped, and they all blame science for the sin of human cannibalism. This is ignorance of science! Because science itself is innocent; The quality of science depends only on whether human beings use it correctly! For example, peanuts can be eaten, but they can swell to death if eaten too much. The history of mankind often circulates in wrong ideas. If we don't change this wrong idea, society can't progress. We know that life is extremely precious, but the origin of life cannot be explained by science. For example, at the end of biological analysis, only an abstract concept about biological origin can be obtained. Life is infinite, so every life is different from the development of human society, and it needs enough information to maintain the existence of this precious life. The higher we go, the better our life will be, but the good standards are all due to everyone's subjective differences. For example, a poor man's hut is better than a rich man's big house. Although they have different tastes, they are all because of their own feelings. This feeling is the so-called judgment. Because everyone's subjectivity is different, their judgments are also different. It is wrong to measure society from a subjective standpoint, but this kind of mistake cannot be changed by science. Look at western religions again. Can they improve society? No, that's impossible. Western religions and China religions are also fundamentally different in content. Western religions believe that everything in the universe was created by God, and it was under the rule of this thought for hundreds of years in the Middle Ages. The purpose of Christianity was to improve human society, but it was used as a political tool, which led to the dark period of the Middle Ages. Since the Renaissance and the development of science, there have been very few people who really believe in religion in Europe. So I said that it is impossible to improve society by religion. In addition, such as Islam, Brahmanism and so on. , both naive and ridiculous! Neither science nor religion can improve society. What about Buddhism? We can see this from the Buddha himself. In Buddhism, the social environment in India at that time really gave him great stimulation. He investigated the source of life and saw the strict class system in society. After long-term thinking and consideration, he came to a conclusion. He believes that all beings are equal and there is no difference in the nature of life, so he infers that society should be equal and undifferentiated. Therefore, whether Buddhism can transform the real society depends on whether everyone's indiscriminate equality psychology can be established. If established, it can transform the real society. This is why Buddhism can save the world. I have just listened to the views of two laymen on the questions raised by Master Yin Shun, and I have some thoughts. On the one hand, Buddhism takes all beings (creatures) as the center and starting point, so the purpose of Buddhism is to let all beings know the pain and seek liberation, so there is the emergence and spread of Buddhism. Because this is the purpose of Buddhism, and Buddhism is all about improving life. Emotional pain can occur in three ways: one is caused by oneself (between body and mind), the other is caused by society (between oneself); Third, it is given by the natural environment (between me and things). The purpose of Buddhism is to solve these pains. But between me and nature, as long as there is a way to understand the principle of natural matter, we can control the use and get rid of it. As science says, everyone can experiment. But the self of human society is not that simple. Under certain circumstances, he agrees with the same social relations and social system, but you are not satisfied. It used to be safe, but now it's out of control. I once pursued him enthusiastically, but now I hate him. Social phenomena are not as inevitable as natural science, but only for the existence of human spiritual activities, so science alone is not enough to improve society. The improvement of society can meet the requirements of most people and be improved with the joint efforts of social organizations. Politics, law, etc. It's all about this. Speaking of the problem between body and mind, as long as you are willing to reflect on yourself, you can know that it is more complicated and difficult to grasp than social disputes. It is not easy to improve a person's character, interests, hobbies and thoughts. All religions and cultures, especially Buddhism, focus on this point. Broadly speaking, improving the realistic human society is related to all three. It can also be said that natural science, social science, religion and Buddhism are all centered on love and aim at improving the human world. However, if the society is unhealthy and there is no reasonable system, science will become a thief and harm the society. Modern warfare has suffered a lot from science! But this has nothing to do with science itself. Furthermore, if people's desires develop and their personality degenerates, it is difficult for any social system to improve society! How many people use ignorance under the guise of public opinion! How many people use political and economic institutions to undermine social peace! Therefore, these three aspects are equally important. To improve society, we must improve the fundamental personality thought, which is the position of Buddhism. Moreover, scientific progress is not necessarily social rationality and peace; Social progress cannot guarantee your physical and mental health; Buddhism is from this angle. The quality of human social organizations is different, but it is not incomparable. Probably when the country is strong, the policies are more tolerant and tend to be consistent; If oppressed, in times of danger, we should emphasize narrow country and nationalism. The ultimate goal of society is, of course, to be harmonious. But the real quality, I think, should be based on the same requirements of human beings, but we should pay more attention to the actual needs of a certain time and space and estimate its value from two aspects. Otherwise, no system is suitable. This is just an example. Buddhism's transformation of the real society can be described from two aspects, namely, hearing Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism. Different from Mahayana Buddhism, it is detached, not actively engaged in economic and political activities, but liberating itself from life and surpassing society. Some people say: this is negative, but negativity is not necessarily bad for the world. For example, Mahayana saints, with great spiritual accomplishment and noble personality, can influence society. For example, Boyi and Shu Qi in China, whose spirit inspired many people later! However, the concept of Mahayana Buddhism is completely different. It believes that life means no life, and life means no separation. Therefore, actively engaging in economic and political activities does not hinder a person's complete liberation. It needs to experience the right things in the world and get rid of them. This kind of liberation is called incredible liberation, which is said a lot in Hua Yan Jing. Therefore, the thought of Mahayana Buddhism does not have to stand on the side of society; Politics, economy, etc. Isn't Buddhism in line with the Buddhist ideological system? Because it advocates that secular law is the cause of birth law. However, monks don't have to do this. In short, Buddhism is to purify the body and mind, hear about Buddhism, stick to one's post, not lose one's position, influence society from the side, and not engage in positive economic activities, which is profound but not extensive. Second, Mahayana Buddhism can achieve purity and liberation in the world and actively engage in economic and political activities. Monks should listen to Buddhism as their foothold, while Buddhists at home can actively engage in political and economic activities in the spirit of Mahayana Buddhism. This is Buddhism. Too empty, at today's symposium, three people made speeches. The first is Mr. Chen Zhenru. What he said can be divided into two points: first, monks and nuns have improved society from the side with their unconventional positions and personalities. Second, Buddhists at home, although actively engaged in political and economic activities, do their duty to the world, and the compassion and wisdom of the inner bodhisattva are different from those of ordinary people, which may improve the society positively or laterally. The second is Mr. Pan Huaisu, who talked about the transformation of society by science, religion and Buddhism. The historical differences between science and human beings cannot be solved; Religion also rules mankind with theocracy, which is based on God. This is only an artificial fantasy, and it is impossible to improve society by it. Finally, when it comes to Buddhism, it is said that all beings have no distinction, and the standard of being kind should be based on the interests of the public. Observing all beings with the theory of indifference to life, such as illusion and equal mentality, can improve the real society, realize the preciousness of life and protect it. But in what way, Mr. Pan didn't say. The third is Master Yin Shun, who said that Buddhism is based on feelings, and the standard of its interests must also be aimed at the public, which is quite close to Mr. Pan's meaning. The methods he put forward are as follows: First, the spirit of Hinayana Buddhism cultivation and noble personality have influenced the society from the side and made it progress, which is close to the significance of Mr. Chen. He also pointed out that the spirit of Mahayana Bodhisattva, such as the insatiable king in Hua Yan Jing, is evil on the surface, but actually improving the world. This is an incredible Mahayana trip to Bodhisattva. Because Bodhisattva is based on compassion and convenience, it is easier for Buddhism to directly improve the world. I think the system of becoming a monk is absolutely necessary, but it must be sorted out, respected by the world and convenience-oriented. At the same time, I think the number of monks should be fine, not many. Based on the idea of equality of mind and nature of all beings, psychological transformation is fundamentally carried out for all beings. Therefore, the more bodhisattvas there are, the better. Let everyone become a good knowledge of Hua Yan Fa, and the world will become a world of China and Tibet. The question now is how to spread Buddhism and let people in the society generally understand the great spirit of Bodhisattva! (Guangzongji) Lin Tongji (after reading) There are two kinds of western mysticism: negative and positive. The former is self-centered and does not aim at improving society. If people in society are inspired by his wisdom and learn to do good for love, it is an unexpected gain, not the original purpose. Passive mystics just want to enter the forest of wisdom and enjoy the door of liberation. An active mystic recognizes the supreme enlightenment and feels that an important part of this enlightenment contains the spirit of "love" and protects everything. Therefore, based on this spirit, he bravely put the first perception before the second perception, resulting in a positive missionary spirit, trying to make everyone believe it and accept his religion. The spirit of missionary work is different from liberation from the Han Dynasty, but it is also inseparable from the standards of religious belief. This is the internal affairs of religious scholars. In the past, many western mystics directly participated in social, political and military work, but they all "taught diplomacy" out of the "need" of the temporary environment, and did not use it as an authentic way to divide internal affairs. I think the three can go hand in hand, and the future of Buddhism should be like this: 1 A strict Buddhist college should cultivate a group of very carefully selected, compassionate and intelligent people as the top talent group in Buddhism. They should take self-help as their first goal, and they must do so in order to maintain the standard of "quality and essence" and the "height" of Buddhists. Secondly, from this detailed group, according to everyone's interest, there are two kinds of people: professional yogis and administrative missionaries. Third, on any occasion, any social, political or even military work that is considered "intolerable" in a normal or convenient post for teaching seems to be mobilized for short-term or short-term responsibilities, and should not be confined to one's own so-called "post". In the final analysis, a religious person must confine his daily work to a narrow religious scope. But in a broad sense, after all, all "human affairs" belong to the "internal affairs" of religious families. The key is that the attitudes and positions of actors and parties must be "religious". Whether the matter itself belongs to a narrow religious nature is a secondary issue. In other words, I think that under extraordinary circumstances, a religious scholar can ── and should ── bravely undertake what he thinks is a "non-religious" cause under the current circumstances ── or he should take responsibility from power and change from an ordinary religious scholar to a politician, social worker and so on. Forgive me for being a layman's delusion! (see volume 25, issues 11 and 12, issues 2)-. -