The word "modernization" represents the meaning of progress, welcoming the new, adaptation and upward. Regardless of country, society, religion, etc. With the change of time, space and time, they will constantly seek development and move towards the so-called "modernization". For example, the top ten, twelfth, fourteenth and even twenty-first construction projects in Taiwan Province Province put forward eight hundred and eighty million six-year economic construction; The mainland has also advocated the "four modernizations" from breaking the four old ones and establishing four new ones; Others, such as Africa, are also actively developing towards modernization. From these facts, we can find the importance of "modernization".
Since the Buddha founded Buddhism, Buddhism has always kept up with the times and cooperated with the fashion at that time, making the mode of Buddhism spread with each passing day, with the principle of easy acceptance. For example, in terms of classics, in the Buddha's time, oral communication was adopted. After the Buddha's nirvana, with the progress of the times, Eight Masters copied, engraved and printed scriptures, and now the development of the computer tripitaka is due to "modernization", which has formed works of various times. Now, with the theme of "how to modernize Buddhism", I would like to make four suggestions:
First, the "modern language and culture" of Buddhism
As for Chinese, as far as English is concerned, besides professional skills, language ability is the most important link in the international business community. According to statistics, at present, three quarters of the mail and telegrams in the world are sent in English, and 80% of the information stored in computers is in English. 1967- 1984, the number of foreigners studying Japanese increased from 37,000 to 600,000. It can be seen that language plays an important role in international communication.
In the Buddha's time, there were more than 220 languages (including dialects) in India, and the main languages were 13. The Buddha preached in many languages. As the saying goes, "Buddha speaks with one voice, and all living beings follow their own kind and have their own understanding." The first collection of Buddhist scriptures after the Buddha's nirvana mostly used mixed proverbs. Later Sanskrit came into being, and it was inevitable that Sanskrit would be used again. Therefore, a number of Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures were discovered in Nepal, Gaochang and Khotan in modern times. Among the translators in China, Zhu Fahu is proficient in the languages of 30 countries, and both Kumarajiva and Master Xuanzang are proficient in many languages, which leads to a huge business of translating classics.
Nowadays, due to the efforts of modern people, books in many languages have appeared, such as English, Japanese, Spanish, Hindi, Bengali, French and so on. Buddhist classics are also expressed in many languages, such as Records of the Western Regions of Datang and Theory of Mahayana Belief. Classical stylistics is becoming more and more popular, such as various series of Buddhism. Some people even plan to translate Tibetan scriptures and dictionaries into English. Nowadays, colleges and universities teach many languages, Christian missionaries come to Taiwan Province Province to preach in local dialects, and Japanese junior high school students have simultaneous translation of many languages, and there is even an atmosphere of immediate translation at the conference. These are all examples that emphasize "language modernization". The reason why modern writers in China can't win the Nobel Prize is the lack of English works or translations.
Chinese plays a very important role in Buddhism. A Buddhist student must know Sanskrit, Pakistani, Tibetan, English, Japanese and other languages in order to trace back to the Buddha's legacy. Just like our meeting, Professor McRae and Professor Shui Gu Yukio who attended the meeting also have the ability to speak many languages. Only when teachers master the international language can teaching spread to the whole country. The Zen of Japanese Suzuki Teitaro Daisetz is very popular in the west because he can preach in English. Christianity can spread in Taiwan Province province for 200-300 years because it can speak Chinese. I hope that in the future, all Buddhist classics will be stylized, voiced, computerized and colored, so that they can be widely spread. Buddhists, in particular, should pay more attention to the cultivation of language ability. Once they are trained from an early age, they will have the ability to speak many languages, which will enable Buddhism to enter a new milestone of globalization in the future.
2. Promote "modern science and technology"
With the progress of the times, society has entered the trend of informationization and telecommunications. In business, word processors, personal computers, electronic switches, fax machines and other information products have been used in offices. From wired, wireless, fax to mobile phone, people's application of telephone has gradually expanded from work to ordinary life. These modern technologies bring not only "newness" and "convenience", but also changes in living habits, interpersonal communication and ideological values. At the same time, in order to stress methods and efficiency, the company group all implements enterprise management, personnel organization and data computerization.
In the past, although the Buddha's statement was only oral, he attached great importance to methods and educated his disciples with metaphors, karma, praise and long lines. With the differences of times, regions and cultures, missionary methods have been improved on many levels. Buddhism was introduced into China because the country split and war broke out in Wei and Jin Dynasties, when Yin and Yang, witchcraft and belief in ghosts and gods were very popular. Monks from the Western Regions who came to China to preach, such as Fotucheng, showed many supernatural phenomena, which were in line with local witchcraft and magic. In order to attach importance to the method of translating Buddhist scriptures into Chinese, Master Daoan compiled a Comprehensive Catalogue of Buddhist Scriptures, and formulated laws and ceremonies for monks, which laid the foundation for the temple system in China. Various variants of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, Bai Fan in Yushan, or "classical painting" prevailing in the Tang Dynasty all developed with the progress of the dynasty.
When the Buddha was alive, he was enlightened by excuses; Master Xuanzang went west to seek dharma, and he also walked through eight hundred miles of quicksand; Sanzang arrived in China by boat. Now missionary work has developed into a civilized product of cars and planes. Modern Buddhism small-scale teaching has the application of modern equipment such as microphone, stereo, slide show, music and video recorder. Large-scale Buddhist lectures also use modern science and technology, such as television, radio, satellite broadcasting, projectors and so on. , and cooperate with music, dance, lighting, and even use computers and faxes to count and transmit information.
Pay attention to methods when doing things and learning, and pay more attention to timeliness when preaching. In the past, it was individual education, and gradually we should pay attention to group education. The ways to spread Buddhism should be diversified, such as seminars, symposiums, friendships, reports, etc. The past was a black-and-white world of photocopying, and the future will enter a pleasing color world. Fax, satellite broadcasting and other technologies will be widely used in popularizing the law.
3. Practice "modern life"
In the past, people kept silent that I was going to practice in the mountains, and I was going to practice in seclusion. I have been practicing blindly all my life, but how many people have really realized it? Just narcissism in the name of "practice", how many people practice purely for the sake of practice? Just for "practice", how many people really have the ability to seek fame and reputation in the name of practice? When it comes to practice, the emphasis is on slogans, only words and no deeds; Paying attention to the form of appearance, without practical methods, is another waste of time; Even fantasy and self-cultivation are "burning buds and aborting seeds" rejected by the Buddha.
Modern practice should be like Vimalakīrti's lay man, walking in the world. "Although at home, there are no three realms; It means that you have a wife and often practice Sanskrit. "Like a Tibetan bodhisattva, he practices salvation. Such as avalokitesvara, make a wish to all beings as a bitter practice. For example, the Buddha holds a bowl every day, walks and educates as a practice. Sharifutsu takes building a garden Dojo as his practice, taking Ananda as his practice, Sakyamuni as his practice, Sakyamuni as his self-meditation practice, Kayayan as his practice, Fuluana as his practice, Youbo as his practice and Zhou as his practice. China's Zen master, such as Baizhang, practiced "don't work for a day, don't eat for a day". Of course, chanting Buddha is also a practice, but these sages and virtues clearly tell us that carrying firewood and carrying water is a practice.
We should not only learn from Goodall's etiquette model, but also further adapt to the times, so as to serve the society and let all beings enjoy practicing. In the Northern Wei Dynasty, Yao Tan invited monks to set up households and millet to help the hungry. Temple libraries in Sui and Tang Dynasties, endless hidden houses, longevity libraries in Song Dynasty, and solution libraries in Yuan Dynasty (financial institutions); Or treating diseases for the people, such as Zhu Buddhism, Zhu Fakuang, Yu Fakai and Jiao Yu, are all social service work. Now Buddhist disciples should set up an image of compassion, set an example and serve all beings. Serve all beings with teaching, medical care, art and literature. The Amitabha Sutra says, "You can't live in that country without good deeds. This tells us to serve more sentient beings and make more good relationships. " "On Great Wisdom" said: "Bodhisattva learns various dharmas for the benefit of all beings. Therefore, modern practice should focus on life and learn various ways to spend all beings. You can read Buddha at work, do samadhi in quiet places, and settle down in moving places; Can settle all beings in happiness, but also practice penance in remote areas; The real practice is not suffering from busyness, toil, inaction, troubles and concubines, but living in a quiet place, which is exactly the practice of "Samadhi" mentioned in the Prajna Sutra.
4. "Modern school education" in monasteries
Since ancient times, monasteries have been places where Taoism is preached and managed. Where there are temples, there will be laws of Antang, roads can run, and temples will often become local cultural centers. Because the temple itself is compassionate and convenient, you can ask the temple for help when you are poor; When you are sick, you can live in a temple for treatment; Temples also have the function of providing material assistance to the people. In the traffic history of China, it is one of the indelible contributions that monasteries provide accommodation for people. Especially after the Tang Dynasty, many candidates took part in the formal recruitment examination, and most of them lived in temples and studied hard. Sung Hoon, a monk of the Song Dynasty, recorded in Wutai Mountain in Tiantai Mountain that during his visit to the National Assembly Temple in Tiantai Mountain, he talked about Buddhism with four scholars from Mingzhou (Zhejiang) and seven scholars from Wenzhou (Fujian) who stayed in the National Assembly Temple temporarily. These scholars are the candidates among the 200,000 people who took the national civil service examination. Because of this, some people will have some wrong ideas, and when they get old, they will go to the temple to find a quiet place to live. If you have a holiday, you should live in a temple and enjoy the peace. If you can, go to the temple to eat goodbye; Invisibly, temples have become apartments, hotel-style places, or nursing homes and resorts, losing their original functions of preaching and running Taoism.
The trend is advancing, and the functions of temples should also be given full play. In the future, monasteries should be school-oriented. In the past, the only garden was the lecture hall. In ancient China, temples included the Dharma Hall and the Tibetan Scripture Building. During the Han and Tang Dynasties, Buddhist temples were regarded as the cultural center at that time. When people come to temples, they can not only meet the needs of religious life, but also get art and culture such as painting, sculpture and calligraphy. Literati and poets who moved the guests are frequent visitors to the temple. In the higher cultural field, monasteries are educational places with multiple functions. The erudition of monks often makes the lectures in various monasteries become active academic forums. Due to the vast area of temples, many houses, quiet environment and rich books, Buddhism takes educating the people as an important task. The eminent monks of past dynasties not only preached and taught, but also attached great importance to the cultural education of the masses, making Buddhist temples provide social education services for the secular.
Nowadays, not only is garbage, waste gas and chlorofluorocarbons everywhere, but the earth destroyed by human beings also needs environmental protection. At present, the parliament is scuffling, the police and the people are shot, and the kidnappers tear up the tickets. The streets at home have become a battlefield of terror, and people who are confused need environmental protection more. Therefore, modern temples should set up libraries for people to read Buddhist classics; Set up audio-visual centers and briefing rooms to introduce Buddhist cultural monuments; There is a conference room where discussions, discussions and meetings can be held to solve social problems; There are lecture halls that can teach people to spread Buddhism, hold activities to guide people to do good, and achieve the effect of purifying people's hearts. Only by making the temple function as a school can we attract people to Buddhism and let all living beings enjoy their sufferings.
How to modernize Buddhism? Buddhism can be widely spread from the "modern language and culture" of Buddhism to the times and to every corner of the world. From preaching "modern science and technology", we can save time and space, save manpower, use methods, achieve the highest efficiency and effect, and improve people's understanding of Buddhism. Practice "modern life", take service, dedication, diligence and hard work as practice, take life as service as practice, take six degrees as practice, let life practice and practice life. As far as the "modernism" of temples is concerned, temples can play a number of educational and cultural functions, serve the public and widely cultivate buddhas to achieve bodhisattvas.