Humanistic Buddhism () is a modern

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

practiced by Buddhist groups originating from

Chinese Buddhism Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism which has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including art, politics, literature, philosophy, ...

which places an emphasis on integrating

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

practices into everyday life and shifting the focus of ritual from the dead to the living.

Nomenclature

Taixu Taixu (Tai Hsu) (), (January 8, 1890 – March 17, 1947) was a Buddhist modernist, activist and thinker who advocated for a reformation and revival of Chinese Buddhism by drawing upon eclectic domestic and foreign sources and ideologies. Biogra ...

, a Buddhist modernist activist and thinker who advocated the reform and renewal of

, used the term Buddhism for Human Life (). The first two characters, "human" and "life", indicating his criticism of several aspects of late

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

and early Republican Chinese Buddhism that he wished to correct, namely, an emphasis on spirits and ghosts ("human") and funeral services and rites ("life"). His disciples continued this emphasis. Taixu also used the term Buddhism for the Human World, or popularly humanistic Buddhism (). It appears that at first the two terms were largely interchangeable. One of Taixu's disciples,

Yin Shun Master Yin Shun (印順導師, ''Yìnshùn Dǎoshī''; 5 April 1906 – 4 June 2005) was a well-known Buddhist monk and scholar in the tradition of Chinese Mahayana Buddhism. Though he was particularly trained in the Three Treatise school, he ...

, used the term humanistic Buddhism to indicate a criticism against the "deification" of Buddhism, which was another common feature of much of Chinese Buddhism, in his articles and books. It was Yin Shun and other disciples of Taixu who brought both of these two terms to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

in the wake of the Republicans' defeat during the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

against the

Communist Party of China The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...

. It was in Taiwan that the term humanistic Buddhism became the most commonly used term, particularly amongst the religious leaders who originally hailed from China.

Temple Nan Tien definition

Temple Nan Tien outlines the principles of humanistic Buddhism as integrating Buddhist practices into everyday life based on the nature of Sakyamuni Buddha achieving

Buddhahood In Buddhism, Buddha (; Pali, Sanskrit: 𑀩𑀼𑀤𑁆𑀥, बुद्ध), "awakened one", is a title for those who are awake, and have attained nirvana and Buddhahood through their own efforts and insight, without a teacher to point o ...

while bound in an earthly form. Humanistic Buddhism is based on six core concepts, namely humanism, altruism, spiritual practices as part of daily life, joyfulness, timeliness and the universality of saving all beings. From these principles, the aim of humanistic Buddhism is to reconnect Buddhist practice with the ordinary and places emphasis on caring for the material world, not solely concerned with achieving delivery from it.

Soka Gakkai definition

According to Daisaku Ikeda, head of the

Soka Gakkai is a Japanese Buddhist religious movement based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese priest Nichiren as taught by its first three presidents Tsunesaburō Makiguchi, Jōsei Toda, and Daisaku Ikeda. It is the largest of the Japane ...

new religious movement: Another aspect of manifesting the teaching of Humanistic Buddhism is the

interfaith dialogue Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is ...

and the study of the common tenets of

non-violence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...

Soka Gakkai International Soka Gakkai International (SGI) is an international Nichiren Buddhist organisation founded in 1975 by Daisaku Ikeda, as an umbrella organization of Soka Gakkai, which declares approximately 12 million adherents in 192 countries and territorie ...

teaches that “the

Lotus Sutra The ''Lotus Sūtra'' ( zh, 妙法蓮華經; sa, सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्रम्, translit=Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram, lit=Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma, italic=) is one of the most influ ...

... leads all people to Buddhahood and we ordinary human beings are in no way different or separate from one another" and viewed the Buddha as a role model for all humanity: "The purpose of the appearance in this world of Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, lies in his behaviour as a human being".

Buddhism and new religious movements in Taiwan

was the key figure in the doctrinal exposition of Buddhism and thus humanistic Buddhism in Taiwan. However, he was not particularly active in the social or political spheres of life. This was to be carried out by a younger generation such as

Hsing Yun Hsing Yun () (born 19 August 1927) is a Chinese Buddhist monk. He is the founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order as well as the affiliated Buddha's Light International Association in Taiwan. Hsing Yun is considered to be one of the most ...

Sheng-yen Sheng Yen (), born Zhang Baokang (), (January 22, 1931 – February 3, 2009) was a Taiwanese Buddhist monk, religious scholar, and writer. He was one of the mainstream teachers of Chan Buddhism. He was a 57th generational dharma heir of Li ...

, Wei Chueh and

Cheng Yen Cheng Yen (; born Chin-Yun Wong; 14 May 1937) is a Taiwanese Buddhist nun (bhikkhuni), teacher, and philanthropy, philanthropist. She is the founder of the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, ordinarily referred to as Tzu Chi, a Buddh ...

. These four figures, collectively known as the

Four Heavenly Kings The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhist gods, each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. In Chinese mythology, they are known collectively as the "Fēng Tiáo Yǔ Shùn" () or "Sìdà Tiānwáng" (). In the ...

of Taiwanese Buddhism, head the Four Great Mountains, or monasteries, of Taiwanese Buddhism and Buddhist

new religious movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion, is a religious or Spirituality, spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in ...

s, namely Fo Guang Shan,

Dharma Drum Mountain Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM; ) is an international Buddhist spiritual, cultural, and educational foundation founded by late Chan master Sheng-yen (1931 – 2009). The center focuses on educating the public in Buddhism with the goal of improving th ...

, Chung Tai Shan and Tzu Chi.

History of Chinese Buddhist ritual practice

Humanistic Buddhism originated in China at the beginning of the 20th century. The movement emerged as a collective attempt to emphasize the importance of serving the living in Buddhist practice, rather than placing focus on the traditional Buddhist rituals for the dead. After the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

, penance for the dead had become more widespread, replacing rituals focused on meditation. A possible cause for this was Emperor Zhu Yuanzhan's Buddhist Orders issued in 1391. These created three categories of the sangha, or monastic class: meditation monks, teaching monks and yoga monks. These yoga monks were responsible for performing rituals for the dead. This led to certain monks taking on the roles of monks on call who performed rituals to earn their livelihood. These monks on call made up a majority of the sangha by the end of the

. Another possible cause of the increased rituals for the dead was the spread of

tantric Buddhism Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...

following the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...

which promoted ritual practice.

Fo Guang Shan

Fo Guang Shan is one of the most popular humanistic Buddhist organizations in present-day Taiwan. They have done work to reform and re-invent more traditional ritual practices. They strive to highlight Dharmic aspects of ritual and tailor their practices and worship to benefit the living, rather than the dead. Fo Guang Shan are known for their Recitation Teams, which they send to hospitals and hospice care facilities to assist the dying and their loved ones in performing humanistic Buddhist ritual practice. Humanistic Buddhists believe that death is not an end so much as the beginning of a new life and therefore rituals at the end of life should comfort and pacify the dying individual. They also hold ceremonies that celebrate marriage and the happiness of married couples which are popular worldwide.

Hsing Yun

, born in 1927, is a leader in the humanistic Buddhist movement in Taiwan and was the founder of Fo Guang Shan in the 1960s. He wrote ''Rites for Funerals'', a work outlining the Dharmic elements of these rituals and reforming them to place emphasis on the living participants and worshipers. He also wrote ''The Etiquettes and Rules'', which outlines the practices of traditional Buddhism from a humanistic perspective.

Gender equality in humanistic Buddhism

One controversy of humanistic Buddhism is the role of women in society. Hsing Yun holds a conservative perspective as to the position of women and has published a variety of articles for men on how to maintain a functioning household and for women on how to provide proper companionship and please their husbands. Despite this perception, women have earned themselves a solid position in the Chinese workforce. While Hsing Yun does not advocate for women being forced out of workplaces, he cautions men about the problems that might arise in a household if a woman is not at home to keep things in order. However, Buddhist nuns have been gaining a place as of 1998 in which 136 women from a variety of Buddhist traditions were ordained into the Fo Guang Shan tradition in China. Taiwan has also had ordination available to Buddhist nuns for centuries.