The Modern Transformation of the Pure Land Sect A Comparative Study of the Doctrinal Classification Thought of Master Yinguang and Taixu's "Humanistic Buddhism"

Miaohong Shi; Fachan Shi; Qingyuan Shi; Nengcheng shi; Huibing Shi

doi:10.62177/apbs.v1i1.1350

Authors

Miaohong Shi Lingyan Mountain Branch of the Chinese Buddhist Academy
Fachan Shi Lingyan Mountain Branch of the Chinese Buddhist Academy
Qingyuan Shi Lingyan Mountain Branch of the Chinese Buddhist Academy
Nengcheng shi Lingyan Mountain Branch of the Chinese Buddhist Academy
Huibing Shi Lingyan Mountain Branch of the Chinese Buddhist Academy

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62177/apbs.v1i1.1350

Keywords:

Master Yinguang, Master Taixu, Doctrinal Classification Thought, Pure Land School, Humanistic Buddhism

Abstract

In modern China, Buddhism faced both institutional decline and the impact of modernity. As a result, the Pure Land School was tasked with re-evaluating its own doctrines and practical forms. This paper focuses on the "doctrinal classification thought" and compares the traditional approach of Master Yinguang, who "interprets the Pure Land teachings with the Avatamsaka teachings", with the modern reconstruction of Master Taixu's "Five Vehicles of Common Dharma". The paper points out that Master Yinguang integrated the Pure Land Dharma within the Avatamsaka doctrinal classification, positioning it as the "ultimate of the sudden and perfect teaching" and a "special Dharma gate", and responded to the crisis of the era with the ethical orientation of "fulfilling one's social duties and practicing faith and vows in Buddha-recitation". Master Taixu, on the other hand, reorganized the doctrinal classification framework with the "Five Vehicles of Common Dharma", grounding Buddhist practice on the "Human Vehicle" and promoting institutional and ideological innovation through the path of "becoming a Buddha as a human being". These two approaches are not simply opposed but respond to the same contemporary issues from different directions. Comparing the doctrinal classification thoughts of the two masters helps to understand the internal structure of the transformation of modern Han-Chinese Buddhism and provides a reference for contemporary Buddhism to handle the relationship between traditional preservation and modern response.

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