Founder of the Institute, Ven. Sheng-yen
Because the Chinese Buddhist community lacked both a good learning environment and a high quality education system, I made vows to make a contribution.
Because I only received an elementany eduction, I hoped to provide ample opportunities for future generations to receive higher education.
Because the decline of Chinese Buddhism resulted from the lack of scholars, I pronounced. "If we don't invest in education, Buddhism has no future."
Because our domestic Buddhist community was unable to nurture Buddhists to meet international standards, I decided to go to Japan to further my studies, even thaugh I was already forty-odd years old at the time, and my decicion was opposed by the Buddhist community. With determination, I confronted problems such as school fees, language barriers, and lack of previous academic training.
Because the Chinese Buddhist community did not have a sectarian system and organizational structure as found in Japan, there was no planned cultivation of future successors. Young people were not sent abroad with the support of a sect. Furthermore, it was hard to unite all Buddhist monasteries together to strive for future survival and advance an educational development proposal. After the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese adopted Western European methods, with each Buddhist sect establishing its own university. But Chinese Buddhists were out on their own, each responsible for only their own survival and each competing to be the leader. Under these circumstances, it was difficult to find a great Buddhist leader and hard to create durable and ideal conditions for Buddhism.
The Chinese Buddhist community needed talented people, yet few were willing to cultivate these talents. Some monasteries set up Buddhist institutes in order to maintain appearances but these usually only survived for a few years. Some really had the heart to develop a good Buddhist education, but they did not have experience in establishing a school, nor did they have a sufficient vision for the future. Most institutes were faced with difficulties such as shortage of funds and high personnel turnover. Confronted with internal and external problems and setbacks, they generally closed after only a few years. Even though a number of monasteries have continued operating their institutes through sheer willpower, it was difficult for them to attain a level of quality equal to a university.
Even after receiving my Ph.D. in literature in Japan, I was not as lucky as earlier Japanese Buddhist scholars who had studied in Europe. Their sectarian system had already prepared a modern educational environment for them. But in the Chinese Buddhist community, the ground work where I could contribute what I had learned had not been layed. Thus an old classmate from the Buddhist Institute at Shang-Hai Jing An Temple named Ven. Huan Sheng described me as someone who had obtained a driverÕs license but had no car to drive. I vowed that in conditions where no cars could be found, I would create cars for others to drive and ride. I often encouraged myself by saying, ÒWhat urgently needs to be done, what is required to be done by people, I will do it!?It was due to this aspiration that I went abroad to study after coming out of seclusion in the mountains, and it was the reason also due to this aspiration that I went to the United States after completing my studies in Japan, and it was the reason why I returned to Taiwan from America to supervise a Buddhist institute.
In Japan, I learned the methods of scholarly research and came in contact with the fresh air of modern education and modern academia. While I was instructing Chan practice in America, I took the opportunity to lecture at over sixty universities in both the United States and Europe. There, I saw the campuses, educational facilities, and academic customs of prominent universities. In addition, I had the chance to befriend many leading scholars who helped me broaden my vision and perspective. This was very beneficial in setting up the curriculum of the Institute.
Thus, every time we hold an International Buddhist Scholarly Conference, we have prominent Buddhist scholars willing to participate and present their papers. We also employ top international Buddhist scholars to teach at the Institute. This has certainly been a major influence in elevating the quality of Buddhist education and the level of Buddhist scholarly research, as well as nurturing talented Buddhists, and rehabilitating the image of Buddhism.
As everyone already knows, I am very grateful for the precursor of the Institute, which was the Institute of Institute Studies of China Academy at Yang Ming Shan's Chinese Cultural College. Had we not had this initial apportunity, there would have been no starting point for me to create a Buddhist Institute. Because the institute was in a university, it could be associated with an academic institutionÕs name. First the founder, Mr. Chang Chi-yun, asked me to be a professor in the Philosophy Department, and then invited me to be the director of the Buddhist Institute. My students were originally philosophy research students in the doctoral and graduate programs. When the Buddhist Institute started recruiting students, the applicants were naturally students who had completed their undergraduate degrees. The Philosophy Department students and Buddhist Institute students attended the same classes. Even though the Ministry of Education did not accept the Buddhist Institute's degree, it required our students to follow the regulations of most research departments. Therefore compared to Buddhist institutes established by the monasteries, we had an advantage in controlling the educational environment and the quality of our faculty and students.
Before going abroad for my studies, I did not have any lay disciples. In 1978, when I first returned to Taiwan to assume the position of director, I did not know where to find support for my endeavors in education. In 1981, our founder, Mr. Chang, encouraged me to recruit students. Fortunately, Ven. Chen-yi of the Hua Yen Lotus Society became the assistant director. We combined the couple of dozen disciples of the Lotus Society with my few lay disciples and organized a Dharma Upholders Society, which provided monthly donations to sustain the institutes?expenditures. In 1984, Mr. Chang became very ill. Because of this and some personnel changes, the Institute was instructed to stop recruiting students and prepare to close. In order to continue the work of Buddhist education, I founded the lnstitute the following year. New students were recruited at Peitou's Nung Chan Monastery, while classes were held at the Yang Ming Shan campus. In 1986, I managed to rebuild the Chung-hwa Institute of Buddhist Culture at Peitou bequeathed by my late teacher Ven. Dong-chu, and lent it to the Institute. With this, we had a stable environment with both school buildings and a dormitory. In September of 2001, the Institute will have a permanent campus when it moves to Dharma Drum Mountain. Twenty years have passed since we first recruited students for the first school session. During this time, I have been very grateful to the two directors, Prof. Lee Chih-fu and Prof. Fang Ning-shu, and the assistant directors Ven. Hui-min and Prof. Wu Kwan, for helping me greatly in administrative affairs. Without their assistance, not only would the Institute have been unable to grow as quickly, I wouldn't have been able to go abroad and propagate Buddhism. In addition, but I wouldn't have been able to take care of the Dharma Drum Sangha and volunteer disciples.
Certainly, I also want to thank all the professors and colleagues who assumed teaching and administrative responsibilities at the Institute through the years. They were able to take the ideals of the Institute as their own principles and their own tasks, and they cared for the research students through every session as their own brothers and sisters. Thus I had no cause to worry. I also want to thank the students of every session for taking the distinction of the Institute and adopting it as their own. The faculty and staff of the Institute are honored to have made the connection with all these outstanding students.
Twenty years of work in the educational field is not long, but for the Chinese Buddhist community, it cannot be considered short. After moving to Dharma Drum Mountain, the Institute will encounter new challenging and enter new phases. From now on, we need to proceed into multi-faceted research and globalization of our perspective.
I am glad to be called a fool because working for education produces neither an immediate and apparent result nor a finacial return. My belief is this: Planting seeds is more important than harvesting. After 100 years, future generations will have an abundant harvest. These reflections were written as the preface of this special issue.
May 18, 2001
At Chan Meditation Center,
New York