..續本文上一頁ld be expected soon. Many people now kill so many animals during New Year, wedding celebrations. It is their happiest day, but it requires many animals to give up their precious life. This is very cruel.

　　As humans, it is not wrong to seek happiness. But we must not harm any beings. Otherwise, at the same time that you base your happiness on animals” sufferings, others can base their happiness on your suffering. It reaches a certain point where every person will use any means to attain personal happiness, even killing and robbing others. This kind of society cannot possibly be civilised, and this kind of happiness has no worth to speak of!

　　(7) Question: In your talk then, you mentioned Dr. Toynbee saying that the 21st Century is the Chinese century, and also that it is the century of Chinese culture, not Chinese rule. People abroad now have great confidence in Chinese culture, and feel that it can complement Western culture. In China however, within our own country, traditional culture is in daily decline. Thus, many believe that perhaps China needs to first Westernize, then religious freedom and traditional culture can develop after there is a liberal environment. What are your views on this

　　Answer: In Dr. Toynbee”s A Study of History, he has carried out detailed analysis on Chinese culture. His analysis on history is not simply a record of certain characters in certain eras. Rather, he used his own wisdom to finely interpret the extinction of many cultures, including the effects of religious belief.

　　He said that the 21st Century is China”s century, the pre-condition being that China cannot be fully westernised. But now China is completely throwing away traditional culture, and indiscriminatingly absorbing Western culture. This is a clear departure from his intention.

　　Of course we can accept the ideas of democracy and peace in Western culture. This is also the future developmental trend of humanity. Martin Luther King once said: “I have a dream”. When Bai Yansong went to Yale University in the United States, he also used such a slogan and mentioned his own China dream. Thus, it is just a matter of time before humanity steps into democracy and freedom.

　　Question: You also talked about Yao Jiaxin before. He has just been sentenced to death. When he was sentenced to death, a few legal experts debated online as to whether the death penalty should be abolished in China. But most netizens in China do not understand them. We can say that our current human rights status is really horrible, and everyone is urgently wishing for change. How do you see this

　　Answer: There are indeed different voices on Yao Jiaxin”s death sentence. But some take the view that for any ethnic group, any country, to truly realize democracy, the moral standards of its people must first be elevated. Only after then would there be relatively mature thinking, otherwise it is very difficult to succeed.

　　Personally speaking, regarding Yao Jiaxin, I have previously mentioned that one person cannot represent everyone. Sometimes we change ethics into politics, into other qualities to be judged, which complicates the question. Our exchange today is entirely a study on ethics and religion, therefore, when it comes to some complex questions, I have not thought very deeply about them.

　　(8) Question: I am a freshman at the Huazhong Normal University School of Policy and Law, Ideological and Political Education. If humans have past, present, and future, would the population on earth increase

　　Answer: Actually, it is not only on earth that humans exist. From a Buddhist perspective, as well as the view of astronomists now, there are infinite planets and infinite beings in the universe, as well as other types of humans. Buddhist Abhidharma and Sutra of the Great Conflagrat…

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