..续本文上一页d in large Tibetan Buddhist academies and monasteries. In fact, these two distinct schools originated from Bhavaviveka and Chandrakirti, respectively. However, whatever Madhyamaka philosophy is held, the schools all originated from the world”s earliest Buddhist universities. Many scholars acknowledged there were two Buddhist universities more than two thousand years ago. One is Vikramasila University, located in South India. It no longer exists, but countless eminent Buddhist masters emerged from there. The other one is Nalanda University. In the past, the Tang Dynasty Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang studied there. Venerable Atisha and Khenpo Bodhisattva (Shantarakshita) also studied there. The Madhyamaka philosophies handed down from those two universities were not only passed down unbroken, but also flourished in the Tibetan Buddhist lineages.

　　Sometimes, when I visited the debate halls in various monasteries in the Tibetan region, I often felt that it would be nice if the higher education institutions in the Han region, such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, and Fudan University, could also offer such Pramana and debate courses. Through debating the Buddhist doctrines and reasoning, it can eliminate our doubts entirely, thus allowing us to gain a true understanding of the profundity and subtlety of Buddhadharma. Otherwise, if we are only able to say a few words about the Buddhadharma, but never gain conviction about them through debate, then this understanding can never stay forever in our mental continuum, is not firm, and is thus vulnerable to overturn.

　　At present, Tsinghua University, Peking University, and many other universities all have established some Buddhist associations. However, it is important that this shouldn”t be just at a superficial level. The truth of the Buddhadharma should be studied and researched systematically. In fact, if Buddhists are able to study the Buddadharma, the truth of Buddhism will never become just history; this can be entirely proven. Today, western universities such as Yale University, Harvard University, the University of Oxford, and the University of Cambridge have Zen societies or centers for studying debate, and they also often invite Tibetan Buddhist masters to have discussions on Pramana and Madhyamaka. As such, we should not view Buddhism solely in terms of the concept of charity or basic activities only.

　　Of course, for those who are not highly educated but have a kind heart, there is nothing wrong in putting the Buddhist teachings into practice in terms of charitable work, and accumulating some merits. However, for people who are highly educated like you, it is a must to gain conviction in the Buddhadharma through reasoning. As an ordinary person, although it is very difficult to gain the inconceivable supreme transcendental state of the arya bodhisattva, it shouldn”t be too hard to gain irreversible faith in and the wisdom of the Buddhadharma.

　　In 1985, I embarked on Buddhist studies at Larung Buddhist Institute, an advanced Buddhist University in the Tibetan region. Since then, twenty-five years have passed. During those twenty-five years, while I was studying there, I also gave some teachings. When I spoke to Professor Wang here, just now, I found out that, like me, he has spent twenty-five years focusing on studying and researching the truth of religion, while also guiding students in the Faculty of Religion at Fudan University. From one point of view, we can say that twenty-five years is quite a long time, but from another it can seem quite short. During that time, we have both felt deep down in our heart the profundity and subtlety of Buddhism. We share a strong belief that studying Buddhism requires long-term research, and also strong determination is needed. Our faith …

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