..续本文上一页 to earn a living, whose profession primarily involves intellectual activity, and who have a strong sense of responsibility to their community. In contrast, in China, our so-called intellectuals, such as teachers, doctors, and government officials, use their intellectual ability as the main activity in their work, but they do not necessarily have a sense of responsibility toward their community or all humankind. Due to this, it is questionable whether they can fully grasp the truth of Buddhism or accept Buddhism.

　　Currently, Buddhism is facing a very serious aging problem. For young Buddhists, although they are able to say a little about Buddhism, they don”t have time for in-depth study. On account of this, they may not even have completed proper study of one single sutra. In fact, if we want to speak about and represent Buddhism, we need to at least have systematically studied ten to twenty sutras or treatises. Otherwise, by listening to only a word or two, it is very difficult to become a spokesperson for Buddhism.

　　I therefore appeal to everyone here today that, in the future, Buddhism should recruit more young people, be professional, be organized, and be standardized. Only by doing this can we hope to be successful in advocating for Buddhism in this world.

　　Fudan University has set up the National Studies Society and Zen Society. These have made significant contributions to Buddhism. However, on this basis, you must move further to gain a solid foundation; your self-cultivation and wisdom must be outstanding. Only after you have done so, can you then guide others in understanding that Buddhism is not only about visiting a temple, burning incense, or making prostrations to the Buddha so that you are blessed to have a better career and fortune.

　　The other day, when I was at Longhua Temple, I saw a sea of people bustling around. This thought instantly arose in my mind: “Among so many believers, how many of them have truly mastered the Buddhadharma, act according to the Mahayana teachings in making the aspiration to liberate all sentient beings, and make the aspiration to take rebirth in the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha for the sake of sentient beings

　　 If you come here to make prostrations to Buddha only for your own sake, or only have a literal understanding about emptiness and dependent origination, bodhicitta, the inconceivable clear light Buddha nature, and so forth, without even having a single taste of the Buddhadharma, this is only superficial Buddhism. How do I transmit my feeling and understanding to those who have a karmic link with Buddhism

　　”

　　Of course, to uphold and promote Buddhism, solely relying on the monastic community is not enough. In a large city in the Han region, there are several millions or even several tens of millions of people, yet monastics are as rare as hen”s teeth. And even if there are monastics in the area, some may not necessarily have studied and contemplated Buddhism systematically, so they are not able to benefit sentient beings by teaching the Dharma. Therefore, at present, it is imperative to nurture some young intellectuals who have a proper understanding of Buddhism and a stronger sense of responsibility. This measure is extremely important for the future propagation of Buddhism.

　　IV) The Buddhist world view: Macro and micro world views

　　Someone may have doubts about the so-called truth in Buddhism. Can we test it through reasoning

　　 Will Buddha”s teaching become obsolete sooner or later

　　There shouldn”t be any worry about this. In the past two thousand five hundred years, many scientists have emerged in this world, yet none of them has been able to overturn even one single principle in Buddhism. Whether it is at the macro or micro level, Buddhist truths have never been successfully di…

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