Hi.

Just sharing an article...



http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-25772194

Meeting Taiwan's new-age Buddhists

And some quotations from it..

""According to Buddhism, it's not enough to have benefits for oneself only, you must also have benefits for others. We should try to help as many people as we can to be relieved of suffering," said Head Abbot Hsin Bao of another major Taiwanese Buddhist association, Fo Guang Shan."

"These organisations are very different from traditional Buddhism," said Kuo Cheng-tian, a professor at National Chengchi University. "They emphasise lay believers running temples and Buddhist organisations, not just monks. And they use ordinary believers to lead charity missions."

"We see no need for you to be converted; we're not aiming to proselytise," said Chien Tung-yuan, a Tzu Chi spokesman. "From the beginning, Shakyamuni (Buddha) taught people to help those who are suffering, without conditions, and not to want anything in return."

"They build temples for tourism, for money, but they don't know how to spread Buddhism's ideology," Mr Fu said. "This is regrettable. Society has so many problems, Buddhism should play its role in helping people and giving them spiritual guidance."

Thoughts?

Mtfbwy
Fugen