Woodenfish

The Woodenfish Program, known formally as the Humanistic Buddhism Monastic Life Program, or HBMLP, is a program set up by the Taiwan based Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order for college students. Held in the summer of each year, students have an opportunity to live the life of a monastic in a Buddhist monastery; namely, living in the Fo Guang Shan order's main monastery in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The program offers free room and board, and is funded by a grant from the order.

The namesake comes from the wooden fish instrument, the most common religious musical instrument used in Chinese, Korean and Japanese Buddhism. The program is sponsored by Buddha's Light International Association.

Objective

The primary objective of this program is to promote the understanding of Chinese Buddhism by exposing the participants to the daily practice of Humanistic Buddhism within a traditional Buddhist monastery. The Woodenfish Program provides students interested in the study of religion, Buddhism and/or Chinese culture and language first-hand experience in the lifestyle, training, and functions of contemporary Chinese Buddhist monastics. Classes taught on various levels by the knowledgeable monastics and staff, inform students on Buddhist history, doctrine and philosophy, as well as classes offered regarding the liturgical instruments, monastic etiquette, meditation practice and other functions and rituals. All instruction is given in English or is translated from Mandarin. Other key elements of the program include:

* Offering participants a chance to view and experience Buddhism as it is practiced in modern-day Taiwan.
* Introducing participants to the concepts and practices of Humanistic Buddhism.
* Communal activities within the monastery, such as vegetable gardening, kitchen duty, etc.
* Daily participation in many of the routine activities within a Buddhist monastery.
* A five to seven day silent meditation retreat.
* Cultivating spirituality through meditation.
* A cultural tour of .

The program director may change the activities slightly to better accommodate the needs of the participants and/or better fulfill the program objectives.

Program Background

Through Venerable Master Hsing Yun, the founder of Fo Guang Shan, and the efforts of Venerable Dr. Yifa, the Woodenfish Program provides an opportunity for a group of undergraduate and graduate students to come each summer to the Fo Guang Shan monastery in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, the world headquarters of the Fo Guang Shan system of temples, colleges, associations, and charitable and cultural programs. Fo Guang Shan is a Linji Ch'an monastery, which is similar in many ways to a Japanese Rinzai monastery.

Participants hail from some of the best universities from across the globe. They are diverse in backgrounds but, there is a concentration of Asian studies, Buddhist studies, comparative religion and counseling/psychology majors. The participants may be in their undergraduate training or completion the dissertation for their Ph.D.

University of the West

The University of the West is a university in Rosemead, California. The first Buddhist-funded university in the United States, it was founded in 1991 by Venerable Master Hsing Yun, founder of the Taiwan-based Buddhist order Fo Guang Shan and Hsi Lai Temple. It moved from the Hsi Lai Temple complex in to its current location in 1996.

History

UWest is a private, non profit school accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Although founded by a Buddhist organization, UWest is not a Buddhist college, which is a term typically used for monasteries or schools that train people for the monastic order.

UWest students are not required to subscribe to the Buddhist faith or practice Buddhism in any form. Indeed, UWest's undergraduate and graduate programs in Business Administration garner higher enrollment numbers than its undergraduate and graduate programs in Religious Studies. UWest's Religious Studies and Buddhist Studies Departments are world renowned and attract monastics and students of Buddhism from across the world.

President

Dr. Allen M. Huang was installed as President of University of the West on June 28, 2007. Dr. Huang left the position of Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs at University of Northern Colorado to take UWest's helm. Dr. Huang spent 29 years at UNC in many different capacities. His areas of specialization include leadership and management in higher education, development and management of grants and contracts, as well as issues and trends in special education. Dr. Huang is also editor of "New Waves: Educational Research and Development" and associate editor of "Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disorders." For more than 20 years, Dr. Huang has served on the National Council for Accreditation on Teacher Education and the U.S. Department of Education Grant Competition.

Dr. Huang graduated from Colorado State University with a post-doctoral degree in computer technology and education; and from the University of Alabama with an Ed.D. in special education.

Dr. Huang is the fifth UWest president. The first president of UWest was Venerable Master Hsing Yun, who founded the school in 1990. Venerable Hsing Yun was followed by presidents Nai-Chen Chen, Dr. Lewis Lancaster, Roger Schmidt and finally Dr. Allen Huang, who was installed as president on 8 July 2007.

Mission

The mission of University of the West is to

*Educate students in a context informed by Buddhist wisdom and values.
*Facilitate cultural understanding and appreciation between East and West.

Academic programs

UWest currently offers degrees in the following majors:

*Bachelor's in Business Administration - with concentrations in Marketing; Accounting; Computer Information Systems; and International Business.

*Master's in Business Administration - with concentrations in Computer Information Systems; International Business; Finance; and Non Profit Organization Management.

*Executive MBA .

*Bachelor's in Religious Studies - with majors in Comparative Religious Studies and Buddhist Studies.

*Master's in Religious Studies - with concentrations in Comparative Religious Studies and Buddhist Studies.

*Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies with emphasis in Comparative Religious Studies and Buddhist Studies.

*Master of Divintiy

*Bachelor's in English.



*Bachelor's in Psychology.

*Master's in Psychology with concentrations in Buddhist psychology and multicultural counseling.

*UWest also has ongoing English as a Second Language program.

Enrollment

UWest enrollment stood at just over 252 students at the start of the Spring 2008 semester. The campus has seen a significant growth in population since accreditation in 2006. The student body is still primarily international in character. Aside from U.S. students, the student body is made up of students from China, Taiwan, Tibet, India, Sri Lanka, France, Germany, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Korea, Nepal and other countries.

Research centers

*The Center for the Study of Minority and Small Business
*The Institute for Advanced Research of Chinese Buddhism

Accreditation

UWest was accredited in February, 2006, by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges . The process took six years to complete. According to WASC's new accreditation procedures and 2001 issued Handbook, degrees issued by University of the West since July 2002 will be fully recognized.

Financial Aid

UWest is authorized by the U.S. Department of Education to disburse Federal Financial Aid. Other financial aid options include the Stafford Loan, Plus Loan, Pell Grants, Perkins Loan Program, etc. UWest also offers institutional financial aid, such as scholarships, tuition waivers and tuitionships to students who qualify.

Fo Guang Shan Universities

*Fo Guang University
*Nanhua University
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Pu-Men High School

Pu-Men High School is a private Buddhist high school located in the town of Dashu township , Kaohsiung County . The school is affiliated with the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order founded by Venerable Master Hsing Yun.

In 1977, the name was changed to "Fo Guang Shan Private Pumen Senior High School", and the school was given to Fo Guang Shan. The school converted officially to ''Kaohsiung County Private-Operated Pu-Men Senior High School'' on August 1977.

Six Requirements of Living

*1. Love our families, school and country.
*2. Respect teachers and be friendly to classmates.
*3. Obey public regulation, be courteous and humble.
*4. Cherish public property and use it with care.
*5. Be clean and neat in appearance.
*6. Behave politely, gently and with dignity.

Six Rules of Living

*1. No smoking
*2. No gambling
*3. No fighting
*4. No stealing
*5. No disobedience to teachers’ and parents’ instructions.
*6. No associations with youths who can be of bad influence.

Founding Principles

*1.Pu-Men, the Universal Door, is open to save all beings and to disseminate the spirit of the Guan Yin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion.
*2.Pu-Men believe in the importance of a Confucian education.
*3.Pu-Men is founded on Buddhism’s spirit of saving the world with an ideal education, great mercy, equality for all and unselfishness.
*4.Pu-Men strives to cultivate talents and virtues in youths by emphasizing intellectualism, morality, physical well being and an appreciation of the aesthetics, to benefit all societies and all nations.

Attending SD without BCT

Attending the Senior Department without doing the Basic Competence Test is only for the students of Pu-Men's own junior high students, unlike the general way of going to senior high school in Taiwan, students can have a unique and special way to use if he/she really wants to study the senior high and enjoy the life here. Most importantly, the final decision belongs to the student, forcing and compelling are not allowed.

Nan Tien Temple

Nan Tien Temple is a temple complex located in the industrial suburb of , on the southern outskirts of the Australian city of Wollongong, approximately 80 km south of Sydney, Australia. Nan Tien is a Chinese term, which means "southern paradise".

It is one of the branch temples of Fo Guang Shan, founded in 1965 by Venerable Master Hsing Yun, which has over 120 branches worldwide. This is the largest Buddhist temple in the southern hemisphere.

History

Fo Guang Shan Buddhism is rooted in the Mahayana tradition which emphasises that Buddhahood is within everyone's potential reach. Fo Guang Shan followers strive to bring Buddhism into daily life and describe their philosophy as "Humanistic Buddhism."

It was funded by and constructed under the auspices of the Mahayana Buddhist sect known as Fo Guang Shan, and completed in 1995. The sect itself was founded in Taiwan in 1965 by Venerable Master Hsing Yun, and has 120 branches throughout the world. The site of the Australian branch's temple was reputedly chosen by Hsing Yun due to its proximity to Mount Kembla, which is said to have an auspicious resemblance to a recumbent lion. It overlooks both Mount Keira and Mount Kembla. The land was donated by the Australian government.

Temple complex

The Nan Tien complex was built using traditional techniques and materials by Chinese craftsmen, but with numerous modern features. Occupying a semi-rural hillside site several square kilometres in size, and set amidst landscaped gardens.

In addition to various meeting rooms, a museum, cultural, conference and accommodation facilities and a restaurant, the Nan Tien temple complex includes two massive prayer halls within which are located multiple monumental and Bodhisattva statues, as well as a 7 level pagoda intended to house the cremated remains of 7000 people. The front hall houses the Thousand Handed Avalokitesvara and the main hall in the back houses the Five Dhyani Buddhas, Amogasiddhi, Ratnasambhava, Vairocana, Amitabha and Akshobhya. Both halls have thousands of tiny statues of Buddha on the walls. The complex also has amenities for monks, nuns and visitors, and a large garden with a pagoda.

The architecture of the complex is notable because it incorporates the features of several styles of Buddhism. The pagoda is distinctly Chinese, with flying eaves and an angular profile. The main temples incorporates features of Tibetan monastic architecture, with multi-storey painted temple buildings set atop high stone platforms . The courtyards feature Japanese-style gardens, while the statues and shrines often incorporate bright, South-East Asian colour schemes, in contrast to the more sombre and austere styles favoured in China. The halls are carpeted, and pilgrims and visitors are required to remove shoes before entering, a practice more common in India, Korea and Japan than China.

Tourism

The temple is one of Wollongong's major tourist attractions, and conducts regular weekend retreats for visitors interested in Buddhism in general, and Chinese culture in particular. Retreats can involve classes in tai chi, Chinese cooking and calligraphy and meditation.

Accommodation for retreat participants and members of the general public is available at the Pilgrim Lodge, a 100-room motel-style facility located in the temple grounds adjacent to its large lotus pond.

It is regarded as an "orthodox" Buddhist temple by local Chinese Buddhists, in contrast with some other shrines which worship Buddhist, Taoist, and mystical heroes in the same building. It frequently hosts festivals.

Hsin Ting

Venerable Hsin Ting was the sixth abbot and director of Fo Guang Shan from 1997 to 2005. He served as acting abbot for three years after the sudden death of his predecessor, the Venerable Hsin Ping, in 1995. According to Fo Guang Shan's order of precedence, Hsin Ting is the third highest monastic in the order after the late Hsin Ping. Hsin Ting is speculated to succeed Venerable Master Hsing Yun, Fo Guang Shan's founder, in later years. Along with Hsin Ping, he is a forty-ninth of the Linji Chan school.

Hsin Ting was born in central Taiwan in Yunlin county. He was born into a family of farmers and grew up in the country. In 1968, he became a monastic under Master Hsing Yun and took full ordination the following year in Keelung. Hsin Ting graduated from the Eastern Buddhist College and the India Research Institute of the Chinese Cultural University. He further received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from the Fo Guang Shan-affiliated University of the West in Rosemead, California in 1998.

Hsin Ting is known to be the carrier of the torch for Master Hsing Yun's ideal of Humanistic Buddhism. He has held a variety of posts, such as the secretary of Fo Guang Shan's Religious Affairs Committee, the Managing Director of the Ilan Buddhist Society, abbot of Long Hua Temple in Malaysia, abbot of Hsi Lai Temple in California, abbot of Taipei's Pu Men Temple, and of Kaohsiung's Pu Hsien Temple, President of the American Buddhist Youth Association, and Vice President of Buddha's Light International Association of R.O.C.

Upon the sudden death of Master Hsing Yun's eldest disciple and abbot, Venerable Hsin Ping, Hsin Ting was immediately promoted to the said position, and served the rest of Hsin Ping's term until 1997, when he was unanimously and officially elected abbot in 1997 as Fo Guang Shan's sixth abbot.

A multi-talented monastic, he is said to be well versed in speaking the Dharma, instruction in Chan meditation, construction projects, Buddhist chant, and the composition of music and lyrics.

He ended his term as abbot in 2005, when Venerable Hsin Pei was elected to the position of Abbot. Along with Master Hsing Yun, he is currently giving dharma lectures and presiding over Buddhist ceremonies around the world.

Hsin Ping

Hsin Ping was the fourth and fifth abbot of Fo Guang Shan, the to Venerable Master Hsing Yun, a renowned Buddhist master and founder of Fo Guang Shan. Hsin Ping was a forty-ninth of the Linji Ch'an school through Hsing Yun.

Venerable Hsin Ping entered the Buddhist sangha in 1963. Hsin Ping went on to receive the precepts under Master Tao Yuan of Hai Hui Temple in Keelung in 1963, and went on to attend Shou Shan Buddhist College and the Chinese Buddhist Research Institute at Fo Guang Shan. For lengths of time during the earliest days of Fo Guang Shan, Hsin Ping was stationed in the construction quarters. In 1973, he became first in line of Fo Guang Shan’s order of precedence.

Admired for his melodious voice in chanting and his kind, easygoing character, Hsin Ping was known to have been one of the best loved of the leading monastics. Shown for being sincere and compassionate towards monastics and lay practitioners, he, along with the support of monastics, built temples worldwide so they could strengthen the order as well as to propagate Buddhism. He had also made affinities with people through Buddhist music.

In April 1995, Hsin Ping died suddenly after suffering from illness. The Venerable Hsin Ting served the rest of Hsin Ping's term until 1997, when he was elected head abbot.

Hsin Pei

Hsin Pei is the seventh and current abbot and director of Fo Guang Shan, a Buddhist monastery and worldwide charity and religious organization, founded by Venerable Master Hsing Yun. Hsin Pei succeeded Venerable Hsin Ting in 2005. According to Fo Guang Shan's order of precedence, Hsin Pei is the second highest monastic in the order, and is second in line to the position of Head Teacher. He is a forty-ninth of the Linji Chan school.

Venerable Hsin Pei was born in Penghu in a rural Buddhist family. At a very young age, Hsin Pei already exhibited the qualities of kindness, compassion and tranquility. In 1990, he was fully ordained as a monk under the watchful guidance of then Fo Guang Shan abbot Master Hsing Yun and was given the Dharma name Hui Han .

Prior to his election as abbot, Hsin Pei was in charge of discipline action at Bei Hai Buddhist College as well as administration at the Male Buddhist University. He was also the assistant director of the Chán Center and well-versed in the tradition of every precept ceremony and the rules and regulations of the monastery. He has many times assumed the post of presiding in precept ceremonies and short-term monastic retreats.

Hsin Pei is often described in the order as modest in conduct, showing self disciplinary skills and adherence to the precepts. Because of his young age, he is often seen as a role model to younger generation of Buddhists, guiding and helping younger monastics and laity.

He also excels in the chanting of Buddhist music and often has led the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Monastic Choir to perform on the world stage and has won many high praises. In recent years, Hsin Pei has reached new heights with his performances in the "Sounds of the Ganges River", an album of Buddhist chanting recorded by the Fo Guang Shan monastic choir.