佛光青年：尋人生意義，享佛光普照

Gaoxiong， Taiwan in March had infinite spring sceneries. In order to explore the secret of “Engaged Buddhism” and the establishment and development of the Buddha's Light International Youth League， the delegation of the International Ecological Safety Collaborative Organization （IESCO） drove to Fo Guans Shan in Dashu District of Gaoxiong. Along the road， we saw picturesque sceneries afar and brilliant purples and reds nearby. Pure and fresh smells of flowers， green grass and trees were everywhere and made the trip relaxing and comforting.

Unconsciously， the delegation stepped in the neat land of Fo Guang Shan. There was a big slogan： “Don’t do the evil but pursue the good” on the left side of the road. A pagoda with the characters of Fo Guang stood tall on the path ahead and the “Buddha Memorial Hall” stood solemnly on the right side of the road. The air was filled with sacred and solemn atmosphere.

Along the road， there was a gentle slope of paints of Buddhist allusions and then， we reached the gate of Fo Guang Shan. We saw No Second Gate in carpets of green grass and flowers， scenic spots of Lingshan， Guanyin Free Life Pond and Big Buddha City afterwards. In front of the Dendrocalamus Latiflorus Garden， there stood Huishi， a benevolent and kind looking meager master. After a simple conversation， we found the master was entirely different from the stereotype of Buddhists in our minds. His kindness， amity and sense of humor made the delegation feel like refreshed in the spring breeze. Master Huishi was very familiar with the legendary life of Master Hsing Yun， from a little monk having nothing at all to a global leader of Buddhism； and the romaunt of Fo Guang Shan， from a barren mountain to a holy land of Buddhism.

3月份的臺灣高雄，正值春光無限之際。為了探尋“人間佛教”的奧秘以及佛光青年的創(chuàng)立與發(fā)展過程，國際生態(tài)安全合作組織代表團(tuán)一行驅(qū)車前往位于高雄大樹區(qū)的佛光山。一路上視線所及之處，遠(yuǎn)處山清水秀，近處姹紫嫣紅。鮮花、青草、綠樹的清新味道四處彌漫，讓整個旅途變得輕松而愜意。

不知不覺中，代表團(tuán)一行已踏上佛光山的凈土——路左旁醒目地寫著“諸惡莫做，諸善奉行”的大標(biāo)語，路前方高聳著書有佛光二字的問道塔，路右方的“佛陀紀(jì)念館”肅穆而立，空氣中充斥著神圣而莊嚴(yán)的氣息。

汽車沿著路旁畫著一幅幅佛家典故的緩坡道繼續(xù)前行，轉(zhuǎn)眼便到了佛光山山門。隨之印入眼簾的是矗立于綠草如茵、繁花似錦中的不二門、靈山勝境、觀音放生池、大佛城……在麻竹園前，站立著一位慈眉善目、身材清瘦的法師——慧是。簡單交談之后，才發(fā)現(xiàn)眼前這位法師與人們刻板印象中的僧人截然不同。他的親切友善、風(fēng)趣幽默讓初來佛光山的代表團(tuán)如沐春風(fēng)。對于星云大師從一個一無所有的年輕小僧，發(fā)展成為全球佛教領(lǐng)袖的傳奇人物，對于佛光山從荒山化為寶殿的傳奇故事，慧是法師皆如數(shù)家珍。

When mentioning Dean Huichuan， the Chief Executive Officer of the Buddha's Light International Youth League and a leader of Fo Guang Shan besides Master Hsing Yun， master Huishi was also very respectful. According to him， Dean Huichuan is amiable， wise and voluble.

The later interview on Dean Huichuan proved his words. Through the introduction of Dean Huichuan， the reporter deeply understood the original intention of and significance on the founding of the Buddha's Light International Youth League by Master Hsing Yun.

提及國際佛光青年總團(tuán)部執(zhí)行長——慧傳院長，慧是法師對這位除星云大師以外的佛光山領(lǐng)袖同樣充滿著敬仰之情。在他眼里，慧傳院長隨和、睿智、健談……

在記者隨后對慧傳院長的采訪中，證實了慧是法師所言不虛。通過慧傳院長的介紹，記者更深刻地體會到星云大師創(chuàng)立佛光青年的初衷與意義。

UNITY： People think that temple groups generally give priority to cultivating monks， why did Master Hsing Yun have the idea of founding the league in the first place？

Dean Huichuan： In fact， when promoting the Buddha dharma， Master Hsing Yun paid much attention to the targets including both Buddhists and common people. He called for Engaged Buddhism， namely to bring daily life into the Buddha dharma and apply the Buddha dharma to daily life. The Buddha’s dharma should not be put on the shelf or locked in an ancient temple in a mountain. It should be accepted by ordinary people and help them change their minds and bodies. When applied in daily life， it would bring benefits to their lives. This is not exclusive to Buddhists but acceptable to everyone， even if you are not a Buddhist. Master Hsing Yun proposed： Do good things， say good words and has good will.” It should be observed not only by Buddhists but also by everybody.

The beginning of the youths’ Buddhism learning was not smooth. The Buddhist singing group was considered to be too subversive. Many people were dissatisfied and even threatened Master Hsing Yun. In this case， the master knew that only the mobilizing of youths could bring the real development of Buddhism. So he ignored the threats and kept moving forward.

Under the guidance of Engaged Buddhism， the Buddha's Light International Youth League was gradually formed and established in 1996. Master Hsing Yun put forward that we need to let the youths develop their Bodhisattva Hearts and strengths to serve the society. He made it clear that what we should do is to motivate the virtuous hearts and enthusiasm of serving the society of youths and guide a right direction for them to devote. From then on， I have been involved in the league affairs.

UNITY：一般人認(rèn)為，寺院團(tuán)體素來以培養(yǎng)僧侶為主，星云大師當(dāng)初為什么會有創(chuàng)立佛光青年的想法？

慧傳院長：其實，星云大師在弘揚(yáng)佛法的過程當(dāng)中，很注重出家眾和在家眾共同弘揚(yáng)佛法。星云大師提倡人間佛法，即希望能夠把佛法生活化，生活能夠佛法化。不應(yīng)該把佛法束之高閣，關(guān)在深山古剎里面。而是應(yīng)該把佛法這么美好的道理讓人們接受，能夠改變他們的身心，甚至于在日常生活當(dāng)中貫徹執(zhí)行，能夠?qū)λ麄兊纳兴鶐椭?。這已經(jīng)不是出家人的專利，而是所有大眾都能接受的理念，即便你不是佛教徒。就好像星云大師提倡的“三好四給”，即做好事、說好話、存好心，不僅出家人需要做，所有大眾都應(yīng)該要共同奉行。

青年學(xué)佛活動伊始并不順利，比如佛教歌詠隊活動，不少人認(rèn)為其太過于顛覆傳統(tǒng)，所以不滿星云大師的這一做法，甚至揚(yáng)言要對其不利。在這種情況之下，星云大師很清楚，只有把青年朋友帶動起來，佛教也才能真正蓬勃發(fā)展起來。所以他不理會這些要挾，仍然勇往直前。

在人間佛教理念的指導(dǎo)之下，佛光青年逐漸成形并于1996年正式誕生。星云大師提出，要讓青年人發(fā)揮其菩薩心、青年力，為社會大眾做更多的服務(wù)。當(dāng)時大師的這個理念已經(jīng)很明確地告訴我們，就是要把年輕人那股善良的心、愿意為大眾服務(wù)的熱情激發(fā)起來，引導(dǎo)一個正確方向，讓他們?nèi)シ瞰I(xiàn)。也是從那時起，我一直投身于佛光青年事務(wù)。

UNITY： The youths have always been the impetus of society， but they do have some problems. What is your opinion？

Dean Huichuan： In the “World Teenagers’ Forum” held in Boao， I summarized the youths’ situation in Taiwan with the three words of “otaku”， “tedious” and “slack” which mean that they always stay at home and do not want to go out； they are quiet and not talk to parents or people in real life， but communicate with computers， cell phones and the internet with their fingers. Then it turns out to be more serious and they become slack， meaning they lack concentration， since they cannot focus on their fields but just communicate in unlimited information.

Youths now are confronted with two aspects of difficulties， one is external and the other is internal. The external one means： They have course loads， then emotional burden when growing older and employment problems. Finally it may cause interpersonal alienation， tension between parents and children， the upsurge of self-awareness and the confusion of life direction. All these external elements come from internal problems. A book entitled The Youths’ Problem written by Master Hsing Yun 30 years ago mentioned eight key points. For example， some young people do not have compassion but are selfish and self-concerned； they are easy to become impatient and have no persistence， which means they are “slack” as I just mentioned before.

UNITY：青年一直都是社會的推動力，但是現(xiàn)在的青年，確實也存在一些問題，您怎么看這個問題？

慧傳院長：在“博鰲”舉辦的一個“世界青少年論壇”上，我用三個字總結(jié)了臺灣青年，就是“宅”“悶”“散”。即宅在自己家里不想出門；悶著不太跟家長或者現(xiàn)實生活中的人講話，而是用自己的手指跟電腦、手機(jī)對話，或者跟網(wǎng)絡(luò)對話。最后越來越宅，越來越悶，越來越散——散就是已經(jīng)不專心了，因為他沒有辦法專心于自己的領(lǐng)域，反而在無限的資訊當(dāng)中溝通聯(lián)系。

現(xiàn)在年輕人的困境有兩大方面，一個是外在因素，另一個是內(nèi)在因素。從外在的方面來看，他們有的有課業(yè)負(fù)擔(dān)，年紀(jì)大一點的有感情負(fù)擔(dān)，再大一點的面臨就業(yè)問題。最后可能會導(dǎo)致人際關(guān)系的疏離，親子關(guān)系的緊張，自我意識的高漲，不知道自己的生命方向……這些外在的因素其實源自于內(nèi)在的問題。星云大師在30年前寫了一本書叫做《青年的毛病》，提到了八大重點。比如，現(xiàn)在的年輕人不行慈而自私，也就是不行慈悲心，而自私自利；不耐煩而又無恒，就是剛才說的那個“散”。

UNITY： Are these part of the development of the Buddha's Light International Youth League？

Dean Huichuan： Yes. Since they have such kind of problems， we want them to change and have healthy personalities. A Bodhisattva Heart relates to mercy and wisdom deep in mind， and we need them to give an external display of the force， which is the strength of youths.

UNITY：這些也是佛光青年發(fā)展歷程的一部分？

慧傳院長：對，因為他們有這些問題，我們當(dāng)然就希望他們能夠改變，成為一個人格健全的人。菩薩心就是我們內(nèi)心的這種慈悲、智慧，我們需要把他們的這股力量外在表現(xiàn)出來，就是青年的活力。

UNITY： It is also a humanistic guidance for the youths.

Dean Huichuan： Yes. There were some disasters in the mainland recently， and many volunteers hurried off to the front line. They already have the strength but are scattered around， and a completed system can help them do more things.

UNITY：也是對青年人性的一個引導(dǎo)。

慧傳院長：對。我最近看到大陸有幾次災(zāi)難，很多志愿者積極奔赴在第一線。他們已經(jīng)有這股力量，只不過還是一個分散的點，如果制度更健全，相信可以做更多的事情。

UNITY： What have been the major activities carried out by the Buddha's Light International Youth League？

Dean Huichuan： In principle we hold the “International Buddha’s Light Young Adult Conference” once a year. Since the establishment in 1996 and the first“International Buddha’s Light Young Adult Conference” in 1997， the conference has been held every year except in 1999. It sometimes is held in Taiwan， sometimes overseas.

UNITY：到現(xiàn)在為止，佛光青年部分都開展了哪些比較大型的活動？

慧傳院長：我們原則上一年會辦一次活動，叫“國際佛光青年會議”。從1996年成立，到1997年舉辦“第一次國際佛光青年會議”，除了1999年之外，佛光青年會議從來沒有停過。有時候在臺灣，有時候在海外。

UNITY： Do the participants all come from the league？

Dean Huichuan： Generally， yes. But there are other groups. When staying at home， they do not know what course to follow for their own life. They are not like this in the beginning when they were full of hope， promise and development. We need to recognize this and push them forward， and it is why we introduce the conference to the whole world.

What’s more， for those young people from the five continents who cannot gather together every year， we hold a meeting every year in every continent. And we found that， the promotion of Buddhism would be disjointed when dealing with those youths who disagree with Chinese culture. If they recognize the Chinese culture and can speak Chinese， they would be closer and closer to you. I gradually found that these activities were very meaningful. The Chinese culture can be passes on and the youths start to acknowledge and apply Buddhism.

UNITY：這個會議的參加人員都是佛光青年的成員嗎？

慧傳院長：大致上都是，也有另外的團(tuán)隊。年輕人憋在家里時，他不知道自己的人生該何去何從。一般的年輕人開始時絕對不是這樣，他同樣充滿了希望、前途、發(fā)展。我們需要看到這一點，讓他往前沖，這也是我們將會議推向世界各地的原因之一。

另外，對于分布在五大洲的那些無法每年聚在一起的青年，我們的做法是每一個洲每年辦一次聚會。在這個過程中我們發(fā)現(xiàn)，對于不認(rèn)同中華文化的青年人，佛教文化的普及也會脫節(jié)。如果認(rèn)同了中華文化，會講中文，他就跟你越來越親近。后來我慢慢發(fā)現(xiàn)，佛光青年的這些活動很有意義。中華文化得已傳播下去，他們對佛教也開始認(rèn)同，也開始自覺行佛了。

UNITY： What were the setbacks in these years？

Dean Huichuan： Resistance came at the beginning. For example， we invited young people to come， but they would not like to. And it was the hardest part， I think. Because it was not a concert for them to go after the stars and boring preach could attract them. Some of them left after a while when losing the feeling of freshness. But difficulties stimulated us to think how to make youths be more confident and want to stay to make contributions. At first， we carried out some activities， and then these were not able to draw their attentions， so we needed to find things for them to do and provided Buddha’s dharma for them to listen to. Their talents should be given the role to play and to be affirmed through two ways. At last， there would be unexpected gains.

UNITY：佛光青年這么多年遇到過什么挫折？

慧傳院長：一開始都會遇到阻力。比如，我們邀請年輕人來參加，但他們開始并不是都愿意，這是我覺得最困難的部分。因為我們不是演唱會，沒有明星讓他們追求，枯燥地講道并不能吸引他們。也有一些青年參與了一段時間以后，新鮮感沒有了，他會選擇離開。但是，困境能夠激發(fā)我們?nèi)ニ伎既绾巫屇贻p人能夠更有信心，更愿意留在這個地方奉獻(xiàn)發(fā)揮。比如剛開始時會舉辦一些活動，接下來只是舉辦活動已經(jīng)不能吸引他們，所以還要讓他們有事可以做，有佛法可以聽聞。通過兩種方式，他們的優(yōu)勢才能得以發(fā)揮和肯定。最后，往往會有意外的收獲。

UNITY： What are the subjects of these activities？

Dean Huichuan： We start from the perspectives of Zen and culture and do not drag Buddhism in. Then problems are solved since the participants are not all Buddhism learners.

UNITY：這些活動的主題一般都是什么？

慧傳院長：我們從禪學(xué)、從文化的角度去探討，不要把它牽涉到佛、佛教上來，問題就很好解決了，因為參與的人不見得都是學(xué)習(xí)佛教的學(xué)生。

UNITY： What are the plans for the future development of the Buddha's Light International Youth League？

Dean Huichuan： Besides the conferences and activities held nowadays， we hope the youths become important followers and leaders to inherit and popularize the concept of Engaged Buddhism. We will host the “International Buddha’s Light Young Adult Conference” from July 10th to 13th this year and welcome young people to join us.

UNITY：佛光青年對于將來的發(fā)展有何規(guī)劃？

慧傳院長：將來除了現(xiàn)在舉辦的會議、活動以外，也希望年輕人能夠成為重要的信徒，重要的干部，繼續(xù)傳承、推廣人間佛教理念。今年7月10-13日，我們將舉辦“國際佛光青年大會”，歡迎廣大青年人參與其中。

UNITY： How to become a member of the league？

Dean Huichuan： We have branch missions all over the world and people can apply to join in. At present， there is no one in the mainland. We need to lay a solid foundation and if permitted by the law， we will set up branch missions in the mainland.

UNITY：怎樣才能成為佛光青年的一員？

慧傳院長：佛光會在世界各地都有分會，通過申請加入這個團(tuán)體即可。目前，大陸還沒有分團(tuán)。我們要先扎好根基，如果法令上允許的話，將來有機(jī)緣就會在大陸設(shè)立分團(tuán)。

UNITY： We should promote the activities and purpose of the league among young people to let them feel the power of themselves and then to deal with difficulties in society.

Dean Huichuan： Yes. In this way， they will not be affected by the surrounding environment and have a central value that they will not go with the flow. When a person has a complete personality， he would start from himself and then gradually influence others. It is what the Master called “A World of Five Harmonies”， namely “self-harmony”， “family harmony”， “people-to-people harmony”， “social harmony” and “world peace”. If you feel peaceful and happy， you are confident of yourself and know your direction. All of these external miscellaneous problems cannot disturb you that you would be truly happy and satisfied.

UNITY：應(yīng)該在廣大青年當(dāng)中推廣佛光青年的活動、宗旨等，讓所有的青年都感受到自身內(nèi)心的強(qiáng)大，然后再來應(yīng)對社會上困難。

慧傳院長：對。這樣他們就不太會受到周圍環(huán)境的影響，而且自己有一個中心價值觀念，就不會隨波逐流。一個人人格健全了以后，他先從自己開始，然后再慢慢地影響擴(kuò)散到別人。所以大師講“五和的世界”，即“自心和悅”、“家庭和順”、“人我和敬”、“社會和諧 ”、“世界和平”。如果你自心和悅，那就是你對自己都已經(jīng)很有自信了，知道自己的方向了，外面所有的這些雜七雜八的問題，已經(jīng)干擾不了你了，你才能夠自心和悅快樂起來。