The first two English-language volumes of the Lamp Transmission Record of Humanistic Buddhism by Venerable Master Hsing Yun recently debuted at Fo Guang Shan Nan Tien Temple in Australia. The launch marks a historic milestone in bringing the late Dharma master’s lifelong teachings to the English-speaking world, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order and the centenary of Master Hsing Yun’s birth.

The launch was held on 20 June alongside an academic workshop hosted at the Fo Guang Shan Nan Tien Temple and Nan Tien Institute in Australia. The occasion drew more than 500 monastics, international scholars, and devotees from Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and other regions, both in person and online.

Lamp Transmission Record of Humanistic Buddhism by Venerable Master Hsing Yun details the Dharmic vision and contributions of Master Hsing Yun. Drawing from an extensive body of teachings, it conveys the essence of Humanistic Buddhism, which brings the Dharma into everyday life through wisdom, compassion, and active practice.

Co-translated and compiled through close collaboration between the Fo Guang Shan (FGS) Institute of Humanistic Buddhism and Nan Tien Institute, the monumental six-volume series serves as a companion guide to the 395-volume The Complete Works of Venerable Master Hsing Yun. It systematically maps out the late Master’s lifetime of over 40 million words of Dharma teachings.

Under the guidance of the deputy chancellor of the FGS Institute of Humanistic Buddhism, Ven. Miao Guang, and director of the Centre for Humanistic Buddhism at Nan Tien Institute, Ven. Juewei, the editorial team completed the first two volumes in a single year. The complete six-volume English set is scheduled for publication by September 2027, with the expectation that it will inspire further translations into additional global languages.

The head abbot of Fo Guang Shan, Ven. Hsin Bau, delivered the opening address via video, urging the global community to take the Master Hsing Yun’s aspiration as their own to realize his compassionate vow to “let the Dharma stream flow across all five continents.”

Special assistant at the Fo Guang Shan Founder’s Quarters, Ven. Tzu Hui, remarked that the text functioned as a spiritual torch, illuminating the path of cultivation for Buddhist practitioners and opening a gateway for global readers to understand Humanistic Buddhism.

In his welcoming remarks, Prof. Alistair Noble, president of Nan Tien Institute, noted that as the first Buddhist tertiary institution in Australia, the institute considered it deeply meaningful to contribute to the birth of the English-language edition.

Prof. Noble expressed the hope that the text would serve as a bridge for “dialogue between East and West, allowing the wisdom of Humanistic Buddhism to take root and flourish in the English-speaking world, while responding to the contemporary search for spiritual grounding and meaningful ways of living.”

The text itself is constructed around two core spiritual and academic values:

Ten Perspectives of Humanistic Buddhism: based on a structural framework established by Prof. Cheng Gongrang, editor-in-chief of the Chinese edition and director of the Centre for the Buddhist Thought and Humanistic Buddhism Studies at Shanghai University, the work outlines Master Hsing Yun’s 10 major contributions to Buddhism. These encompass theoretical systems, practical development, monastic and devotee roles, international propagation, and modernization.

Global Lamp Transmission: balancing tradition and modernity, the translation reflects Master Hsing Yun’s seamless integration of prajna (Skt: transcendental wisdom) and upaya (Skt: skillful means), as a means to engage in daily spiritual cultivation to uncover the inherent treasures of one’s own mind.

The launch ceremony featured a keynote talk by Prof. Cheng Gongrang, who pointed out that the work “draws upon the fundamental spirit of the traditional Buddhist lamp transmission records and carries forward the Buddhist ideal of ‘transmitting the lamp.’” Far from being merely a subject of academic study, he noted that it reflected Master Hsing Yun’s integration of “prajna wisdom and skillful means” to present Buddhism’s practical wisdom in response to the realities of the modern world.

Detailing the translation process, Ven. Miao Guang highlighted the meticulous, word-by-word revisions undertaken to ensure the English rendering remained faithful to the core Dharma while resonating within Western linguistic and intellectual contexts. She emphasized that the transmission of the lamp transcended linguistic and cultural boundaries, relying entirely on a practitioner’s willingness to shoulder the propagation of the Dharma.

A sacred lamp-lighting ceremony formally commemorated the launch. It was jointly officiated by the chief abbess of FGS Temples in Australia and New Zealand, Ven. Man Ko; Prof. Cheng; Prof. Noble; and Ven. Miao Guang.

Coinciding with the 60th anniversary of Fo Guang Shan and the centenary of Master Hsing Yun’s birth, the launch was held alongside the Lamp Transmission Record Workshop and the 12th Symposium on Humanistic Buddhism to deepen contemporary doctrinal research.

Organizers concluded the event by affirming that the English-language edition stood as a profound invitation to the English-speaking world to inherit and pass on the lamp of wisdom, ensuring the continuity of the Dharma lineage across generations and cultures.

Venerable Hsing Yun was the founding patriarch of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order and the Buddha’s Light International Association in Taiwan, and a leading figure in the Humanistic Buddhism movement.

Ven. Hsing Yun is popularly known in Taiwan as one of the “Four Heavenly Kings” of Buddhism, the others being: Master Cheng Yen of Tzu Chi; Master Sheng Yen, founder of Dharma Drum Mountain; and Master Wei Chueh, founder of Chung Tai Shan. These four global Buddhist orders, correspondingly known as the “Four Great Mountains,” have grown to become among the most influential Chinese Buddhist organizations in the world.

See more

English Edition of the Lamp Transmission Record of Humanistic Buddhism by Venerable Master Hsing Yun Launched at Nan Tien Temple in Australia (The Merit Times)
Handing Down the Light Globally: The English Edition of Lamp Transmission Record of Humanistic Buddhism by Venerable Master Hsing Yun is Now Released (The Merit Times)
Lamp Transmission Record of Humanistic Buddhism by Venerable Master Hsing Yun (Fo Guang Shan Online Service)

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