Of Benefit to Oneself and Others: A Critique of the Six Perfections [Paperback]

Venerable Master Hsing Yun (Author), Dr. John Balcom (Translator) (Author), Brenda Bolinger (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2002

The six perfections (paramitas), namely: giving charity, upholding the precepts, patience, diligence, meditation, and prajna-wisdom are often thought of as part of the Mahayana Buddhism's bodhisattva path. The word paramita in Sanskrit means to cross over ; the implication is that by practicing these perfections, one can cross over from Samsara (the world of birth, death, and suffering) to Nirvana (the ultimate bliss).

Venerable Master Hsing Yun writes, These six perfections will benefit not only others but the one who practices them as well. They are for the liberation of others and also for oneself; they belong to others and oneself.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The book: A Critique of the Six Perfections Provides valuable insight into the Buddhist perspective on life. -- Tom Manzo / Professor of Foreign Languages San Antonio College, Texas

About the Author

Founder of the Fo Guang Shan (Buddha's Light Mountain) Buddhist Order and the Buddha's Light International Association, Venerable Master Hsing Yun has dedicated his life to teaching Humanistic Buddhism, which seeks to realize spiritual cultivation in everyday living.

Master Hsing Yun is the 48th Patriarch of the Linji Chan School. Born in Jiangsu Province, China in 1927, he was tonsured under Venerable Master Zhikai at the age of twelve and became a novice monk at Qixia Vinaya College. He was fully ordained in 1941 following years of strict monastic training. When he left Jiaoshan Buddhist College at the age of twenty, he had studied for almost ten years in a monastery.

Due to the civil war in China, Master Hsing Yun moved to Taiwan in 1949 where he undertook the revitalization of Chinese Mahayana Buddhism. He began fulfilling his vow to promote the Dharma by starting chanting groups, student and youth groups, and other civic-minded organizations with Leiyin Temple in Ilan as his base. Since the founding of Fo Guang Shan monastery in Kaohsiung in 1967, more than two hundred temples have been established worldwide. Hsi Lai Temple, the symbolic torch of the Dharma spreading to the West, was built in 1988 near Los Angeles.

Master Hsing Yun has been guiding Buddhism on a course of modernization by integrating Buddhist values into education, cultural activities, charity, and religious practices. To achieve these ends, he travels all over the world, giving lectures and actively engaging in religious dialogue. The Fo Guang Shan organization also oversees sixteen Buddhist colleges and four universities, one of which is the University of the West in Rosemead, California.

Over the past fifty years, Master Hsing Yun has written many books teaching Humanistic Buddhism and defining its practice. Whether providing insight into Buddhist sutras, human nature, or inter-religious exchange, he stresses the need for respect, compassion, and tolerance among all beings in order to alleviate suffering in this world. His works have been translated into English, French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Singhalese, Swedish, Thai, Vietnamese, and Spanish.

Product Details

• Paperback: 92 pages
• Publisher: Buddha's Light Publishing; First Edition edition (February 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971561265
• ISBN-13: 978-0971561267
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,596,568 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Venerable Master Hsing Yun is a Chinese Buddhist monk, author, philanthropist, and founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order, which has branches throughout Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. Ordained at the age of twelve in Jiangsu Province, China, Master Hsing Yun has spent his over seventy years as a Buddhist monk building what he calls Humanistic Buddhism: Buddhism that meets the needs of people and is integrated into all aspects of life.

In 1949, Master Hsing Yun came to Taiwan and began to nurture the new burgeoning Buddhist culture in Taiwan. He served as an editor and contributor to many Buddhist magazines and periodicals, authoring the daily columns "Between Ignorance and Enlightenment," "Dharma Words," and "Hsing Yun's Chan Talk," as well as starting his own Buddhist magazine, "Awakening the World," in 1957, and the first daily Buddhist newspaper, the "Merit Times," in 2000. Master Hsing Yun authored many important works including the "Song of Silence," the "Biography of Sakyamuni Buddha," and "National Master Yulin." Master Hsing Yun also edited and sponsored the Fo Guang Encyclopedia, the most authoritative Buddhist reference work in the Chinese language. His contributions have reached as far as sponsoring Buddhist music and art, to creating Buddhist programming for television, radio, and the stage.