Centre for the Study of Humanistic Buddhism, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

2022

Topic:

A Modern Interpretation of the AvalOkiteSVara Induction Faith

Speaker:

Professor Li Li’an (Director of Buddhism Research Institute of NorthWest University)

Date:

4 Nov 2022 (Friday)

Time:

19:00~21:00

Format:

Online mode

Venue:

ZOOM Meeting, ZOOM ID: 910 6024 1050

Language:

Mandarin

Introduction

Different from the relationship between human and God in monotheism, the relationship between saints and mortals in Buddhism not only transcends the duality of opposition, but also creates a variety of intermediary sacred symbols in the connection between saints and mortals. The most typical embodiment should be the Avalokitesvara induction faith in Chinese Buddhism. This kind of faith us-es various sacred symbols to construct the relationship between sentient beings and Avalokitesvara, forming faith forms such as idol induction, holy name induction, Sutra induction, Bodhi Manda induction, and mantra induction, so as to diversify the connection channels between sentient beings and Avalokitesvara. The sacred resources of Avalokitesvara are in a state of multiple segmentation, which greatly enhances the convenience, pervasiveness and secularity of Avalokitesvara faith, and greatly enhanced the convenience, diffusiveness and secularity of Avalokitesvara faith, the cultural phenomena stimulated by this, such as the development of figurative art, the popularization of classics, the rise of famous mountains, and the popularity of names and mantras, have become indispensable elements in the overall construction and development mechanism of Chinese Buddhism.

Speaker

Li Li’an, Ph.D. in History, second-level professor of Chinese Religious History at NorthWest Universi-ty. Director of the Buddhism Research Institute at Northwest University, Dean of the Xuanzang Re-search Institute, a guest researcher at the Buddhist Studies Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, an honorary professor of the Institute of Humanistic Buddhism of Taiwan, and a post-graduate supervisor of Buddhist Academy of Zhejiang, Putuoshan College of the Buddhist Academy of China, and Jianzhen Buddhist College. He mainly engaged in research on the history of Buddhist faith, and published ten books such as The Origin and Spread of Guanyin Faith, Four Great Bodhisattvas and Folk Beliefs, Northern and Southern Dynasties Buddhist Chronicles and other works; in "Philosophical Studies", "Studies in World Religions", "Chinese Philosophy History" He also published more than 200 papers in various domestic and foreign newspapers and periodicals; He pre-sided over and completed a number of national social science funded projects such as the key project of the National Social Science Foundation of China "Research on Avalokitesvara Faith in Han China during the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties" etc..