Interview Transcript

Interviewer: Please introduce yourself Chun-fang Yu: My name is Chun-fang Yu, and Im a professor of religion at Columbia University. Interviewer: Are you a Buddhist? Chun-fang Yu: Yes, Im a Buddhist. Interviewer: How long have you been practicing this religion? Chun-fang Yu: I think um lets see, I think I became a Buddhist formally in 1976. Interviewer: How were you introduced into Buddhism? Chun-fang Yu: UmI met a Buddhist master at Taiwan, his name is Sheng Yen. He was in New York, teaching about Buddhism, specifically about Chan meditation, or Zhan meditation. So I became his disciple. Interviewer: Why did you became a professor at Buddhism? Chun-fang Yu: Um I came to this country, I was um actually born in China, and I lived in Taiwan. I was always interested in Buddhism. Now after I came to this country and started religion, I found out that I was really interested in sharing my knowledge about Buddhism with young American people. So thats why I became a professor at Buddhism. Interviewer: What is Buddhism? Chun-fang Yu: Buddhism is a religion founded by a man who was called the Buddha, and the Buddha means the Enlightened One, or the Awakened One. In about six century before the Common Era, and it is actually the first universal religion. Namely, it is a religion not restricted to anybody to your country or anybody to your ethnicity. It was spread from India to the rest of Asia. And now from 20th century, its also introduced to Europe and America. Interviewer: How did Buddhism spread? Chun-fang Yu: Um By missionaries, by monks. They came first to central Asia, they followed the Silk Road, or the Caravan Trade. And they arrive in China, so from China it was spread to Korea and Japan. But also, its another transmission is to Sri Lanka, and also Southeast Asia. So its by missionary monks. Interviewer: And why was it so successful? Chun-fang Yu: I think its because of the teaching. The Buddhism teaching of compassion, I think thats the main teaching that we should be kind, not only to all fellow human beings, but we should be kind to all creatures, you know, including animals. UmWe have to be a good person, we do not do evil, and we should be good. And we purify our mind, so thats the central teaching. And thats very appealing to many people who heard about it.

Interviewer: What are some teachings of the Buddha and what themes exist in its teachings? Chun-fang Yu: The first sermon of the Buddha to achieve enlightenment is called the Four Noble Truths. The Four Noble Truths I think represent a basic teaching. And the first noble is that life involve suffering. The second noble truth is that suffering is caused by desire. The third noble truth is that desire can be stopped, and that is nirvana. Nirvana is no more suffering. And finally, the fourth noble truth, which is called the Eightfold Noble Path. And it teaches a life of middle way. So its neither extreme central pleasure nor extreme asceticism. Interviewer: What are some other main figures in this religion other than the Buddha? Chun-fang Yu: I think for many Buddhists aside from the Buddha there is a figure called Kuan Yin. Kuan Yin is a sound observer, and in India and other Buddhist countries, this figure is male. But after Buddhism is introduced into China. Gradually, he became a she. So many Chinese worship Kuan Yin as a goddess of mercy. She is the most compassionate figure, also come to the rescue of people who are in trouble, just by calling the name. So when you call the name of Kuan Yin, then you immediately receive help from her. Interviewer: And you did write a book about it? Chun-fang Yu: Yes, yes I did Interviewer: Tell me about your experience about Buddhism Chun-fang Yu: I think I first I started Buddhism as an academic discipline. But gradually, I met Buddhist masters, particularly master Sheng Yen. I started meditation with him, I started to take the Buddhism teachings into my own life. So I find, it is a... the teaching really help me a great deal as a person. Interviewer: Ok. What is the most appealing part about Buddhism for you? Chun-fang Yu: I think the teaching of compassion, that we should treat others with kindness, is very appealing. But another teaching, is we have to train out mind. Our suffering is usually caused by our confusing way of thinking. And, that is something we can try to correct through meditation. So I think the teaching of meditation, the teaching that you can we can help ourselves instead of relying on external force, is also very appealing for me. Interviewer: How has Buddhism shaped your life? Chun-fang Yu: Well, I think Buddhism makes me more positive, about life. And also makes me not just think about myself, but always think for try to think and to look at everything from others point of view. And I think that been very helpful to me as a teacher. Interviewer: In your opinion, what is meditation and what do you gain from it? Chun-fang Yu: Meditation basically means to concentrate, instead of thinking many different things, you know, you should concentrate on one thing. They start with mindfulness that means you are always aware what you are doing. So meditation starts after you have achieved this mindfulness. In Buddhism, there are many kinds of Buddhism. The one that Im most familiar with is called the Chan or Zhan meditation. And Zhan meditation, concentrate on your breathing,

and do nothing, just concentrate on your inhaling and exhaling, and not think of any other things. So this would be the beginning part. And gradually, as you become more proficient at Zhan, you can forget about the counting of the breathing, but just be focused on the very simple act of breathing in and breathing out. Interviewer: What is the impact of Buddhism in China and its culture? Chun-fang Yu: Buddhism was introduced into China in the 1st century, so Buddhism has been in China for two thousand years. So one can say that Buddhism has impacted in all aspects of Chinese culture, from philosophy, literature, art, architecture, and of course, religion. Out in the Peoples belief, its very much influenced by Buddhism teachings. Interviewer: Can you go more in detail about literature? Chun-fang Yu: I think... I would say from the belief of the common people, because before the coming of Buddhism, theres no concept of what happens to us after we die. Now Buddhism introduced idea of Karma, and Samsara. The Karma means whatever we think, we do, we speak, has an effect. So, the good action, will get good result. Bad, will get bad result. And depending on the quality of your life, the next birth will be different. It can be better or worse. So this idea, you know, is absorbed into literature. Many of Chinese literature talks about a persons life from one incarnation to another. You know, for instance, Mo Yan, the author who received Nobel Prize in literature, he wrote a novel based on the idea of rebirth, or transmigration. So that is just one example how Buddhist beliefs affected even 21th century literature. Interviewer: How do you think it affected Chinese art and architecture? Chun-fang Yu: Well, architecture is everywhere we see. In China, we see Buddhism temples. And in Buddhist temples, there would be images, images of Buddha, Bodhisattvas, and other holy beings. Before the introduction of Buddhism, there was no image in art. And of course, also no temple. Buddhist art as in probably... is one of the most developed art form in China. Starting from the cave temples of Dunhuang, even to contemporary art. You can find the seams, of Buddhism. Interviewer: What do you think separates Buddhism from the rest of the religions? Chun-fang Yu: I think the most important difference that Buddhism does not talk about creation, god who is a creator, who is a judge. So this very different from the western religions, such as Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Because Buddhism says, that all of us, we have Buddha nature in us, that means, we can all actually become enlightened, we can become Buddhas. So Buddha is not a god, but rather, hes a model. He teaches how to live a life so we can also become enlightened, like he did, I think that is really the most important difference from other religions. Interviewer: How do you think Buddhism affected China economically? Chun-fang Yu: Well, I think throughout the history of Chinese Buddhism, this idea of merit, that people by donating money, to the monastery, by building monastery, by offering food, clothes, also necessity to the monks and nuns. You can create merit, now the merit will help you to have a better rebirth in the future. So theres a kind of neutral dependence between the Buddhist outer, and the society and the large. Namely, people in the society who contribute, or support

the monasteries financially, and by turn, Buddhism can offer a hope of a better rebirth, or salvation to the society. So with time, this treatment does accumulation of wealthy in Buddhism outer. So this periodically, caused reaction, in pre-modern China, sometimes Buddhism became persecuted, because of this enormous wealthy. On the other hand, Buddhism also served in premodern China, as a place of education for people who couldnt afford to go to a governments course. So in that way, it served a social function. And also, many monks and nuns would go to remote areas, to open up fields or build road, build bridges. So it contributed to the development of society. So I would say, it supposed Buddhism has relied on the contribution economic, financial support of society, but it also returned to society by the services it can offer. Interviewer: Okay, I think thats it for questions, thank you so much for your support. That was really nice to meet you.