Volume five of Studies on Humanistic Buddhism contains eight articles translated from Chinese, one article that was written in English, and four student papers. The theme of the articles is Humanistic Chan Buddhism, particularly Fo Guang Chan as developed by Venerable Master Hsing Yun. The articles in this volume give us a taste of the flavor of Chan. We see that Chan is both prosaic and profound. Chan emphasizes the cultivation of wisdom through practice in everyday life.
Volume four of Studies on Humanistic Buddhism contains eight translated articles, two commentaries, two original articles, and a perspective piece all relating to human life. Human life is a topic with a vast scope. It was chosen because it is central to Humanistic Buddhism. As several articles in this volume and previous volumes discuss, Humanistic Buddhism developed as a response to the perception that Buddhism no longer related directly to human life. By the nineteenth century in China, Buddhism was seen to provide what came to be mainly perfunctory rituals to be performed upon the death of a family member. Humanistic Buddhism revived Buddhism as an intrinsic part of daily life.
