Name:

Dr Low Young San

Dr Low Young San

Designation

Lecturer

Organization/Institution

Science University

Country

MALAYSIA

Short Biography

A Doctor of Philosophy in Comparative Politics from the University of Malay Dr Low Young San is a lecturer of political science in school of Distance Education, Science University, Malaysia. Currently he is working on a book titled, Patterns of Ethnic Chinese Political Participation in Malaysia and Indonesia. He is actively associated with interfaith relationships and understanding besides Buddhist Societies in Malaysia. He has organized a number of Buddhist youth activities. He has also worked for a newspaper published in Kuala Lumpur.

Presentation

Promotion of Confucianism and Mahayana Buddhism Educations as a Resolution of Conflicts: With Special Reference to the Worldwide Efforts of Venerable Master Chin Kung of Amitabha Buddhist Society (ABS)

Generally, this paper seeks to identify the efforts of Venerable Master Chin Kung, through the worldwide network of Amitabha Buddhists Societies (ABS) of which he is the founder, in promoting Mahayana Buddhism and Confucianism educations as a resolution of contemporary human and political conflicts. In relation to Master Ching Kung’s endeavours, two main themes are identified and addressed in this paper. Firstly, the root causes of intra- and inter-nation conflicts and how the teachings of Mahayana Buddhism and Confucianism fit into the framework of resolution as well as prevention of human and political conflicts; and secondly, the restoration and promotion of world peace through intercultural and interfaith understanding, cooperation, and dialogues from the view points of Mahayana Buddhism and Confucianism. Ordained a Mahayana Buddhist monk in 1959 in Taiwan, Venerable Master Chin Kung has since been preaching Mahayana Buddhism, notably that of the Amitabha Pureland school, particularly to the Chinese speaking communities globally. He aptly attributes all conflicts and social illnesses, among others, to the decay of the most basic unit of social institution — the family institution, in which the most precious traditional values are no longer upheld and practised, and also, the degeneration of the nature of religious institutions from being educational to being purely ritual. In order to uproot the causes of conflicts and to restore peace, Venerable Master Chin Kung strongly advocates the revivalism of Confucianism and Mahayana Buddhism educations in Buddhist communities in particular. The traditional Chinese moral text such as “Dizigui” (The Standards for being a Good Child and Student), an ancient wisdom and guideline traceable to Confucius era on how to be a virtuous and morally upright person, is widely adopted; so is the Mahayana Buddhist sutra such as the Avatamsaka Sutra (also known as the Flower Adornment Sutra), which emphasizes virtuous values of filial piety, compassion (towards all living beings), tolerance and equality among different religions and ethnic groups. These endeavours are made viable through the well-established ABS network worldwide. Drawing on the premises of “human’s innate nature is complete kindness” and “equality among all people, events, and matters” underlying Confucianism and Mahayana Buddhism, Venerable Master Chin Kung (as well as ABS) embarks on numerous intercultural and interfaith dialogues and activities at both regional and international levels, in which he serves either as an active initiator or a participant, aimed at promoting interfaith understanding, resolving human conflicts, and, ultimately, restoring world peace. All these are attainable if the efforts of reintroducing “educational character” into all faiths are implemented successfully where the disciples of all faiths are educated to be true followers of their respective faith, as there is not a single religion in the world that endorses discrimination, let alone cruelty, against anyone of any faith, culture, ethnic origin, social class, territory, sex, and age.