362 Part 4: Higher Education, Lifelong Learning and Social Inclusion DONG ZHAO BUDDHIST ECHOES IN UNIVERSITY EDUCATION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CHINA AND CANADA1 Abstract Postmodern university education should provide students with, among other things, a third eye of wisdom to see the world and themselves. The enculturation of Buddhism in university education serves to realize this grand aim. This paper first examines the historical development and practical significance of the Buddhist components in both Chinese and Canadian contexts. Based on the cases of representative universities in the two countries, it then analyzes the permeation of Buddhism in the two countries’ university education, comparing the implications of Buddhist education in their respective higher-learning contexts. The findings indicate how, in their own ways, Chinese and Canadian universities employ Buddhist concepts in shaping students’ morality, enriching the humanistic and / or liberal education and assisting students in adapting to the changing world. Buddhism and Society in Postmodern Contexts: The Case of China Buddhism in China is more than 2,000 years old. Its greatest popularity and climactic development was in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). As New China walked on the road of socialism, religion was undergoing a revival. As life gets more materialistically oriented, and urban pressures increase, spiritual needs are becoming more of a necessity than other modern conveniences. Buddhism is showing signs of vigorous life in the cities and countryside of China as a result of its vitality to adjust itself to modern conditions. This strong resurgence of Buddhism in contemporary China, such as the renovation of monasteries, the various Buddhist ceremonies and cultural festivals may be explained by the softening or flexibility of the Communist Party’s policy towards religions after the Reform and Open policies in the early 80s of the 20th century.2 Buddhism helps the present-day Chinese to find meaning and value in a rapidly changing society. The Chinese culture has always emphasized the importance of combining moral education and skills training. This point was stressed by the Confucian tradition that employees tools to help students to cultivate “the core of values fostering a spirit of self-discipline, family solidarity, public morality and social responsibility” (Yao, 2003, p. 283). Chinese philosophy and Buddhist wisdom have helped in the overall development of Chinese students and intelligentsia. Humanistic Buddhism advocated by Master Taixu and others focuses on personal development in the mundane world for the benefit of oneself and others dwelling in the secular society as well as the equality and love of all living creatures and the environment. Its goals of personal refinement, the improvement of individual and social life, success in this 1 This paper is supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, No. 2009JJ075. 2 For an insightful critique of Chinese religious policy, refer to Leung, B. (2005). Dong Zhao 363 world and the hereafter, and elevating ethical development all contribute to all-round development of an individual in the postmodern society. Generally speaking, Buddhist education aims at training humans to deliver themselves out of suffering. The greatest treasure or asset of Buddhist philosophy is education in wisdom and the resultant virtue from the product of Buddhist enlightenment. The Chinese government has realized that it is unwise to discard Chinese ancient civilization or wisdom; rather, it should be rekindled to compete with the prevalent westernization of the Chinese youth. The natural result of this orientation is the resurgence and the popularity of Chan Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism and other sects of Buddhism in China today. The positive and soul-reaching influence of Buddhist education upon human society is evident during the course of its development in China. Since Confucianism, for all its systematic doctrines of an ideal social structure, emphasizes too much on people’s abiding attachment to individual and social achievements, Buddhism offers the much needed morality based on altruism in order to achieve the healthy development of the nation. As I argue, the Buddhist enculturation in education is to infuse moral and spiritual values into the present materialistic and technical education practice, for the modern education cannot solve crises and conflicts incurred by current world developments. Buddhism can show or remind the modern people what they should do to preserve the world, nature and all sentient beings in it. Buddhism and Society in Postmodern Contexts: The Case of Canada There are two major means by which Canadians have contacted and benefited from Buddhism, the transformative teaching from Asia: through immigrants from Asian countries and through universities and colleges that teach and research Buddhism. Chinese and Japanese workers who came to Canada to work on the railroads first brought Buddhism to Canada. In 1905, the first Buddhist temple was set up in British Columbia, and was moved to Vancouver the next year. The largest Buddhist organization in Canada was created by the Japanese Jodo Shinshu sect of Buddhism, with temples set up in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. A substantial expansion of Buddhism in Canada began in the last half of the 20th century. During and after World War II, with a large number of Japanese- Canadians moving to Alberta, this province became the most important place for Buddhism in Canada. As Terry Watada comments, “The revival of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism from near eradication is attributable to the exile of Japanese Canadians from the West Coast to Southern Alberta” (Watada, 1996). Alberta thus became the cradle of the academic study of Buddhism in North America. This monastic orientation in the spread of Buddhism in Canada was later replaced by Zen Buddhism, which believed in the potential Buddha-hood for all. The monumental event for this epoch-making transition was marked by the establishment of The Zen Lotus Society in 1967 by Venerable Samu Sunim. The name of the Society was changed to Buddhist Society for Compassionate Wisdom, a North American Buddhist Order with five mission operations: in Ann Arbor, Chicago, New York City, Toronto, and Mexico City. The significance of this change is that Buddhism in Canada, after more than two decades of Asian styles of monasticism, is now open to all people who wish to seek enlightenment and 364 Buddhist Echoes in University Education: A Comparative Study of China and Canada liberation from the anxieties and sufferings in the postmodern complexities of the world. Zen emphasizes the attainment of enlightenment and the personal direct insight in the Buddhist teachings, playing down on the importance of sutras and doctrines and favoring direct understanding through zazen and interaction with a master. The Zen Buddhist mission centers in Canada aim to propagate the meditation movement to initiate a culture of enlightenment and green spirituality. The Universal Buddhist Temple, as a traditional Chinese Buddhist temple in Vancouver, practices Pure Land and Chan (Zen) Buddhism with Confucian and Taoist spirituality tendencies. The temple focuses on meditation and parapsychology to help maintain the psychological and spiritual well-being of the Canadians. Moreover, the international Buddhist movements from Taiwan—the Amitabha Buddhist Societies, the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Association, Dharma Drum Mountain, Foguangshan, True Buddha school—all have multiples centers in various parts of Canada (Irons, 2008). In sum, a variety of factors have combined to greatly increase the Buddhist presence in Canada. As Kenneth Tanaka (Prebish & Tanaka, 1998, p. 294) has pointed out, The plurality of religions also characterizes the Buddhist groups as well, for virtually every school of Buddhism has now found a foothold on American soil. These schools now exist side by side, often in the same community – a situation unthinkable in Asia, where they often had no knowledge of each other. With Buddhism becoming a major religion in Canada over the last half-century, it is no longer ‘ethnic’ associated only with immigrant Asian people; there is also a growing constituency of Euro-Canadian Buddhists conscientiously dedicated to the faith. At present, close to 500 Buddhist organizations (including temples, centers, associations, retreats, charities, businesses, etc.) are prospering in Canada, manifesting the doctrines and practices of the entire spectrum of Buddhist schools in Asia and guiding an estimated number of 250,000 adherents.3 According to the 2001 census, the number of Buddhists increased 84% to about 300,300, or about 1% of the Canadian population.4 For all these factors and others, it could be said that Buddhism has had a fascinating history in Canada. Buddhism in Chinese Universities Throughout the history of China, Buddhism and the traditional Chinese education had always been hand in hand in their common pursuit of wisdom. Chinese universities often undertake the responsibility of providing Buddhist courses, since Buddhist education is proved constructive in cultivating eligible citizens with healthy personalities during the higher-learning phase. After the serious disruption of all religions in China during the Great Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), both Buddhism and higher education have experienced a revival and resurgence. For the students in the socialist China, the nature of