On 8 November, Fo Guang Shan Melbourne invited Venerable Man Chien, Director of the Overseas Inspection Office of Fo Guang Shan, to give a talk on “The Avatamsaka Sutra and Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s Humanistic Buddhism”, explaining in clear and accessible terms the profound meaning of the Avatamsaka Sutra and how its thought can be practised in modern life. Nearly 200 BLIA members and devotees filled the hall to capacity, and the atmosphere was one of great Dharma joy. Guests included Venerable Jue Hao, Prior of Fo Guang Shan Melbourne; Dominique Yu, Director of BLIA World Headquarters; Lindy Chea, President of BLIA Melbourne; and Advisors David Yu and James Yang.
Before the talk, Dominique Yu welcomed the Venerable on behalf of BLIA World Headquarters, saying that Venerable Man Chien has travelled tirelessly across the five continents to spread the Dharma, which is deeply admirable. She shared how, when she lived in Europe, the Venerable had cared for and supported her children, and spoke with real gratitude. After many years apart, the Venerable’s return to Melbourne to meet the assembly brought great joy, and everyone felt it to be a rare and precious affinity.
In her talk, Venerable Man Chien used the four stages of study and practice — faith, understanding, practice and realisation — to introduce the structure of practice in the Avatamsaka Sutra, and the four dharma realms (the realm of phenomena, the realm of principle, the realm of the non-obstruction of principle and phenomena, and the realm of the non-obstruction of phenomena with one another) to show how Avatamsaka thought deepens step by step into complete and unobstructed harmony. Using the image of a pyramid rising from the base, she explained that practice is a gradual raising of the level of one’s life, and that the youth Sudhana’s fifty-three visits to teachers is the model of an ordinary person who resolves to seek the Dharma and learn widely from wise advisors. Becoming a Buddha must begin with being a good person, she said; practice is like climbing a mountain, and only by taking one step at a time and continuing diligently can we steadily raise the height of our lives.
Turning to the Sutra’s core idea of “endless interpenetration and perfect unobstruction”, she used Indra’s net in the palace of Śakra as an image: every jewel in the net reflects and contains all the others, showing the meaning of “one is all, all is one”. This invites us to see that everything in the world arises from the coming together of causes and conditions, each depending on the others, and that the whole Earth is like a community of life. Our own achievements cannot be separated from the support of countless conditions. If we look at the world with the wisdom of dependent origination, we can gradually let go of self-attachment and opposition, learn respect, tolerance and gratitude, build harmonious relationships in helping one another succeed, and so work together to build a Pure Land on earth.
Venerable Man Chien went on to say that the Humanistic Buddhism advocated by Venerable Master Hsing Yun is exactly the application of Avatamsaka wisdom of perfect harmony to real life. The Master taught that Humanistic Buddhism is “what the Buddha taught, what people need, what purifies, and what is good and beautiful”, stressing that the Dharma is not only profound philosophy but should answer life’s needs and help solve social problems, bringing happiness and peace to all. Through culture, education, charity and inter-faith exchange, the Dharma enters families, communities and society and becomes a force that purifies the mind and improves daily life.
The Venerable encouraged everyone that each person’s life is endowed with limitless potential: once ignorance and attachment are removed and our inherent Buddha-nature is revealed, compassion, wisdom and goodness flow out naturally. The Dharma is not on some distant shore but in our life right now, and true wealth lies not in outward possessions but in inner purity and ease. Only by returning to the Buddha’s original intention and starting with the purification of our own minds can we live out the true value of life and each become a person who is rich within.
At the close, Venerable Jue Hao, Prior of Fo Guang Shan Melbourne, thanked Venerable Man Chien for returning to Melbourne after many years to share the Dharma with the assembly. She recalled that when she first arrived in Australia, Venerable Man Chien was her first supervisor, and that the years when the Venerable was based at Nan Tien Temple, opening up new ground and spreading the Dharma in Sydney, are still vivid in her memory. The Venerable’s schedule was tightly packed: she stayed in Melbourne for less than twenty-four hours and set off for her next stop straight after the talk, a moving example of the bodhisattva vow to travel like clouds and flowing water, teaching without rest.
Venerable Jue Hao also encouraged everyone to take the Avatamsaka wisdom they had heard back into their lives: to meet people and situations with a mind of non-obstruction, practising respect, tolerance and gratitude, so that the Dharma is not only heard and understood but put into daily action, forming good affinities, growing good roots and letting Avatamsaka wisdom shine in the world.
滿謙法師墨爾本開講《華嚴經》 雲水行腳潤人間
墨爾本人間社記者戴冕
墨爾本佛光山於11月8日禮請佛光山海外巡監院院長滿謙法師蒞臨，主講「《華嚴經》與星雲大師人間佛教思想」，深入淺出闡釋《大方廣佛華嚴經》的深廣義理，以及華嚴思想在現代生活中的實踐。講座吸引近200位佛光人及信眾參與，現場座無虛席，法喜充滿。出席貴賓包括墨爾本佛光山監寺覺豪法師、國際佛光會世界總會理事張麗施、墨爾本協會會長謝嘉莉，以及督導余文傑、楊健等人，共沐法益。
講座開始前，國際佛光會世界總會理事張麗施致歡迎詞，表示滿謙法師長年奔走五大洲，為弘揚佛法不辭辛勞，令人敬佩。她特別分享當年在歐洲時，法師對其孩子的關懷與護持，言語間流露感恩之情。多年闊別後，法師再度蒞臨墨爾本與大眾相會，讓在場佛光人倍感歡喜，也深感殊勝與難得。
講座中，滿謙法師以「信、解、行、證」四個修學次第，帶領大眾認識《華嚴經》的修行架構，並從「事法界、理法界、理事無礙法界、事事無礙法界」四法界，闡述華嚴思想層層深入、圓融無礙的境界。法師以金字塔由下而上的層次作比喻，說明修行是逐步提升生命境界的歷程；善財童子五十三參，則是凡夫發心求法、廣學善知識的典範。法師指出，成佛必須從做人開始，修行如同登山，唯有一步一腳印，持續精進，才能逐漸提升生命的高度。
談及《華嚴經》「重重無盡、圓融無礙」的核心思想，法師以帝釋天宮的因陀羅網為喻，說明網中每一顆寶珠彼此映照、相互含攝，呈現「一即一切、一切即一」的深刻意涵。藉此引導大眾體會世間萬物皆由因緣和合而生，彼此依存、互為因緣，整個地球猶如一個生命共同體。個人的成就，也離不開眾緣成就。若能以緣起的智慧觀照世間，便能逐漸放下我執與對立，學習尊重、包容、感恩，在彼此成就中建立和諧關係，進而共建人間淨土。
滿謙法師進一步指出，星雲大師所倡導的人間佛教，正是將華嚴圓融無礙的智慧落實於現實生活。大師提出人間佛教是「佛說的、人要的、淨化的、善美的」，強調佛法不只是深奧的哲理，更應回應人生需求、解決社會問題，為大眾帶來幸福與安樂。透過文化、教育、慈善及宗教交流等方式，讓佛法走入家庭、社區與社會，使佛法成為淨化人心、改善生活的力量。
法師勉勵大眾，每個人的生命本自具足無限潛能，只要破除內心的無明與執著，開顯本具佛性，慈悲、智慧與善美的力量便能自然流露。佛法不在遙遠的彼岸，而在當下的生活；真正的富貴，也不在外在物質的擁有，而在內心的清淨與自在。唯有回歸佛陀本懷，從自心淨化做起，才能活出生命真正的價值，人人皆能成為內心富足的富貴之人。
講座尾聲，墨爾本佛光山監寺覺豪法師致詞感謝滿謙法師闊別多年，再度蒞臨墨爾本與大眾以法相會。覺豪法師回憶，初抵澳洲時，滿謙法師正是自己的第一任主管。當年法師駐錫南天寺，在雪梨開山墾荒、弘法利生的種種往事，至今仍歷歷在目。此次滿謙法師行程緊湊，在墨爾本停留不到二十四小時，講座圓滿後，便啟程前往下一站，展現出雲水行腳、弘法不輟的菩薩行願，令在場大眾深受感動。
覺豪法師也勉勵大眾，將滿謙法師所開示的華嚴智慧帶回生活，學習以理事無礙、事事無礙的心境面對人事物，在待人接物中實踐尊重、包容與感恩，讓佛法不僅停留於聽聞與理解，更能落實於日常行動，廣結善緣、增長善根，讓華嚴智慧在人間綻放光明。