科學、信息科技與佛教傳播

內容摘要：信息科技似乎在一夜之間席卷我們生活中的每個角落。在發達國家，不管在任何領域，它目標明確地要改變我們生活中的每一個細節。新的信息科技要求我們不僅要以一種新的思維來傳播和弘揚佛法，更要以一種新的方式來聚合網上學佛社群、提供給社會大眾一種新的社會價值和精神食糧。本文擬首先探討現代科學與宗教之間的關系，然後解讀信息科技對佛教的重要性和對佛教傳播的影響，最後作者試圖為信息科技給佛教組織和個體帶來的負面作用尋求答案。

關鍵詞：科學　信息科技　佛教傳播　媒體素養

科學與宗教之間的關系遠比人們想象的要複雜的多。在西方社會，天主教為科學的奠定和發展做出過很大的貢獻，但是，科學的發展使它本身成為天主教最大的敵人。在啟蒙世紀之前，宗教是支配社會最主要的力量，真理牢牢掌握在教會手中，任何事情的對錯都取決于教會的態度(何建民，1998，p.159-163)。比如，教會說地球是宇宙的中心，任何人對此提出質疑或反對，都會受到象哥白尼和伽利略們那樣的懲罰。但是，嚴酷的懲罰並沒有阻擋人們探尋真理的願望，科學和理性的壯大，使人們更加清楚的認識自己和世界。自17世紀起，在公眾的壓力之下，天主教內部的一些有識之士已經開始考慮展開宗教和現代科學之間對話的必要性(趙敦華，1995, p.635)。本文擬首先探討現代科學與宗教之間的關系，然後解讀信息科技對佛教的重要性和對佛教傳播的影響，最後試圖為信息科技給佛教組織和個體帶來的負面作用尋求答案。

「甲午戰爭」 (1894-1895)戰敗之後，中國社會出現了一種學習西方科技、政治和民主法制的呼聲，當時，嚴復、康有為、梁啟超、章太炎、孫中山等極力鼓吹科學技術對建立一個強大國家的重要性(何建民，1998，p.166)。不幸的是，後來，這種呼聲走向了極端：用科學、藝術、哲學代替宗教。新文化運動的先驅陳獨秀先生就相信宗教是科學的敵人，對他來說，所有的宗教都是人類想象力的產物。「[它]既超脫客觀之想象，復拋棄主觀之理性，憑空構造，有假定而無實證 …… 當今淺化之民，有想象而無科學。宗教美文，皆想象時代之產物」(唐曉鋒，2007，p.155)。其次，陳獨秀從宗教創立的角度上推斷它最終會消亡，他堅信科學是人類將來真實的信解行證，一切宗教，皆在廢棄之列「真能決疑，厥惟科學。故余主張以科學帶宗教，開拓吾人真實之信仰，雖緩終達」(陳獨秀，1917)。

當然，陳獨秀的宗教觀建立在一個特殊的歷史時期，20世紀初期，在西方列強的侵略和殖民化威脅之下，中國內憂外患，四分五裂，封建復辟時有發生。面對危機，中國知識分子相信是中國文化和政治制度造成了社會的萎縮和民眾覺悟的遲鈍，要想救中國，只有拋棄「舊文化」，接受西方科技和民主的洗禮，建立一種「新文化」。在陳獨秀後期的主張中，他已經意識到宗教是舊文化的一部分，新文化的構建其實也不能沒有它(陳獨秀，1920)。

近些年來，中國經濟的飛速發展刺激和保障了科技的發展，很多民眾想知道佛教到底怎麼看科學？王萌(2008，p.29)指出佛教和天主教其實在哲學、邏輯思維、倫理道德、人生觀以及世界觀上有著根本性的區別，這種對人類生命和世界的獨特認知反而為佛教和科學之間的對話奠定了基礎。黃夏年(2008，p.95)和楊曾文(2008，p. 141)也認為佛教從來就不是一個反科學的宗教，相反，佛教總是吸收科學經驗和成果為自我的發展所用，這種對科學的開明態度不僅在當代中國，甚至可以追溯到古代印度。釋聖嚴(1987，p.36-54)也相信佛教不同于科學，但是它非常科學，象菩薩所學的「五明」，其中「工巧明」和「醫方明」就要求作為菩薩必須要掌握一定的工程技術和醫藥科學等。

上個世紀70年代，當計算機開始應用時，人們根本就沒有想到它會成為今日社會的重要傳播力量，甚至成為推動整個社會進步和信息科技日新月異的生力軍。上世紀90年代，自英特網開始走進千家萬戶，走進社會的角角落落後，我們的生活方式發生了翻天覆地的變化，僅僅十多年的時間，對很多人來說，計算機和網絡成為他們工作和生活中必不可少的東西，離開這兩樣東西，他們的工作和生活竟然會變得無所適從。任何領域已經不可能避開信息科技的觸角，在發達國家，計算機的目標也似乎更加明確：它要改變我們生活中的每一個細節。創建信息平台，掌握、傳輸、儲存、取舍信息在某種意義上已經成為未來社會物質發達和高質量生活的保證，不重視這方面的投入，似乎會有很嚴重的後果。

在2008年的聯合國慶祝衛塞節大會上，與會代表一致認為，因特網的發展已經成為佛教僧侶和信眾之間、僧侶和非信眾之間、信眾和信眾之間、信眾和非信眾之間交流思想、對話、蒐集數據、查詢信息、開展網絡教學等方面的重要工具。英文「佛教網」(Buddhanet)總監，澳大利亞新南威爾士的帕雅哇惹(Pannyavaro，2009)法師說，在當今世界里，新的信息科技要求我們不僅要以一種新的方式來傳播和弘揚佛法，更要以一種新的方式來聚合網上學佛社群、提供給社會大眾一種新的社會價值和精神食糧。

幾乎在半個世界之前，McLuhan(1965，p.3-8)曾說媒介是一個信號，是對人的拓展。也許，他是在說任何媒介的個人或者社會結果其實是我們人自身的延續，任何新的進展或者發明也是我們人自身的發展。當今的新媒介如英特網，其實也是人自身的拓展，從一方面它促進了個體和社會的發展，但從另一方面它卻制造了很多新的問題。在個人、組織和國家不斷深入虛空間的同時，這些網上活動的安全性成為社會的新挑戰。媒介，在這種意義上為犯罪或暴力活動創造了條件，這些虛空間的不利因素所衍生的暴力活動也直接對社會利益造成威脅(Hundley & Anderson，1995-1996, p.19)。另外，在網上建立的各種關系、虛擬身份、隱私、欺騙、剽竊、謠言、虛假新聞、更嚴重的象網上色情與賭博等這些都是學者、父母、學校甚至整個社會關注的焦點問題(Parks & Floyd, 2009)。

信息科技在爭議中迅速發展著，寺院和僧團這時也面臨著許多新的挑戰。釋聖凱(2008，p.147)曾發出這樣的憂慮：網絡時代的寺院，無論是在都市還是在深山老林，清靜無為的寺院生活方式受到干擾，修道生活「失去了圍牆」。而且，「人的隱身」導致「不說四眾過」成為網絡時代最難守持的戒律。他總結道：網絡時代的佛教信仰具有「信仰心理冷漠化、信仰活動虛擬化、信仰群體小區化的傾向。」雖然，他沒有明確詳細說明這些網絡時代的佛教信仰特徵，但是我們不難理解他努力想喚醒佛教四眾對網絡給當代佛教所帶來的沖擊的關注，尤其像是邪師說法的盛行和「話語權」的混亂等問題。對他來說，佛教寺院和僧團應該在使用信息科技中找到一個平衡點以保持佛教清靜和樸實的形象，否則，佛教自身會成為被譏嫌的對象。

話說回來，語言是人們日常生活中最基本的交流方式，不妄語、不花言巧語、不挑撥離間、不說粗話是佛教徒的修學日課，所以，毫無疑問，佛教需要一種佛教式的交流和傳播方式。但是，佛陀不斷提醒我們這個世界上沒有一樣事情是絕對的、永恆的、有「我」的，正是因為所有事物的生起都是因緣和合的產物，從這個角度來說世界上沒有一個普遍適用的佛法來對治宇宙眾生的煩惱，那麼，也就沒有一個普世適用的佛教傳播方式來對應一個個不同的眾生。在一個特定的時間和空間里，或許有一種或者數種適合某個個體的傳播方式，但是隨著外部環境的變化，傳播的方式也隨之會產生變化。佛教傳播其實是一種相對性的傳播，不管什麼方式，如果能使人覺悟那就是最好的傳播。

從這一點上來說，我個人認為，網絡作為全球化的重要推手，它並不是真正把國家全球化，也不是把全球國家化，而是徹底將做為人這個個體全球化，並把全球事務納入一個個普普通通民眾的視野之下，佛教僧團和在家信眾當然也不例外。由于這種將個體全球化的過程中，理論上每一個個體只要掌握一些基本的計算機技能，便都能在網絡世界里平等地進行表達、交流和對話，首當其沖，傳統佛教以僧團和寺院為傳播中心的模式受到了影響。

以中國漢傳佛教為例，自唐宋佛教叢林制度完善以降，佛教的弘揚和傳播始終圍繞著僧團和寺院展開，注重僧團素質，人才培養，講經修學，經典翻譯，並注重法統和師承，僧團的師徒之間、僧人與信眾之間，基本上是一種面對面的交流方式。中國禪宗也基本上是以這種方式延續和光大。觀機逗教，因人施教，不拘泥于教條主義，使禪宗學人在生活中、在言行舉止、待人接物中得到悟處。根據Conze(1951，p. 6)的觀點，佛教禪宗曾說我們看到的所有東西都是虛假的，他們虛假是因為我們運用了語言去描述他們。「那些常說的人並不懂得，那些懂得的人常常不說」，在禪宗來說，沉默不會隱藏真相。如果有人必須要打破沉默，那麼那種表達方式也許是驚人的，在禪宗意義上這些都被被稱為「方便法門」。換句話也就是說，一個人的所說或許會對他人在覺悟的層次上有所幫助，所以，簡單來說佛教禪宗就是一種簡潔的對覺悟的傳播，它不強調人在行為上「做什麼」而是思想上的證悟和思維上的轉換。由于沒有現代傳播媒介的助力，刻版印經、經像法物流通等成為當時最重要的傳播手段，傳統佛教的這種方式因傳播成本高昂、傳播范圍和人數的限制而發展緩慢，但千百年來它取得的效果卻是有目共睹的。

縱觀佛教歷史，佛教的傳播方式發生了翻天覆地的變化。從寺院、僧團為中心的授教、各種法會活動的舉辦、親身修學實踐到今天科技包裝起來的演講、活動、表演等。傳播的方式多樣性利益了更多有緣眾生，但是，當今社會的商業化、市場化、旅游景點化趨勢對佛教寺院、尤其是景區寺院造成了很大沖擊。很多景區寺院在今天把更多的精力放在寺院的經濟利益上，但對于信眾和社會大眾真正對佛法的需求卻不甚重視。在過去，寺院是僧團居住、修學和教化的場所，但是今天，寺院的主要功能卻變成了旅游接待。由于寺院忙于服務游客，越來越少的精力放在教化或參禪之類的「正命」事業上，這不得不引起我們的注意(萬丙炎，2005, p.78-79)。雖然，中國禪宗強調沒有絕對正確的佛教傳播方式，但是對于信息科技的發展我們應給予更多的關注。近些年來，尤其是因特網(當然在港台地區和國外還有衛星傳輸技術的應用)為佛教在當下的繁榮和發展提供了非常有利的條件。但是，我們在享受著信息科技帶來的便利同時，也不斷遭到它帶來的干擾。和其它領域的問題一樣，佛教網絡目前也面臨一個「信息泛濫」的問題。佛教網站雖多，但精品網站不多，有些網絡訊息就是互相轉來轉去，有些版面設計也缺乏創意、使用起來像和你在捉迷藏，這不符合網絡的接口和諧、方便使用者和簡單實用原則(Shuman，2003)。信息的重複，在很大程度上也造成不必要的人力資源和自然資源浪費，所以佛教網站也面臨著整合資源、合理利用資源、合理分配訊息的瓶頸。

由于信息科技已經深層次介入我們的公共和私人空間，想要拒絕或者和它保持距離都是不理性的，有建設性的途徑是我們首先要建立一批自己的、高質量的網站來吸引網民，讓他們在網上沖浪時至少知道什麼是正信的佛教。為了防止誤導性訊息和「邪師說法」，有些寺院采取向信眾和社會大眾介紹正信網站的做法。不過從個人角度來說，我認為佛教組織和寺院團體倒是應該抓住這個機遇對僧信開展媒體素養教育。

概括來說，媒體素養教育是一種批判地接受大眾傳播訊息的綜合能力。它包括解讀媒介產品的傳播途徑、科技手段和組織，並且思考作為受眾對媒體傳播信息的定義(Shepherd，1993)。具備這種能力我們可以過濾我們每天所接受到的新聞、娛樂和商業廣告信息，這種能力也會使我們對媒體產品的背後的動機、利益、價值以及由此對內容的影響產生一種本能性的質疑。有了這種能力和一些基本的佛教知識，僧信二眾也便能識別好壞網站，並且知道把哪一些應該列入「黑名單」。

最後，也是最重要的一點，佛教作為一個實踐性很強的宗教，傳統的教育、培訓、啟示、觀機逗教、師徒之間的交流、面對面的教誨、身教的示范等方面的作用是網絡和現代信息科技所無法取代的。我們在運用信息科技為佛教傳播服務的同時，也要更加注重佛教優秀傳統的保護和古老修學知識、經驗、理論的繼承，這樣我們的佛教才會「科學的」、「可持續的」健康發展。

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Science, Information Technology and Buddhist Communication

Yan Xu

Abstract：The sudden success in just about any field has become impossible without information technology. In whatever areas, it apparently sets to change everything that human beings do in advanced society. The new technology requires us not only use the new methods to communicate and promote Buddhism, but also apply the new concepts to gather online Buddhist community, and offer the new social value and spiritual food for the public. This paper will discuss the relationship between science and Buddhism in the first place. Then, it will go on to explore the significance of information technology to Buddhism and discover how it affects Buddhist communication. Lastly, it will try to find out some solutions for Buddhist organizations and individuals to avoid the side effects of information technology today.

Key Words: Science Information Technology Buddhist Communication Media Literacy

The relationship between science and religion is never as simple as people imagine. In the Western world, Christianity did a great contribution to the establishment and development of the modern science. However, the raising of science became the major enemy to the church. Before the Enlightenment Age, religion was the dominate power in the society. The truth was hold in the church』s hands. Anything when the church said it』s right then it』s right. When the church said it』s wrong, then it』s wrong even though it』s right (He, 1998, p.159-163). For instance, the church said the earth is the center of the universe, anyone who challenged the notion would be punished or simply burned to death, such as, Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei. But the punishments didn』t stop the progress of the people』s exploration to truth. The growth of science and reasoning, built up people』s awareness of the universe and themselves. From 17th century onwards, under public pressure, some well-learned theologists already thought the necessity to start the dialogue between religion and modern science (Zhao, 1995, p.635). In this paper I will briefly discuss the relationship between science and Buddhism in the first place. Then, I will go on to talk about the Buddhist perception towards science, and explore the significance of information technology to Buddhism and its effects to Buddhist communication. Lastly, I will try to find out some solutions for Buddhist organizations and individuals to avoid the side effects of information technology.

In the 19 century, after the lost of Sino-Japanese War in 1894-1895. The need for fostering Western science, political system, and legislations became the mainstream public thoughts in the era. At the time, Yan Fu, Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Zhang Taiyan, Sun Zhongshan and so forth strongly advocated the importance of science for building a strong nation (He, 1998, P.166). Unfortunately, later, this trend led to an extreme, to replace religion with science, arts, or philosophy, for example, Chen Duxiu The, the New Culture Movement advocator, who believed that religion was the enemies of science. For him, all religions were just the products of humans』 imagination. 「It is the phenomenon ignored the objects, the reason abandoned the subjects. It is something constructed from nowhere, which stressed the hypothesis but practice… it』s something for uncivilized people in the past… All religious literatures were product of imagination」 (Tang, 2007, p.155). In addition, Chen took the stand of the establishment of religion, and predicted that religion would die eventually. He thought science was the right path for humans』 belief, understanding, practice and actualization, then, all religions would be in a category of dump. 「Science is the only way to resolve people』s doubts. I proclaim to replace religions with science, this is to open up our true belief. It is slow by finally we will reach there」 (Chen, 1917).

Of course, Chen』s view on religion was developed in a specific circumstance. In the early 20th century, under the Western countries』 invasion and colonization, China was split in various territories, which brought endless civil wars and feudal system restoration. Facing the serious crisis, Chinese intellectuals considered the failure of traditional Chinese culture and political system, which constrained the development of China』s social progress and civilians』 consciousness. The way to save China from the crisis was to throw away old Chinese culture and adopted Western science and democracy to form a New Culture. In his latter publication, Chen realized that religion was the big part of the old culture, the New Culture, definitely, cannot be complete without it (Chen, 1920).

In recent years, the fast development of Chinese economy reinforces the advancement of science, many people are wondering what is the Buddhist perception towards it? As Wang (2008, p.29) notes that Buddhism is totally different with Christianity in terms of philosophy, logic, ethics, view of life and the world. The unique way to understand our life and to recognize the world formed the dialogue foundation between Buddhism and science. Huang (2008, p.95) and Yang (2008, p. 141) pointed out that Buddhism is never a religion of anti-science, in contrast, it always accompanies and digests the scientific findings or achievements for its development. This tradition carries forward not only in contemporary China but also in ancient India. Chan Master Shen Yan Shi (1987, p.36-54) also said Buddhism is different with science, but it』s very scientific. It emphases the importance of science, such as, one of the crucial skills for a Bodhisattva is to mater some skills in medical, construction and engineering areas in the ancient time.

In 1970s, when personal computers came into our daily life, we never thought it would become one of the main communication powers in the world. In 1990s, when the internet spread out in our 「global village」, the whole world』s information technology has changed extensively. After only ten some years, to many people, computer and internet become the integral part of their lives. The sudden success in just about any field has become impossible without information technology. In farming, manufacture, education, medicine, entertainment, banking or whatever, information technology is apparently set to change everything that human beings do in advanced society. Initiation in the process of information handling, transmission, storage and retrieval is the key to future prosperity and to qualitatively different ways of life. Failure to proceed in this direction seems carrying dire consequence.

In the United Nation』s 2008 Vesak day celebration, delegates from all over the world, came to the agreement that internet has already been the important tool for information, exchange, dialogue and education between monastic community and lay Buddhist community, monastic community and non-Buddhist community, inter-communication within lay Buddhist community, and lay-Buddhist community and non-Buddhist community. Ven. Pannyavaro (2009), webmaster of Buddhanet which based in New South Wales, who proclaims that the new information technology requires us not only use the new methods to communicate and promote Buddhism, but also apply the new concept to gather online Buddhist community, and offer the new social value and spiritual food for the public.

As what McLuhan(1965, p.3-8) advocated almost half century ago, medium is the message, the extensions of man. What he stated is that the personal and social consequence of any medium, that is, of any extension of ourselves, result from the new scale that is introduced into our affairs by each extension of ourselves, or by any new technology. The new medium, like the Internet, is also being taken into account in the sense of the extension of man, which in turn on the one hand helps the progress of our society, but on the other hand creates some new problems in our time. With the increasing number of activities of individuals, organizations and nations being conducted in cyberspace, the security of those activities is an emerging challenge for society. The medium has thus created new potentials for criminal or hostile actions, 「bad actors」 in cyberspace carrying out these hostile actions, and threats to societal interests as a result of them (Hundley & Anderson, 1995-1996, p.19). Additionally, some other issues like online relationship, cyber identity, privacy, treating and piracies, rumors, false news, and to make things worse, porn and gambling, are the great concern of many scholars, parents, schools and even the whole society (Parks & Floyd, 2009). With the controversial development of information technology, Buddhist temples and Sangha communities face the new challenges in the information age. As Sheng Kai Shi (2008, p.147) pointed out that Buddhist temples have lost their walls in the internet age, wherever located in urban or rural areas, the tranquil monastic lifestyle has been confronted. Furthermore, because of people 「hiding」 their real identities, which lead to the difficulty to preserve the vinaya, 「not speaking out of the others』 mistakes.」 He also concluded that the characters of Buddhism in the internet age could be the following: the undifferentiated faith, the cyberised activities, and the communitised devotees. Thought, he did not give clear definitions of those characters, he tried to raise people』s attention about the chaos which was created by the internet, for instance, the unauthentic interpretation of the sutras, and the confusion of anyone』s 「right to speak」. For him, to uphold a pure and simple image, Buddhist temples and Sangha communities should find the balance point while using internet, otherwise, Buddhism might become the 「object of abomination.」

As words are the basic form of communication in people』s daily life, abstention from lying, slander, harsh or abusive language, and idle chatter are essential practice for every practioners. So, implicit in that Buddhist requirement is the understanding that there are must be such a thing as Buddhist communication. However, the Buddha constantly reminded his students that nothing is absolute, nothing is permanent, and nothing in this world is the 「self」. There is not such a universal Dharma for universal sentient beings since everything is conditioned and co-dependent. Accordingly there is not a universal best way of communication for all individuals too. In a specific time-space, there might be one or some communication methods for an individual, but they may change in different conditions since everything is relative, changing and a 「stream of becoming」. Buddhist communication is a relative communication, whatever makes the one awakened is the right communication.

Personally, I believe internet as one of the main powers which pushes the progress of the globalization. It actually does not globalised the nation states or nationalized the globe, but it globalised the individuals in a very deep sense. It brings the world affairs under an ordinary people』s observance, of course, Buddhist Sangha communities and laities are also included. Because of the trend, every individual with some basic computing literacy skills, would have no doubt to equally express, communicate, and conduct dialogues with anyone who is online. With this flat, equal and free nature of the internet, the traditional Sangha- and temple-centered communication style is being affected quite strongly.

To take an example of Chinese Buddhism, after the completion of monastic regulation in the Tang and Song dynasty, Buddhist preaching and communication primarily focused on Sangha and monasteries. Paying attention to the quality of Sangha communities, emphasizing Dharma assembly, Dharma preaching, routine cultivation, sutra translation, and the transmission of the Dharma linage, were the most important elements and activities of Chinese Buddhism.

Communications between Sangha communities and laities and within the communities were basically verbal. Chan practioners did not follow rigid teachings but find situational inspirations from their lives according to different people』s level of awakening. According to Conze (1951, p. 6), the Buddhist Chan School also promotes that everything one may see is ultimate false, false by mere fact that one says it. 「Those who say don』t know; those who know don』t say.」 In Chan School, silence alone does not violate the truth. If one say something, and it is astonishing to find how much the supporters of the Chan silence had to say, it is justified only by what they called 「skill in means.」 In other words, what one says may help other people at a certain stage of their spiritual progress. Thus, Chan is, in Buddhism, easily the chief communicative means of awakening. The stress throughout is far less on 「doing something」 by overt action, than on contemplation and mental discipline. For a long period of time, Chinese Buddhist Schools fundamentally relied on these styles, and situational teaching/inspiration plus book printing, sutra and sculpture circulation, and temple building for its development.

Throughout Buddhist history, the ways of communication have changed dramatically, from Sangha- and temple-centered preaching, activities and cultivation, to today』s technologically equipped speeches, events, and shows. The methods of Buddhist communication become increasingly diverse. It is true that the diverse of Buddhist communication will benefit more people in our information age. However, the process of commercialization, marketization and touristization of many monasteries might result in the deviation of Buddhist communication. Many monasteries, especially those located in the tourist spots, paid too much attention to their commercial needs but focus too little on what the devotees and public were pursuing. Buddhist temples were places for monks to live, practice, learning and teaching in the past. But today, the major function of those temples is for tourism. Since monks are busy serving tourists, less and less attention is being paid to other decent matters, such as meditation and teaching, which are supposedly the 「right livelihood」 for Buddhist monks (Wan, 2005, p.78-79).

Even thought there is no a universal best way of Buddhist communication for all individuals, we still need to pay greater attention to the information technology. In recent years, we have been enjoying the convenience which the information technology brings to us, meanwhile, we also have been distracted by its side-effects. Information overload and information repetition are some common problems for Buddhist websites. Additionally, some websites just make troubles for the users, they are neither inconsistent, nor 「user friendly」 or 「ease of use」 (Shuman, 2003). The repetition of information leads to the waste of human and natural resource, in the meantime, it makes a warning call to us to adjust, to use and to disseminate the resource wisely to break through the bottleneck of Buddhist communication in the Internet area.

As information technology has already deeply penetrated into our life, it is unreasonable to avoid or keep distance from it. A constructive way that some Buddhist associations and temple take is to build their quality websites to attract Netizens to know more about what is the 「true」 Buddhism. Moreover, to avoid some misleading information and false interpreting the Buddha』s teaching, some temples also assigned some 「decent」 websites for the devotees and public to access. Personally, I would suggest that Buddhist organizations should take the opportunity to begin its media literacy programme for both Sangha communities and laities. Media literacy is an informed, critical understanding of the mass media. It involves examining the techniques, technologies and institutions involved in media production; being able to critically analyze media messages; and recognizing the role audiences play in making meaning from those messages (Shepherd, 1993). With the ability, we can sift through and analyze the messages that inform, entertain and sell to us every day. This critical thinking skill could lead us immediately questioning what lies behind media productions, the motives, the money, the values and the ownership, and to be aware of how these factors influence content. With this ability and some necessary Dharma knowledge, Sangha communities and laities could easily distinguish what is decent websites to view and what should be put in the 「blacklist」.

Last but not the least, as a practice-based religion, the traditional teaching, training, situational inspiring, teacher-student communication, face to face interaction, and 「being the model」 teaching and so on, are the true qualities of Buddhism, which cannot and may not be replaced by modern information communication. Of whatever means, of whatever advancement the technologies are, they are only the tools for us to reach our goal. While we employ these tools, we must have a clear mind, our centuries-old tradition, knowledge, experience, and theories are needed to carry on generation by generation, by only doing this, Buddhism will have no doubt to develop 「scientifically」 and 「sustainability」.

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作者簡介：

釋延續，九華山佛學院副院長。