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一九九二年九月二十七日宣公上人在萬佛聖城，以「楊校尊，授洋文，楊洋同音不同字」為上聯，叫大家對下聯。這楊校尊就是法界大學中文課程主任楊富森教授，因為上人請楊教授擔任法界大學校長，楊教授加以推辭，因此上人給他取了這個一校之尊的稱號。宣公上人和楊教授第一次見面，就是從中國的對聯詩詞談起。兩人一見如故，暢談了四個半鐘頭。
楊教授幼年在鄉塾念書，二十歲考入燕京大學主修新聞學系。這段求學歷程為他奠下紮實的中文底子，無論古文或白話文，他都有深厚的基礎。抗戰期間，在各大報社新聞單位等，歷任編輯、編譯、記者的工作，更訓練出他對文字運用的敏感度。
一九四八年起，楊教授進入西雅圖華盛頓大學攻讀，並同時擔任中文助教。七年後，拿到哲學博士。一九六〇年起，楊教授先後在洛杉磯南加州大學、賓州匹茲堡大學、德國雨堡大學等校教授中文和中國文化，並曾任匹茲堡大學東亞語文系的系主任。一九八三年退休成為榮休教授。在這段漫長的教學生涯中，楊教授開創出一套「漢字拼聲法」。這個方法有效地將華語推廣於西方，嘉惠西方的學子。這套「漢字拼聲法」，楊教授所著，由法界佛教大學印行再版的《大學中文》一書中，有詳細的介紹。
楊教授幼年見母親長齋禮佛，自己也隨喜吃了近二十年的長素。在宣化上人的推介下，他閱讀了《華嚴經》、《六祖法寶壇經》、《地藏經》。看過艱深的經文，他有感而發地說，佛教為什麼不普及？就是因為缺乏一般人易了解的讀物。多年來，萬佛聖城致力於英文佛經的翻譯，楊教授認為這是很好的做法，有助佛教的普及。
楊校尊為人幽默風趣，妙語如珠，帶動了大家的學習興趣。老當益壯的楊教授，來到萬佛聖城，將中國文化介紹給一群中、美後學。為大眾貢獻所長。以一顆赤子之心，加上人生歷練，所涵養出的長者風範與智慧，使得他有一個更灑脫，悠然自得的人生，雖然他自謙不懂佛法，但觀其生平事蹟，實在是一位仁義可風，老而彌堅的行者。
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On September 27, Venerable Master Hua wrote the Chinese sentence, "Professor Yang, the Honorable One of the University, teaches foreign language; Yang (a name) and Yang ('foreign') are the same sound, but not the same word," and asked everyone to write a second line to form a matching couplet. "Professor Yang" refers to Professor Richard Yang, the Director of Dharma Realm Buddhist University's (DRBU) Chinese Language Program. The Venerable Master had asked Professor Yang to be the Chancellor of DRBU, but he declined, so the Venerable Master gave him the title "The Honorable One of the University" instead.
At their first meeting, the Venerable Master Hua and Professor Yang struck up a conversation about Chinese poetry and matching couplets. Feeling like old friends at first sight, the two chatted continuously for four and a half hours.
In early childhood, Professor Yang attended a rural school in China. At age twenty, he took the college exams and was admitted to Yenching University, where he majored in journalism. In this period of study, he gained a thorough background in Chinese literature; his knowledge is broad and profound in ancient as well as modern literature. During the War of Japanese Resistance, he served as editor, translator, and reporter for various news agencies, thereby learning to use language in a skillful and sensitive way.
In 1948, he began studying at the University of Washington in Seattle, and obtained his Ph.D. in Chinese Language and Literature seven years later. In 1960 Dr. Yang commenced his career as a professor of Chinese Language and Culture at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He has also been Visiting Professor at Regensburg University in Germany, and Professor and Chairman of the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1983, he retired from active teaching and became Professor Emeritus at the University of Pittsburgh.
During his extensive teaching career, Dr. Yang created a "Chinese Character Tones Spelling Method," which has helped promote Chinese language learning in the West. A second edition of
College Chinese, published by Dharma Realm Buddhist University, has a detailed introduction to this method.
As a child, he saw his mother observe a vegetarian diet and bow to the Buddhas, and following her example, he himself was vegetarian for twenty years.
After reading the Avatamsaka Sutra, the
Sixth Patriarch's Jeweled Platforrri Sutra, and the
Earth Store Sutra recommended by Venerable Master Hua, he says with great feeling, "Why hash't Buddhism become widespread? It's just because there haven't been any clear, easy-to-understand explanations of the Sutras." For many years now, the Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas has been translating the Sutras into English, and he feels this is an excellent way to help spread the Buddhadharma.
The wonderful words of the humorous Professor Yang are like pearls, stimulating everyone's interest in learning. Still vigorous at his advanced age, he has come to the Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas to introduce Chinese culture to a group of Asian and American students, and to contribute his talents to the community. Passing through life's hardships has cultivated his wisdom, endowing him with a carefree, content attitude of life. Although he modestly says he does not understand Buddhadharma, his life and conduct, his humaneness and righteousness, and his vigor in old age, are truly worthy of our respect and study.
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