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羅斯蒙教授是美國儒家思想的先進學者，並且一直是法界佛教總會及世界宗教研究院的長期友朋。他在十一月蒞臨法界宗教研究院及萬佛聖城，為眾多聽眾帶來了四場關於儒家中心思想的演講。
於十一月十六日星期三，羅斯蒙教授在柏克萊聖寺的佛殿為與會的學生、學者及佛友們舉行一場演說，題目是「我們所知的孔子之生平、教學方式和人格特質」。他和任教於加州柏克萊大學中國歷史系的奈藍教授共同演講；奈藍教授也和羅斯蒙教授一樣，是〈論語〉的專家。
第二天，兩位教授再次合作，在柏克萊寺的圖書館，為法界大學新成立的柏克萊分校佛學修持系碩士研究班舉行了另一場演說；這次的主題是「孔子獨創的教學方式之精神本質」。他們討論到：我們在〈論語〉裡所看到的孔子，並不像「新儒學派」所通稱的，在闡揚社會倫理；而是因材施教，來促進個人精神領域的成長。
十一月十八日星期六，羅斯蒙教授和另一位儒家學者瑪麗‧巴科伏教授，一同蒞臨萬佛聖城；瑪麗是他從前的學生，目前是漢堡大學的哲學教授，而且是萬佛聖城的常客。羅斯蒙教授在聖城的敬老節活動上做了一個簡短的演說，接著與訪客及住在萬佛聖城的僧、俗老師和學生們進行一場即席問答。最後，羅斯蒙教授晚間發表一場正式講演，主題是「身死非永滅」；其中他強調了儒家思想中透過追思和崇敬先人的禮儀而建立的「慎終追遠」之教義。
羅斯蒙教授在華盛頓大學取得他的哲學博士學位，他是馬里蘭州聖瑪利亞學院榮譽退休教授，現任布朗大學客座教授。他在儒學研究、西洋哲學、語言學及比較宗教學等多方面都有著作，最近他和羅傑‧艾梅斯共同出版了一部雙語的《論語》譯本。他其他的近作是《理性和宗教經驗》，由世界宗教研究院贊助出版；其靈感來自於〈宣公上人紀念專輯〉第一集。羅斯蒙教授特別支持世界宗教研究院及其「東西宗教」年刊，以及紀念宣公上人講演系列，其第六屆將於明年二月舉行。
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聖城演講會上
Prof. Rosemont's lecture at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas |
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Professor Henry Rosemont Jr., a leading American scholar of Confucianism and a long-time friend of Dharma Realm Buddhist Association and its Institute for World Religions, came to Berkeley Buddhist Monastery and to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in November to deliver four talks to various audiences on the principles of Confucianism.
On Wednesday, November 16, Professor Rosemont spoke in the Buddha Hall of Berkeley Buddhist Monastery to an assembly of students, scholars, and friends. His topic was the life, teaching style, and character of the man we know as Confucius. He gave his presentation jointly with Michael Nylan, who is Professor of Chinese History at the University of California at Berkeley, and, like Professor Rosemont, an expert on the Confucian Analects.
The two scholars again collaborated the next day in the Berkeley Monastery Library in speaking to the Core Seminar class of Dharma Realm Buddhist University’s new Berkeley-centered Masters Degree Program in Buddhist Studies and Practice. This time the scholars’ general theme was the spiritual nature of the original teachings of Confucius. They argued that the Master we meet in the Analects, rather than proposing a general ethic for society, as Neo-Confucian schools have generally interpreted him, instead presented teachings that varied with the situation and person and that aimed specifically at fostering spiritual progress.
On Saturday, November 18, Professor Rosemont journeyed to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, accompanied by a former student, Mary Bockover, another Confucian scholar who is Professor of Philosophy at Humboldt State University and a frequent visitor to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. Professor Rosemont spoke briefly at Honoring Elders Day, then met informally in a question and answer session with a large group of visitors and resident students and teachers, both Sangha and laity. Finally, in the evening, Professor Rosemont gave a formal talk entitled the “Non-Finality of Physical Death” in Confucianism. Here he emphasized Confucianism’s teaching concerning the continuity of memory from generation to generation, formalized by rites of remembrance and respect for one’s ancestors.
Henry Rosemont Jr. holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Washington. A Distinguished Professor emeritus at St. Mary’s College in Maryland, he is currently visiting professor of religious studies at Brown University. He has published widely in the areas of Confucian Studies, Western philosophy, linguistics, and comparative religion. With Roger Ames, he is recently published a new translation of the Analects, in a bilingual edition. Among his other recent works is
Rationality and Religious Experience, which grew out of the first of the annual Ven. Hsüan Hua Memorial Lectures, sponsored by the Institute for World Religions. Professor Rosemont has been especially supportive of the Insititute, of its annual journal
Religion East and West, and of the Hsüan Hua Memorial Lecture series, the sixth of which will be given this coming February.
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羅斯蒙與休士頓史密斯於世界宗教研究院合影
Prof. Rosemont with Huston Smith at the Institute for World Religions |
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