| 摘要: | 自古各大宗教，均視文字經典是傳布其信念的重要途經，佛教自然也不例外。佛教經典的流傳最早期是從貝葉經開始。民國初年，弘法方式開始多樣化。雜誌、報刊相繼出現。隨著時代變遷，社會和讀者的需求也不斷改變，佛教報業亦出現從宗教化走向人間佛教化的轉型。本論文即以佛光山《覺世》旬刊轉型為《人間福報》為例，探討佛教報業如何透過轉型滿足讀者需求，維持自身的市場存活，並落實人間佛教理念。本研究者採次級資料分析搭配深度訪談法蒐集資料。資料來源包括《人間福報》、相關網站、報紙、期刊、論文及佛光山出版品。並且抽樣比較《覺世》2000年停刊前十期與1995年的内容。此外，亦抽樣比較2000年《人間福報》創刊與2014年的内容。至於深度訪談對象包括《人間福報》社長暨總編輯及資深副總編輯和業務部經理共三人。《覺世》旬刊創刊於1957年發行，由摩迦（星雲）法師任主編，於1995年改為月刊。在1962年至2000年間，《覺世》是佛光山弘法傳教極其重要的刊物，它以傳遞佛光山的訊息為主，是僧團與信徒溝通的橋樑，內容含極濃厚的宗教色彩。但在其停刊前的風格發現報導方向已有於來自世界各地的活動訊息及佛光山各項社會服務事業的介紹，已顯示看出宗教對於社會的關懷。在2000年4月1日，佛光山將原先針對信眾發行的《覺世》，轉型成以社會大眾為讀者的《人間福報》。佛光山一直宣導的「人間佛教」理念，主張佛教要人間化和生活化。《人間福報》之內容顯示佛光山弘法事業已不限制如傳統的修持念佛，而是與社會接軌，透過教育、藝術文化和公益慈善的形式實踐信仰宗旨。宗教新聞的呈現亦從直接變成間接。《人間福報》的宗教色彩亦被淡化，讓社會大眾較易接受。過去，《覺世》採用贈閱的行銷方式，在信眾中流通，較難深入社會各階層，令影響層面有限。《人間福報》則以報紙形式發行，提升取得的方便性，加上多元內容訊息與群眾生活相關，故能深入社會各階層。本研究顯示台灣佛教報業的世俗化轉型－從《覺世》到《人間福報》歷程，並未因其朝向現代化而降低宗教在人們心中的地位、需求及宗教對社會人心教化的功能性，《人間福報》的出現正是展現佛教以巧妙方便將人間佛教的精髓落實於生活起居中，並且在紛擾的社會亂象中給予讀者心靈的淨化與滿足，也給予社會祥和安定的正能量。
Scriptures have always between an important venue for the transmission of the beliefs of all major religions since their beginning and Buddhism is of no exception. The earliest written transmission of the Buddhist scriptures started with the palm-leaf manuscript. In the early days of the Republic of China, the style of preaching began its diversification. Magazines and newspapers began to appear. Over time, the needs of the society and readers constantly evolved and Buddhism news industry has also transformed from a religious orientation towards a humanistic Buddhism orientation. The present thesis studied the transition of the Fo Guang Shan ＂Awakening the World＂ to the ＂Merit Times＂ and investigated how the Buddhist news industry has transformed to fulfill their readers and put the concept of Humanistic Buddhism into practice while maintaining its market survivorship. The present study used secondary data analysis and in-depth interviews for data collection. The source of information included ＂Merit Times＂, related websites, newspaper, journals, dissertations, and publications by Fo Guang Shan. The content in ten issues prior to the final edition of the ＂Awakening the World＂ in 2000 and samples from 1995 was compared. In addition, the content of the ＂Merit Times＂ between 2000 and 2014 was compared. Finally, the content of in ten issues prior to the final edition of the ＂Awakening the World＂ in 2000 and samples from the ＂Merit Times＂ in 2014 was also compared. Regarding the in-depth interviews, the editor-in-chief, associate editor, and the operational manager of the ＂Merit Times＂ were interviewed. The ＂Awakening the World＂ was first published in 1957 with Master Hsing Yun as the editor-in-chief. The publication cycle was changed from one issue every 10 days to monthly in 1995. During the period from 1962 to 2000, the ＂Awakening the World＂ is a crucial publication of Fo Guang Shan in spreading the information of Fo Guang Shan and bridging the communications between the Sangha and the devotees. The content had strong religious overtones. However, the style of the ＂Awakening the World＂ had changed well before the cessation of its publication with increasing coverage for news around the world and social services offered by Fo Guang Shan. It showed increasing care for the society by religion. In April 1, 2000, Fo Guang Shan transformed the ＂Awakening the World＂, which was geared towards only its devotees to the ＂Merit Times＂, which was targeted to the community. Fo Guang Shan has always been promoting the concept of Humanistic Buddhism and advocated that Buddhism must be close to the human world and daily lives of the people. The content of the ＂Merit Times＂ showed that was no longer restricted to the preaching of Buddhism through only traditional cultivation and chanting, but instead, practice the faith by connecting to the society through educational, art and cultural, and charity activities. The reporting of religion-related news had also changed from direct to indirect. The religious overtones of the ＂Merit Times＂ had been reduced to increase the acceptance by the general population. In the past, the ＂Awakening the World＂ was freely provided to devotees and it was difficult to circulate in all walks of life and therefore, limited its impact. On the other hand, the ＂Merit Times＂ was circulated through as a newspaper. Not only that it was easier to obtain and its content had become more diversified. Thus, it was able to penetrate all levels of the society. The present study showed that the secularization transformation of the Taiwan's Buddhist news industry, as illustrated by the transition from the ＂Awakening the World＂ to the ＂Merit Times＂, did not decrease the religious status, needs, and functional roles of religion in the enlightenment in people's mind with its associated modernization. The appearance of ＂Merit Times＂ demonstrated an elegant and clever maneuver of how the essence of humanistic Buddhism could be implemented in people's daily life. ＂Merit Times＂ could also provide readers, at times of societal chaos, with spiritual purification and contentment, as well as a source of positive energy to stabilize the society. |
