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Literary & Arts Category

Buddhist literature, Literary Reportage and Book Review, etc.

 

Works must be written in either English or Chinese language.

 

Free choice of literary and writing style.

 

Word count of each full paper must fall between 3000 - 5000.

 

All submissions must be sent via email to buddhistyouthforum@gmail.com by 3 June 2016.

 

The organisers will notify all participants of the outcome after evaluation by a selection panel. Participants who are selected as presenters will be notified by mid-July.

 

 

Formatting:

All submissions must be made as a Microsoft Word document. All documents must be in A4 Size, with justified alignment, font size 12, “Xi Ming” font (細明體) for Chinese and Arial for English, double line spacing, and page margin of 2.5 cm.

 

All participants are strongly advised to strictly adhere to all document formatting guidelines.

 

 

Remarks:

  1. Do not submit multiple entries of the same works. If identified, the participant will be disqualified immediately.

  2. Do not submit plagiarized works, previously presented works (including translations from other languages) or ghost-written works. If identified, the awards will be revoked immediately.

  3. If the work is condensed from, or a portion of the participant’s academic thesis, it must be amended to a considerable degree, otherwise it shall not be accepted.

  4. When the selected work requires extensive revision prior to publication, the participant is obliged to do the revisions personally.

  5. Selected works may be included in the Proceedings of Fo Guang Shan Institute of Humanistic Buddhism and the copyright will be owned by Fo Guang Shan Institute of Humanistic Buddhism.

 

 

Buddhist Literature

Requirement: No restrictions in terms of literary and writing style.

 

With the spread of Buddhist culture from India, Buddhist literature in China has transformed into its unique style. There are three types of Buddhist literature texts that are created based on Chinese Buddhism:

 

Literature texts of Praise: These include hymns praising the virtues of Buddha, and poems which expresses the Dharma with a deep, gentle and affectionate tone.

 

Zen (Ch’an) literature texts: Expresses the mental states of one who has achieved liberation and enlightenment. E.g. “The Record of Linji“ by Yixuan, “The Record of Transmission of the Lamp in Jinde” by Daoyuan, “The Gateless Barrier” by Hui Kai, etc.

 

Others: Popular works which aim to promote Dharma. Include comprises of poems, novels, short stories/proses, etc

 

 

Literary Reportage

Literary Reportage straddles between journalism and literature. It is a type of literary genre which uses literature artistic styles to authentically and timely reflect society life’s events and human activities. It is a form of style which uses literature to process news materials. It narrates the existence of characters in real life, to contextualise the dynamism of such lives. Therefore, a reportage presents readers with materials for a more enlightened and holistic interpretation of world affairs.

 

Recommended format of literary reportage:

1) Title

2) Introduction

(Exhibits vivid real-life events, accounts for the climax and ending of the events, expresses the feelings and emotions of the main characters, accounts for the intents and aims of writing, and the suspense and contradictions of the events)

3) Body

(Well structured with clear narration and description of the characters)

4) Conclusion

(Analyse and conclude events and/or the characters involved, may touch on future prospects)

 

 

Book Review

A book review accounts one’s personal experiences, insights, perspectives and revelations after reading a book or an article. A review encompasses deep reflection and consideration of key takeaways from the book, followed by assimilation of the main points with one’s own interpretation and value-adding, and expression of these thoughts through different perspectives. Insights from the book also aim to resolve and overcome realistic challenges and problems faced by oneself or the human race as a whole.

Requirements:

  1. Summarises and organises the contents and key points of the book in a clean and concise manner.

  2. Analyses and critiques the contents and key points of the book, and strive to provide and explain personal perspectives clearly.

  3. Attempts to find relevance of personal point of view by relating or demonstrating them in real life phenomena or scenarios.

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