Fo Guang Shan (佛光山) is one of the places that comes into mind when one talks about Kaohsiung. Fo Guang Shan is the biggest Buddhist temple compound in Taiwan with a name meaning ‘Buddha’s light’. It was founded by Venerable Master Hsing Yun in 1967.
Covering an area of more than 30 hectares, Fo Guang Shan consists of all the shrines, schools and ancillary facilities. This link ‘Fo Guang Shan Monastery’ has more information on visiting the monastery compound.
Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum (佛光山佛陀纪念馆) is the tourist attraction within this vast compound which visitors usually go to. The Buddha Museum was constructed with the intention of enshrining Buddha’s tooth relic, one of only three Buddha’s tooth relics in the world. For simplicity sake, I’ll call it Fo Guang Shan for the rest of this post.
Upon reaching Fo Guang Shan, one would first enter its Front Hall (礼敬大厅). Here’s where visitors can break for a meal or refreshment and get a souvenir from the retail and F&B outlets.
The affordable NT100 buffet lunch at 2nd storey ended when I arrived so I had my late lunch at the more upmarket Hi-Lai Vegetarian Restaurant. Tucked into a delicious vegetarian meal of mixed vegetable quinoa with rice in casserole (NT180) and carrot cake (NT86) listed as its top 10 favourite dishes. The rice and quinoa casserole had endamane, baby corn, yam, turnip, carrot, mushroom and pine nuts as toppings and dressed with seasoning sauce. The food was flavourful and healthy but somehow I felt it lacked the wow factor.
From the Front Hall, walk along the ‘Great Path to Buddhahood’ (成佛大道) towards the Main Hall (本馆).
The Main Hall is 3-storey high with a Big Buddha statue and four stupas on the highest floor, each at a corner of the building. Along the path are 8 pagodas, each with a themed exhibition on its first storey. At the time of my visit, some of them were closed for maintenance. I went into one which talks about the history of Fo Guang Shan and one which introduces the concept of Buddhism to children.
Entering the grand-looking Main Hall.
Located on the 1st floor of the Main Hall are 3 shrines; Golden Buddha Shrine, Jade Buddha Shrine and Avalokitesvara Shrine at Mount Potalaka. Out of respect, I did not take photos inside the shrines. In the Jade Buddha Shrine, the treasured Buddha’s tooth relic is enshrined above an image of the reclining Buddha.
The statue of Fo Guang Big Buddha (佛光大佛) on Big Buddha Terrace atop the Main Hall.
Based on information from Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum, the head of the statue is three stories tall, while a single eye is as wide as the whole floor of most other buildings.
As mentioned earlier, there are 4 stupas atop the Main Hall. This is one of them.
I had time to visit all 4 museums located on the 1st floor. They are namely; Historical Museum of Fo Guang Shan, Museum of the Life of the Buddha, Museum of Buddhist Festivals and Museum of Buddhist Underground Palace. The theme of the first 3 are quite clear from their names but the last one unlikely.
Fo Guang Shan houses what they named as ’48 Underground Palaces’. Though not opened to public, the function of these Underground Palaces is to store memories of the human race and act as time capsules. The various artifacts collected are either of great historical, contemporary or commemorative value. Each of the underground palaces will be opened every one hundred years, and after the items are stored, they will be sealed again. The Museum of Underground Palaces is set up to explain the function of these Underground Palaces.
The Historical Museum of Fo Guang Shan tells the story of how Fo Guang Shan was built by Venerable Master Hsing Yun. Here’s a seated wax figure of the Venerable Master.
My favourite of the 4 museums is the The Museum of Buddhist Festivals, where visitors get to know more about Buddhist celebrations.
There is a theatrette within the Museum of the Life of the Buddha, screening Buddhist-themed cartoon stories at regular intervals. Avoid turning up on the dot expecting to be admitted as they stop handing out tickets 15 mins before the show time. This is to allow them to estimate the number of people attending that particular show since they only run it with at least 5 people watching it.
Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum uses a lot of technology, be it making a light offering to the Medicine Buddha or take home a virtual blessing. Technology is also used in dispensing Dharma advice and water consecrated by the Great Compassion mantra, I has the chance to try all of these which makes the experience amazing. Upon making a little donation, I was handed a bottle for the ‘blessed’ water to bring back home, which of course I did.
I would recommend putting this as a ‘must-visit’ in Kaohsiung, though a bugbear was that I was urged to make a donation or ‘light a lamp’ in every hall I stepped into. To light a lamp is to make a donation to the temple and they will keep a lamp lit in the halls to ‘accumulate blessings’ or for good karma to the donor. There was once I enquired about the cost of the annual donation and ended up deciding to make a one-off donation instead. The staff looked obviously disinterested once I made my intention known. Though it could just be over-zealous effort on the part of their part.
Ending off my trip with this quote from Venerable Master Hsing Yun:
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Read about my trip itinerary and the places visited in Taiwan – City of Kaohsiung Itinerary 2018 .
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Useful Information
Address: Fo Guang Shan, Dashu, Kaohsiung 84049, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Telephone: 886-7-656-1921
Official Website: Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum; Fo Guang Shan Monastery
Opening Hours: Weekdays: 9 am – 7 pm; Weekends: 9 am – 8 pm; Museum closed every Tuesday
Admission Charge: Free-of-charge
