Exploring Fo Guang Shan | 佛光山

Today we're heading to Fo Guang Shan 佛光山, a Buddhist monastery located in Dashu, Kaohsiung. I first visited the vicinity with my friend back in 2014 and have since visited the site roughly 5-6 times. 

Fo Guang Shan was founded by Master Hsing Yun 星雲大師, who came to Taiwan from China in 1949. Construction of the site began in 1967, but different parts of the monastery continued to be built years after its initial founding.

Fo Guang Shan practices and teaches about Humanistic Buddhism 人間佛教. What is "Humanistic Buddhism" you ask? Well, it basically says that death shouldn't be seen as an end, but merely as the beginning of a new life. 

There is an entire museum dedicated to the life of Master Hsing Yun at Fo Guang Shan, so you can check it out of you're interested. I once had the good fortune to attend an event held by Master Hsing Yun in which he explained the teachings of Buddha. 

Fo Guang Shan is quite large and you can easily spend an entire day here. It consists of Fo Guang Shan and the much newer Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum 佛光山佛陀紀念館 (pictured above) which opened in 2011. 

I found it extremely peaceful just to walk around, take pictures and pray while I was there. They also have yummy vegetarian food available FOR FREE! Get there on time, and you don't need to pay anything though you can choose to donate some money and wash your own dishes.

It's a nice way to get a break from the hectic city life. Did you know that Fo Guang Shan is currently the largest Buddhist monastary in Taiwan?

An annual lantern festival is held here to mark the end of the Lunar New Year. I attended once in 2015. There were a wide variety of lanterns (all of them related to Buddhism) decorated all over the area. 

I've heard that even a fireworks show is held here on New Year's Eve! Isn't that something?

It isn't too difficult to get to. You can take a shuttle bus from Eda World 義大世界or take public buses from Kaohsiung city to get here. 

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