Fo Guang Shan

This week we had the unique opportunity of staying a night at a Buddhist monastery.  Kaohsiung is home to the largest monastery in Taiwan, the Fo Guang Shan headquarters.  Fo Guang Shan is one of the largest Buddhist organizations in the world and specializes in humanistic Buddhism.  Also known as the International Buddhist Progress Society, Fo Guang Shan works hard to propagate the Buddha’s message across cultures by opening their doors to all and offering classes and workshops to the general public.

We arrived at the monastery Wednesday evening after Lauren finished teaching her class. Venerable Miolang, a nun who has lived in the monastery for about twenty years, greeted us at the gate as we rode up the mountain on our scooter.  I guess it would be fair to say she was surprised to see us roll in that way.  Ninety-nine percent of foreign visitors arrive on a tour bus or as part of a study abroad group.  She thought we were so weird, and we probably were, but, whatever.

We checked into the guesthouse, which offered much more comfortable accommodations than we anticipated. When you think about spending a night in a monastery, you have an expectation, and that expectation usually doesn’t include watching HBO in an air-conditioned room.  The monastics probably don’t live so lavishly, but they like to keep their guests comfortable I suppose.  We had much of the evening to ourselves, to explore the mountainside.  There are normally hundreds or thousands of tourists wandering the grounds, but most people had chosen not to visit this week because of the incoming typhoon.

Perhaps it was a wise choice for people to stay home during the typhoon because when we awoke early Thursday morning the roads outside the guesthouse and all over the grounds were blanketed leaves, branches, and trees that had been thrashed in the night’s violent winds.  We were invited to observe the monks perform their morning chants in the monastery’s main shrine (five thirty in the morning), and as we approached the stairway to the shrine, there was a miniature waterfall cascading down the steps.  It made for a dangerous but fun ascent.

Three giant Buddhas greeted us upon entering the shrine. As the monk and laypeople’s chanting filled the vastness of the shrine, it was difficult not to be moved by the awe and magnificence of the moment.  In sheer defiance of the brutal weather conditions these faithful few had gathered in solemnity to pay homage to and ask guidance of their revered spiritual leaders.

We really were fortunate to be there on a typhoon day because the hallways were quiet and the space was filled with sincerity.  There were no tour guides yelling into megaphones, and no foreigners high-fiving the Buddha or rubbing his belly.  There were, however, many foreigners there as part of a study abroad group and we were invited to join in on some of their classes.  I really enjoyed listening to some of the lectures, but I have studied a lot of world religions and I could follow along easily.  Lauren, understandably, did not find the lectures as interesting as I did and used some of the time to take a well-deserved nap.  I will admit that the material was rather dry.  I think Miolang was simply tired of having to talk to us in her strained English.  We eventually decided to sneak out of the second lecture and head to the calligraphy workshop where they teach how to use writing as a form of meditation.

When we finished our writing meditation, we said our goodbyes to Miolang and the monastery.  It was an eye opening twenty four hours.

This is Rob in front of the HUGE three buddhas in the main shrine. This is where
we witnessed the monk chanting in the morning. 

This bell is also in the main shrine and it is supposed to be the largest  bell in Taiwan.
I can't even imagine being in the same room as this when it is ringing and there is also
a drum on the other side of the room. A lot of noise. 

This was quite an elaborate room. Every wall is covered in little alcoves for Buddha statues, but you can
only see the ones that have lights in the picture. There is something like17,000 Buddhas in this room.

This picture just shows the evidence of the typhoon. People thought we were silly for even walking around.

This was our tour guide in the lobby of the hotel. She was wonderful to us and we had a great time.