Museum with Asia's largest Buddha statue in Taiwan

Fo Guang Shan is a famous religious architectural complex in Taiwan with a giant Buddha statue and many Buddhist treasures.

The Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Museum covers an area of ​​about 100 hectares and is the most famous tourist attraction in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. Master Hsing Yun built this museum in 2001 and completed it in 10 years, with the purpose of preserving the Buddha's tooth relic, popularizing and encouraging people to practice Buddhism.

The museum is free to enter and is conveniently accessible from downtown Kaohsiung by private car, public transportation such as bus and train.

Through the main gate, visitors will see 8 pagodas on both sides of the avenue, leading to the giant Buddha statue in the middle. The 8 pagodas are all 38 meters high, with Chinese design, symbolizing the Noble Eightfold Path and the spread of Buddhism from India to China - where Buddhism flourished.

Inside the pagodas are galleries or used for Buddhist training, reception, libraries. In some cases, pagodas are rented out for suitable events.

Besides the Buddha's tooth relic, Fo Guang Shan also attracts visitors with its 108-meter-tall Buddha statue from base to top - currently the largest bronze sitting Buddha statue in Asia. The statue sits in the lotus position (both feet placed on opposite thighs), with hands forming a lotus seal.

After walking down the avenue, visitors will enter the main lobby of the museum, inside there are many separate sightseeing areas according to each theme. The space inside is large, spreading in many directions, so it is easy to get lost if you are not careful.

In 2022, the museum held a vote for 10 treasures that played an important role in spreading Buddhist teachings. The selected treasures include the Buddha's tooth relic, the Great Buddha statue, the Thousand-armed and Thousand-eyed Avalokitesvara statue, the reclining Buddha statue, the golden Buddha statue, the relief illustrating the Buddhist scriptures, the Buddha statue and 500 Arhats, the Great Bell, the seated Bodhisattva statue, and the Great Compassion Mantra inscribed on the ceiling.

In the picture is a statue of Buddha and 500 Arhats placed right in the main hall area on the first floor. The statue is 2 meters high, 2 meters long, carved from a thousand-year-old block of camphor wood, depicting the scene of Buddha preaching to 500 Arhats at Linh Thu Mountain.

Other treasures are scattered throughout the museum, but some are off-limits to cameras.

On the first floor, visitors should visit the underground palace, which stores many Buddhist-related artifacts and human historical artifacts.

There are 48 underground palaces under Fo Guang Shan; one will open every 100 years. The picture shows the entrance to the underground palace with a timer that reads 86 years, 23 days, 6 hours, 51 minutes, and 3 seconds. The underground palaces are like time capsules, preserving the memories of mankind. Every year, Fo Guang Shan holds a ceremony to preserve precious artifacts collected from all over the world.

An exquisite work of art featuring Tang Dynasty architectural style and elements, housed in the underground palace complex.

The area of ​​the Great Buddha statue courtyard on the top floor is the closest place for visitors to admire the statue. This area also has four stupas, worshiping Bodhisattvas including Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva.

According to the museum's introduction, visitors should practice the ritual of circumambulating the stupas (going around the stupas clockwise), thereby expressing respect, praying and accumulating merit.

Pictured is a stupa with a statue of Manjushri Bodhisattva inside.

The museum is open until 6pm on weekdays and closed on Tuesdays, except for some important festivals. Visitors who stay until the end of the day can admire the sight of Fo Guang Shan lit up, illuminating the whole sky.

Panoramic view of Fo Guang Shan lit up at night.

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/bao-tang-co-tuong-phat-lon-nhat-chau-a-o-dai-loan-3334937.html