We visited Fo Guang Shan Monastery Buddha Memorial Centre on the fifth day of our 6 day visit to Kaohsiung and Pintung with AirAsia.
Walking towards the entrance of the "Welcoming Hall" of Fo Guang Shan Monastery.
In the "Welcoming Hall 礼敬大厅" there are cafes, restaurants, convenience stores and gift shops. There is even a Starbucks outlet in Fo Guang Shan's "Welcoming Hall". The idea is that to promote greater awareness of Buddhism, Fo Guang Shan practises inclusiveness.
This marvellous view of the Great Copper Sitting Buddha stature and 8 pagodas greeted us as we stepped out of the "Welcoming Hall". This Buddha statue is the biggest in the world. Each pagoda houses an activity centre, for example, the calligraphy centre.
As we walked along the sheltered link way towards the Buddha statue, we were shown various aspect of Buddhism and life as a Buddhist.
(Fo Guang Shan also has nature park grounds and gardens which we did not visit as it was raining when we were there. If you are visiting, wear comfortable clothes and shoes as there is lots of walking ;-D )
Venerable Zhi Yi 知义法師 was explaining to us Buddhist food ways. The large poster behind the Venerable provides information on the 9 vegetarian eateries at the Buddha Memorial Centre :-D
Along the sheltered link way, there are many murals depicting stories from Buddha's life and the lessons it contain for Buddhist living.
Venerable Zhi Yi explaining the "one stroke" calligraphy of Venerable Master Hsing Yun (星云大师 the founder of Fo Guang Shan Monastery). As Venerable Master Hsing Yun advanced in age, his eye sight dimmed, so the only way for him to write a word is to complete it in one stroke without lifting the ink brush off the paper. Hence, the art of "one stroke" calligraphy.
It was drizzling when we reached near the base of the Great Copper Sitting Buddha. Venerable was handing out umbrellas to monastery visitors.
There are several museums on the history of Buddhism and Fo Guang Shan Monastery at the Buddha Memorial Centre. I have no photos inside the museum as photography is not permitted.
The sky was overcast and it was drizzling as we made our way through the huge Bodhi Square 菩提广场 back to the "Welcoming Hall" for lunch.
There are several restaurants at Fo Guang Shan - We had our lunch in a restaurant with a majestic view of the Great Copper Sitting Buddha stature and 8 pagodas.
The cold dish appetiser.
"Squid" with Thai style sweet sauce with mildly spicy notes.
"Sausage salami" fried to a crisp.
Braised juicy cabbage with mushrooms and tofu.
The fried tofu was crispy outside, tender chewy inside.
Braised tofu with mushroom - mildly savoury sweet goodness.
Mushroom, ginkgo nuts and bamboo shoots on a bed of fresh lettuce.
Simply blanched fresh greens are one of my loves.
Even the simple fried noodles was delicious.
Our sumptuous, delicious and healthful lunch which included soup and desserts for 10 people costs NT2,000 (SGD87).
There are also restaurants in Fo Guang Shan where your meal is free of charge. You may voluntarily make a forward payment for future guests to also enjoy a free meal after you (only if you wish).
After lunch, we proceed back to downtown Kaohsiung to visit the trendy Pier-2 Art Centre.
Public Transport to Fo Guang Shan
There are shuttle buses from the nearest Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) Pingtung Line station (at JiuQuTang 九曲堂車站) to Fo Guang Shan.
Public bus is also available from Kaohsiung Railway Station to Fo Guang Shan. The bus ride is about 45 minutes one-way.
From Taiwan High Speed Rail Zuoying Station, E-da Bus (義大客運) serves passengers heading to E-da World or Fo Guang Shan Monastery.
AirAsia AK 170 departs Kuala Lumpur KLIA2 for Kaohsiung at 8:30am and 1:00pm every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
AirAsia AK 171 departs Kaohsiung for KLIA2 at 1:30pm and 5:50pm on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
My visit to Kaohsiung with AirAsia:
Day 1 & 2 itinerary <- click.
Day 3 & 4 itinerary <- click.
Day 5 & 6 itinerary <- click.
Date visited: 20 Jul 2015
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