Kaohsiung Buddhist Temple

TAIWAN, Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung Buddhist Temple was built in 1954. In 1955 Master Yueji was invited to be the first abbot, with Master Hsing Yun as the head monk. In 1958, the first Taiwan Buddhist Youth Association was established here, followed by the first Association of Buddhist Women in southern Taiwan, along with many other Buddhist groups. Kaohsiung Buddhist Temple is now a branch temple of Fo Guang Shan.
The temple covers 1,923 sq m and consists of the main temple gate, the Great Hero Hall, and the bell and drum towers. The main temple gate is three bays wide and there are pyramidal roofs on top of the two pillars framing the central bay. The gateway with its curved arch resembles that of the Sanchi Great Stupa in India. The central pillars are higher than the outer two, and their capitals and bases are inscribed with upright and inverted lotuses. The Great Hero Hall has a portico with its underside inscribed with a lotus. Within the hall, there is a niche that houses a 5.4 m high statue of Sakyamuni Buddha whose hands are held in the teaching mudra. The ceiling of the niche is decorated with patterns of lotuses and apsaras. The walls of the hall are covered in thousands of miniature Buddha niches. The vaulted ceiling is adorned with reliefs of a lotus and a Dharma wheel. A large gong, cast in 1956, is engraved with the names of donors.
The bell and drum towers are located on either side above the portico of the Great Hero Hall. They both have pyramidal roofs. A seven-story tower rises above the Great Hero Hall between the bell and drum towers. There are large swastikas attached to the tower. The spire is surmounted by a Dharma wheel. An image of Cundi is enshrined within the tower.