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Buddhism In Taiwan
Buddhism is one of the major religions of Taiwan. Taiwanese people predominantly practice Mahayana Buddhism, Confucian principles, Taoist traditions and local practices. Roles for religious specialists from both Buddhist and Taoist traditions exist on special occasions such as for childbirth and funerals. Of these, a smaller number identify more specifically with Chinese Buddhist teachings and institutions, without necessarily eschewing practices from other Asian traditions. Following the Chinese Civil War, Buddhism experienced a rapid increase in popularity in Taiwan, attributed to Taiwan's economic miracle following the war and several major Buddhist organizations promoting modern values such as equality, freedom and reason, which was attractive to the country's growing middle class. Taiwanese Buddhist institutions are known for their involvement in secular society, including the providing of a number of public goods and services such as colleges, hospitals and disaster rel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Humanistic Buddhism
Humanistic Buddhism () is a modern philosophy practiced by Buddhist groups originating from Chinese Buddhism which places an emphasis on integrating Buddhist practices into everyday life and shifting the focus of ritual from the dead to the living. Nomenclature Taixu, a Buddhist modernist activist and thinker who advocated the reform and renewal of Chinese Buddhism, used the term "Buddhism for Human Life" (). The first two characters, "human" and "life", indicating his criticism of several aspects of late Qing dynasty and early Republican Chinese Buddhism that he wished to correct, namely, an emphasis on spirits and ghosts ("human") and funeral services and rites ("life"). His disciples continued this emphasis. Taixu also used the term "Buddhism for the Human World", or popularly humanistic Buddhism (). It appears that at first the two terms were largely interchangeable. One of Taixu's disciples, Yin Shun, used the term "humanistic Buddhism" to indicate a criticism agai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wei Chueh
Wei Chueh (, 1928 – 8 April 2016) was a Chinese ''Bhikshu'' (Buddhist monk) from Taiwan. He is the founder of the Chung Tai Shan monastery and Buddhist order. Wei Chueh is often credited for reviving the traditional teachings of Chan Buddhism. Wei Chueh was born in 1928 in Yingshan County, Sichuan. In 1963, he was ordained under Lin Yuan at the Shi Fan Da Jue (“Great Enlightenment”) Chan Monastery in Keelung, Taiwan. He was fully ordained as a monk in 1967 at Daijue Temple in Keelung. He offered many retreats in Yilan, Hsinchu, and Hong Kong before settling into solitary seclusion at Yangmingshan near Wanli District, New Taipei. He lived under extremely poor and primitive conditions, but continued to practice the Dharma. In 1987, he founded Lin Quan Temple in Taipei County. Wei Chueh became known for organizing seven-day Zen retreats and dharma assemblies, as well as his "lively and flexible" preaching style. As his popularity increased, his temple was unable to fit mor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nantou City
Nantou City ( Mandarin Pīnyīn: ''Nántóu Shì''; Hokkien POJ: ''Lâm-tâu-chhī'') is a county-administered city located in the northwest of Nantou County, Taiwan. It lies between the Bagua Mountains and the Maoluo River and is the county seat of Nantou County. Freeway No. 3 serves Nantou City. Its name is a transliteration of the Hoanya word ''Ramtau'' with its first character (; "south") chosen to complement that of Beitou's (; "north"), a district in Taipei, even though there is no relation between the aboriginal names. History Qing Dynasty The Han Chinese began arriving in the area during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor of Qing Dynasty. Members of the Zhang clan from Zhangzhou as well as the Jian (), Lin and Xiao clans from Nanjing County in Zhangzhou were among the early settlers. A yamen was established in 1759 near the present Nantou Elementary School. In 1898, Nantou Commandery was organized. Empire of Japan In 1901, during Japanese rule, was one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tzu Chi
The Buddhist Tzu Chi Charity Foundation ( zh, t=佛教慈濟慈善事業基金會, l=Buddhist Compassionate Relief Charitable Foundation) is a Taiwanese international humanitarian and nongovernmental organization. Its work includes medical aid, disaster relief, and environmental work. The foundation was founded on 14 April 1966 by Cheng Yen, a Taiwanese Buddhist nun, as a Buddhist humanitarian organization, initially funded by housewives. Tzu Chi expanded its services over time, opening a free medical clinic in 1972 and building its first hospital in 1986. The organization underwent rapid expansion in the late 1980s and early 1990s, coinciding with a surge of popularity in Humanistic Buddhism in Taiwan. In the 1990s, the organization started major international disaster relief efforts, including the construction of new homes, schools, hospitals, and places of worship. Today, Tzu Chi has a policy of being secular in its humanitarian work, with Buddhist teachings being int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cheng Yen
Cheng Yen or Shih Cheng Yen (; born Chin-Yun Wong; the 24th of the third Lunar month, 4 May 1937) is a Taiwanese Buddhist nun ( bhikkhuni), teacher, and philanthropist. She is the founder of the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, ordinarily referred to as Tzu Chi, a Buddhist humanitarian organization based in Taiwan. In the West, she is sometimes referred to as the "Mother Teresa of Asia". Cheng Yen was born in Taiwan during the Japanese occupation. She developed an interest in Buddhism as a young adult, ordaining as a Buddhist nun in 1963 under the well known proponent of humanistic Buddhism, master Yin Shun. After an encounter with a poor woman who had a miscarriage, and a conversation with Catholic nuns who talked about the various charity work of the Catholic Church, Cheng Yen founded the Tzu Chi Foundation in 1966 as a Buddhist humanitarian organization. The organization began as a group of thirty housewives who saved money for needy families. Tzu Chi gradual ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hualien City
Hualien City (; Wade-Giles: Hua¹-lien² Shih⁴; Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī, POJ: ''Hoa-lian-chhī'' or ''Hoa-liân-chhī'') is a county-administered city and the county seat of Hualien County, Taiwan. It is located on the east coast of Taiwan on the Pacific Ocean, and has a population of 99,458 inhabitants. Name Hualien County annals () record that the city was called "Kilai" () until the early twentieth century. This name refers to the Sakizaya people, Sakiraya Taiwanese aborigines and their settlement. After Taiwan came under Taiwan under Japanese rule, Japanese rule in 1895 its governors sought to change the name because "Kilai" is pronounced the same as the Japanese word for . The name was eventually changed to . After World War II the incoming Kuomintang-led Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China retained the Kanji spelling but shortened the name to just , or ''Hualien'' via Chinese romanization. History The Spaniards built mines for gold in Hualien in 1622. Perman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fo Guang Shan
Fo Guang Shan (FGS) () is an international Chinese Buddhism, Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhist organization and monastic order based in Taiwan that practices Humanistic Buddhism whose roots are traced to the Linji school of Chan Buddhism. The headquarters, Fo Guang Shan Monastery, is located in Dashu District, Kaohsiung, and is the largest Buddhist monastery in Taiwan. The organization is also one of the largest charity organizations in Taiwan. The organization's counterpart for laypeople is known as the Buddha's Light International Association. Founded in 1967 by Hsing Yun, the order promotes Humanistic Buddhism and is known for its efforts in the modernization of Chinese Buddhism. The order is famous for its use of technology and its temples are often furnished with the latest equipment. Hsing Yun's stated position for Fo Guang Shan is that it is an "amalgam of all Eight Schools of Chinese Buddhism" (). The Fo Guang Shan order has several associated colleges, among them Fo Guang Un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hsing Yun
Hsing Yun (; 19 August 1927 – 5 February 2023) was a Chinese Buddhist monk, teacher, and philanthropist based in Taiwan. He was the founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist monastic order as well as the layperson-based Buddha's Light International Association. Hsing Yun was considered a major proponent of Humanistic Buddhism and one of the most influential teachers of modern Taiwanese Buddhism. In Taiwan, he was popularly referred to as one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Taiwanese Buddhism, along with his contemporaries: Master Sheng-yen of Dharma Drum Mountain, Master Cheng Yen of Tzu Chi and Master Wei Chueh of Chung Tai Shan. Biography Hsing Yun was born Lee Kuo-shen (pinyin: ''Lǐ Guóshēn'') in 1927 in Jiangdu village (modern day Yangzhou), Jiangsu Province in the Republic of China. Hsing Yun's first exposure to Buddhism came from his grandmother, a practicing Buddhist and meditator. Just prior to monastic life, he had accompanied his mother to Nanjing to s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dashu District
Dashu District () is a suburban district located in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan near the Kaoping River. Fo Guang Shan is one of largest tourist attractions in Dashu District. It is also the base of E-Da World, a new lifestyle destination that encompasses the upscale Crowne Plaza Kaohsiung E-Da World hotel, the E-Da Skylark hotel, the E-DA Theme Park, the E-Da Mall, E-Da City (Real Estate Development) and I-Shou University. History After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Republic of China in 1945, Dashu was organized as a rural township of Kaohsiung County. On 25 December 2010, Kaohsiung County was merged with Kaohsiung City and Dashu was upgraded to a district of the city. Geography *Area: 66.9811 km2 *Population: 40,484 people (October 2023) Administrative divisions The district consists of Zhuliao, Jiuqu, Jiutang, Shuian, Shuiliao, Shejiao, Xingshan, Heshan, Gushan, Dakeng, Jingjiao, Xiaoping, Longmu, Dashu, Sanhe, Xipu, Xingtian and Tongling Village. Education ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dharma Drum Mountain
Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM; ) is an international Buddhist spiritual, cultural, and educational foundation founded by late Chan master Sheng-yen (1931–2009). The center focuses on educating the public in Buddhism with the goal of improving the world and establishing a "Pure Land on Earth" through Buddhist education. The international headquarters of this organization is located at Jinshan District, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Dharma Drum Mountain is one of the most influential Buddhist organizations in Chinese Buddhism. In Taiwan, Master Sheng-yen was considered one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" and Dharma Drum Mountain one of the " Four Great Mountains" or four major Buddhist organizations of Taiwanese Buddhism, along with Tzu Chi, Fo Guang Shan, and Chung Tai Shan. History Long before the establishment of the Jinshan headquarters, the development of Dharma Drum originated in the Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Culture (CHIBC) and Nung Chan Monastery. Both were founded by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sheng-yen
Sheng Yen (), born Zhang Baokang (), (January 22, 1931 – February 3, 2009) was a Taiwanese Buddhist monk, religious scholar, and writer. He was one of the mainstream teachers of Chan Buddhism. He was a 57th generational dharma heir of Linji Yixuan in the Linji school (Japanese: Rinzai) and a third-generation dharma heir of Hsu Yun. In the Caodong (Japanese: Sōtō) lineage, Sheng Yen was a 52nd-generation Dharma heir of Dongshan Liangjie (807-869), and a direct Dharma heir of Dongchu (1908–1977). Sheng Yen was the founder of the Dharma Drum Mountain, a Buddhist organization based in Taiwan. During his time in Taiwan, Sheng Yen was well known as a progressive Buddhist teacher who sought to teach Buddhism in a modern and Western-influenced world. In Taiwan, he was one of four prominent modern Buddhist masters, along with Hsing Yun, Cheng Yen and Wei Chueh, popularly referred to as the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Taiwanese Buddhism. In 2000 he was one of the keynote spea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
