Fo Guang University (FGU; ; lit. ''Buddha's Light University'') is a private university in Linmei Village, Jiaoxi Township, Yilan County,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. It was founded by the Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhist monastic order

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 headqu ...

in 2000 and as such represents the culmination of education efforts of the order that started in 1963 with establishing Chinese Buddhist Research Institute at Fo Guang Shan. A gradual approach was adopted in developing the campus as a part of a plan for the overall area. The Ministry of Education granted approval on July 20, 2000, and the school formally opened in September that year. The Schools of Humanities and Sociology were the first to be founded during the initial phase of establishment. By introducing the undergraduate and postgraduate level of education, Fo Guang University is gradually developing into a full-rounded university. Currently, it comprises the College of Arts and Humanities, College of Social Sciences and Management, College of Technology, and College of Buddhist Studies. All programs are taught in

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...

, with the exception of the MA program in Buddhist Studies, which has both Chinese and English tracks. As of the 2012-2013 academic year, its total enrollment is 3,400 students, including undergraduate and graduate students. The university library holds more than 253,000 volumes.

Features

The university is the first in Taiwan to fully comply with Taiwan Environmental Impact Assessment Act standards while completing the development of a mountain slope campus. Begun in 1996, the project involved major changes to the slope, but every effort was made to keep the impact on the natural environment to a minimum during the construction process. The results of efforts at the time are already evident - eagles, monkeys, bamboo partridges, raccoons and other fauna can still be spotted on campus right now, especially the nationally protected Formosan blue magpie.

Solar panels A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce excited electrons when exposed to light. These electrons flow through a circuit and produce direct ...

and

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over ...

s are located next to the outdoor performance arena. Both are still being tested for how much electricity they can supply in order to assess whether they can provide a portion of the electricity for lighting the facility. These two generating sources now provide spectacular lighting at night, adding considerably to the luster of the campus.

References

External links

Official site

College of Buddhist Studies
{{Coord, 24.8166, 121.7276, region:TW_type:landmark, display=title Fo Guang Shan Universities and colleges in Yilan County, Taiwan Buddhist universities and colleges in Taiwan Universities and colleges established in 2000 2000 establishments in Taiwan

Features

See also

References

External links