The Fo Guang Shan Monastery 佛光山寺 near Kaohsiung has been a prominent part of the landscape in southern Taiwan since 1967. Now the largest monastery in Taiwan, its architecture reflects a desire to provide accessible services while consciously incorporating Buddhist symbols.
The neighboring Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum 佛光山佛陀紀念館, opened by Master Hsing Yun 星雲法師in 2011, ramps up the symbolic content. Overlooking the entire complex, a massive seated image of the Buddha draws the attention of visitors from the moment they enter.
This paper starts with a focus on this mega-statue. How much does it signify, in itself? How should we interpret it? The discussion applies a fixed framework of interpretation, then moves to discuss the importance of context. Finally, the article examines implications for the theory of religious commodification brought to light in this particular example of mega-statues.
目次
Mega-Statues: A Framework 97 Patronage and Financial Support 98 Community 101 The Fo Guang Shan Buddha as Sacred Object 104 Presence: Sakyamuni Sees You 106 Fo Guang Shan as Commodity 108 Setting: Moving into the garden 111 The Bodhimanda 111 Popular Culture and Fo Guang Shan: A Marriage Made on Earth 114 The Garden of Humanistic Buddhism 115 Conclusion: Liquified culture meets humanistic buddhism 116
