After some rough days in the Philippine Sea, we docked in Kaohsiung, the second largest city in Taiwan. We booked a shore excursion to the Fo Guang Shen Monastery and the Buddha Memorial Park both of which were outside the city proper. So, we began the day with a ride by motor coach from the port through the city. Kaohsiung is an industrial port with wide streets and lots of high rise buildings but not like Hong Kong or even Taipei, Taiwan’s capital. As we left the city proper we passed guava, pineapple and coconut plantations. We noticed that many of the buildings had water storage tanks on their roofs. Finally as we rose into the mountains, we arrived at the Fo Guang Shen Monastery.
The monastery is built on two feet of a mountain and the valley in-between. The most striking feature as you approach is a statue of the standing Buddha which rises up above the gates of the monastery and looms over the landscape. This is no mean feat as you enter the grounds through a gate in a wall that looks to be at least twenty five feet tall. We entered the grounds through the gates and climbed a series of steps past gardens, statues, and buildings. Our guide pointed out several buildings including a dormitory, a dining hall that would serve over 3,000 people at a time and a TV studio (the monastery has its own local cable channel).
Finally we came to a meditation center. We were asked to remove our shoes and cautioned not to take any pictures. Then we were ushered inside. In the center on a raised dais, there were three immense statues of Buddha. Around the walls of the chamber, there were thousands of small Buddhas in niches in the walls. Some had small lights. On on side of the chamber was a huge bell and across from it was an equally huge drum. On the floor in front of the dais were cushions where monks and others would kneel.
Leaving the meditation center, we went further up the mountain. At last we came to a final flight of stairs and found ourselves on a promontory upon which we found the standing Buddha statue surrounded by hundreds of statues. From this vantage we could look back down at Kaohsiung although there was quite a bit of smog that inhibited how far we could see.
We climbed down from this point and returned to our bus. Next we were taken out of the monastery property and into the property right next to it … The Fo Guang Shen Buddha Memorial Center. Upon entering the center it was clear that this was a bit more commercial than the monastery. There was a Starbucks as well as other shops and a ‘five star vegetarian restaurant’. We had lunch in the restaurant … a typical Chinese small plate meal where you are served eight to ten dishes on a ‘lazy susan’. Much of it was totally mysterious. Some was quite good. Some … not so much so.
After lunch we were lead by our guide out behind the building that housed the restaurant and shops. We were confronted with a broad avenue leading up to a large stone building that served as the dais for an awesomely huge statue of the sitting Buddha. On each side of the avenue were four pagodas. We walked up the avenue past the pagodas. We climbed up stairs that took us to the platform that was the roof of the stone building. We then craned our necks to take in the immensity of the statue. When we first viewed the statue from the foot of the avenue, it looked as if there were a sphere right in front of the Buddha that rested at the top of pyramid type structure. However, when we reached the platform it became clear that the sphere/pyramid was at the front of the platform at least a hundred yards away from the Buddha statue. After we were sufficiently awed by the Buddha statue, we were taken inside the ‘dais’ building to view a museum dedicated to Buddha relics, underground temples and which included what was claimed to be the product of one of Buddha’s teeth which had replicated itself …
After returning to our bus, we were taken back into Kaohsiung proper to visit their new track and field / baseball stadium which is said to be in the shape of a dragon …
And then on to Lotus Lake where we were encouraged to walk into the mouth of a dragon and out the mouth of a tiger for good luck. We were also told to rub the back for a turtle statue for good luck …
The lake shore was also studded with Taoist temples mixed with amusement parks. From there we returned to the port and the Pacific Princess.