Qualla: Fo Guang Shan https://qualla.com/fo-guang-shan en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:37 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/w/s/j/9/fo-guang-shan-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Fo Guang Shan https://qualla.com/fo-guang-shan Fo Guang Shan: Introduction https://qualla.com/fo-guang-shan/ Photo credit CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, CC BY-SA 3.0. The temples have Wi-Fi. This might seem like a trivial detail, but it captures something fundamental about Fo Guang Shan, the international Buddhist organization headquartered on a hillside in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Founded in 1967 by Hsing Yun, a monk who fled mainland China during the civil war, Fo Guang Shan practices what it calls Humanistic Buddhism -- a philosophy rooted in the Linji school of Chan Buddhism that insists the faith must engage with the modern world rather than retreat from it. The order is famous for equipping its temples with the latest technology. It operates universities, television stations, publishing houses, and mobile medical clinics. It has branches in 173 countries and more than 3,500 monastics. When its founder died in February 2023 at age 95, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen and Premier Chen Chien-jen attended the funeral.

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Image: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/s/j/9/fo-guang-shan-wp/wsj9-fo-guang-shan-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Fo Guang Shan: A Monk Builds a Mountain https://qualla.com/fo-guang-shan/ Photo credit 玄史生, CC BY-SA 3.0. Hsing Yun purchased more than 30 hectares in Dashu Township, then part of rural Kaohsiung County, in 1967. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on May 16 of that year. What followed was decades of relentless construction: shrines, university buildings, retirement homes, rectories...

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Image: 玄史生 | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/s/j/9/fo-guang-shan-wp/wsj9-fo-guang-shan-a-monk-builds-a-mountain.mp3 0:06 2 full Fo Guang Shan: Humanistic Buddhism in Practice https://qualla.com/fo-guang-shan/ Photo credit Henry M. Trotter, Public domain. The organization's reach extends far beyond chanting halls. Fo Guang Shan runs orphanages, homes for the elderly, and drug rehabilitation programs in prisons. Mobile medical clinics serve remote villages. An annual winter relief program distributes warm clothing and food to the n...

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Image: Henry M. Trotter | Public domain

]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/s/j/9/fo-guang-shan-wp/wsj9-fo-guang-shan-humanistic-buddhism-in-practice.mp3 0:06 3 full Fo Guang Shan: A Museum That Plans in Centuries https://qualla.com/fo-guang-shan/ Photo credit Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0. The Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum, opened in December 2011 adjacent to the main monastery, is the organization's most visually dramatic achievement. The complex covers more than 100 hectares and is built along a central axial line facing east. Eight Chinese-styled pagodas flank the...

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Image: Bernard Gagnon | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/s/j/9/fo-guang-shan-wp/wsj9-fo-guang-shan-a-museum-that-plans-in-centuries.mp3 0:06 4 full Fo Guang Shan: A Global Network Seen from Above https://qualla.com/fo-guang-shan/ Photo credit Rybloo, CC BY-SA 3.0. From Hsi Lai Temple in California to Nan Hua Temple in South Africa, from Zu Lai Temple in Brazil to branches in Auckland, Toronto, London, and Manila, Fo Guang Shan has built a physical presence on every inhabited continent. But the spiritual center remains the hillside in Dashu...

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Image: Rybloo | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/s/j/9/fo-guang-shan-wp/wsj9-fo-guang-shan-a-global-network-seen-from-above.mp3 0:06 5 full