The Fo Guang Shan Temple of Auckland is a

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

and

community centre Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

of the

Fo Guang Shan Fo Guang Shan (FGS) () is an international Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhist organization and monastic order based in Taiwan that practices Humanistic Buddhism. The headquarters, Fo Guang Shan Monastery is located in Dashu District, Kaohsiung, and is ...

Chinese Buddhist Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhism which has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including Chinese art, art, politics, Ch ...

movement in the

East Tāmaki East Tāmaki is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is a largely industrial area adjacent to a rapidly growing population. Prior to the 1960s it was largely a dairy farming area. A landmark is Smales Mountain which in 2010 has the remains of ...

Flat Bush Flat Bush (also known as Ormiston or Flatbush) is a southeastern suburb in the city of Auckland, New Zealand. It has recently become one of the city's largest new planned towns after being developed as a rural area of Auckland for several deca ...

suburb of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The temple and complex were built over seven years. It was designed in the architectural style of the

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

. The temple also includes a large Buddha statue and a two-tonne bell. Opened in late 2007, the mission of the new temple is to promote

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 li ...

. But it is also intended to benefit (and is open to) non-Buddhists, "through education and teaching people how to lead good lives." Even before its official opening, the temple had provided community courses such as Chinese calligraphy, Chinese language, yoga and martial arts, as well as providing a venue for crime prevention talks and meetings.

Facilities

The temple grounds are open six days a week (closed Monday) and are open on most public holidays. Hours are normally 9 am until 5 pm but some parts of the temple (notably the exhibition hall and the external shrine) may open later and close earlier. During festivals, the temple may be open later in the evening and occasionally will be open past midnight such as on the

Lunar New Year Lunar New Year is the beginning of a calendar year whose months are moon cycles, based on the lunar calendar or lunisolar calendar. The Lunar New Year as a celebration is observed by numerous cultures. It is also named " Chinese New Year" becau ...

Main Buddha hall

The main Buddha hall contains a single large Chinese-style statue of the

Buddha Gautama Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

in Calling the Earth to Witness pose. On the walls are thousands of

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

Buddha images.

Exhibition hall/Art gallery

Adjacent to the Buddha Hall is an exhibition hall. Exhibits are often, though not always, works of art about Buddhism, such as paintings, calligraphy and woven art. Several exhibits are shown throughout the year with each exhibit lasting for a few months but sometimes there are special exhibitions of a shorter duration. Occasionally, there will be activities for children, such as calligraphy writing during a calligraphy exhibition. Exhibitions by local artists are also held, such as the late 2019 - early 2020 exhibition by Dean Buchanan inspired by bicycling through the

Waitākere Ranges The Waitākere Ranges is a mountain range in New Zealand. Located in West Auckland between metropolitan Auckland and the Tasman Sea, the ranges and its foothills and coasts comprise some of public and private land. The area, traditionally kno ...

. The exhibition hall is open slightly shorter hours than the rest of the temple grounds. (As of 2022, the hall is open from 10 am to 2 pm, while the rest of temple is open from 9 am to 3 pm.) Entry is free.

Other areas

The entrance hall contains a statue of Avalokitesvara. A desk to the left is manned by a volunteer member of

Buddha's Light International Association The Buddha's Light International Association (), commonly known as BLIA, is a monastic and lay organization. BLIA was established by Hsing Yun in 1992. The organization is associated with Fo Guang Shan, the largest Buddhist organization in Taiwan. ...

(BLIA) and/or a resident nun to assist visitors and worshippers. Outside and to the left of the main temple structure and below ground is a shrine to Ksitigarbha. This shrine shuts earlier than the rest of the temple. The central area of the courtyard is divided into large flagstones separated by a grid of several inch high plants which lends itself to a slow walking meditation practice. (There is clear space to either side as well as level pathways for those with mobility concerns.) To one side of the central courtyard is a series of short raised wood paths amongst cherry and other trees that lends itself to fast-walking meditation practice. Other rooms off the central courtyard are often used for various services and activities such as language and calligraphy, sutra-chanting, and study groups. A substantial area of the property is given over to car-parking. During larger festivals (notably

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Sinophone, Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly r ...

) portions of the front grounds will be covered with various food and activity stalls.

Water Drop Teahouse

On site is a

tea house A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment whic ...

providing

vegetarian food Vegetarian cuisine is based on food that meets Vegetarianism, vegetarian standards by not including meat and animal tissue products (such as gelatin or animal-derived rennet). Lacto-ovo vegetarianism (the most common type of vegetarianism in the ...

and a variety of

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...

s or tizanes.

Gift shop

Sharing the same room as the tea house is a small gift shop providing a number of works of literature about Buddhism, particularly the writings of Hsing Yun (Fo Guang Shan's founder), a variety of religious objects (such as statues, mala, icons) and similar.

References

External links

Fo Guang Shan New Zealand (North Island)
(official website) {{Fo Guang Shan Asian-New Zealand culture in Auckland Chinese-New Zealand culture Religious buildings and structures in Auckland Buddhism in New Zealand Fo Guang Shan temples 2000s architecture in New Zealand