Nan Hua Temple (南華寺, ''Nanhua Si'') is the largest
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
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
seminary
A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...
in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, and is situated in the Cultura Park
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
of
Bronkhorstspruit
Bronkhorstspruit is a town 50 km east of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa along the N4 highway towards Witbank. It also includes three townships called Zithobeni, Rethabiseng and Ekangala. On 18 May 2011, the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. It is the African headquarters 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 ...
'' (Buddha's Light Mountain) Order, covering over . Fo Guang Shan was established in 1967 by
Venerable Master Hsing Yun
Hsing Yun () (born 19 August 1927) is a Chinese Buddhist monk. He is the founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order as well as the affiliated Buddha's Light International Association in Taiwan. Hsing Yun is considered to be one of the most pr ...
, and is a
Mahayana
''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
Buddhism
monastic
Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic ...
order. The Temple, like its mother order in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, follows the
Linji Chan school of Buddhism as well as the
Pure Land
A pure land is the celestial realm of a buddha or bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism. The term "pure land" is particular to East Asian Buddhism () and related traditions; in Sanskrit the equivalent concept is called a buddha-field (Sanskrit ). Th ...
School.
History
The Temple can trace its roots back to 8 March 1992, when the Bronkhorstspruit City Council, under its chief executive and former church
minister, Dr Hennie Senekal, who had previously visited Taiwan to promote investment opportunities in his town, donated six
hectare
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...
s of land to the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order for a
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 ...
cultural and educational complex.
The Fo Guang Shan Religious Affairs Committee subsequently sent Venerable Hui Li to be the founding
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...
of the temple, whose main aim is to promote Buddhism on the
African continent
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. Construction began in October 1992; the eventual cost of the temple complex was sixty million
South African rand
The South African rand, or simply the rand, ( sign: R; code: ZAR) is the official currency of the Southern African Common Monetary Area: South Africa, Namibia (alongside the Namibian dollar), Lesotho (alongside the Lesotho loti) and Eswatini ...
.
Since then the Temple itself, as well as the Nan Hua Buddhist Temple
Guesthouse
A guest house (also guesthouse) is a kind of lodging. In some parts of the world (such as the Caribbean), guest houses are a type of inexpensive hotel-like lodging. In others, it is a private home that has been converted for the exclusive use ...
, African Buddhist Seminary (ABS), Nan Hua Village, Assembly Hall, and a
Pureland Ch'an
Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning "meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and S ...
retreat centre have been built. Nan Hua Buddhist Temple has opened branches in other South African cities, in
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
,
Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...
, Newcastle,
Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
and
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
. They are also very active in community, charity, cultural and prison outreach programmes.
The main temple was officially opened in 2005 by the seventh and (then) worldwide head abbot, Most Venerable
Hsin Pei
Hsin Pei (; born March 13, 1970) was the seventh and eighth term abbot and director of the Fo Guang Shan, an international Chinese Buddhist order based in Taiwan. The youngest abbot ever elected to the order, Hsin Pei was elected by the members ...
.
Pureland Ch'an retreat centre
The Temple also has a specialist Pureland
meditation
Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...
retreat centre that is located about one and a half kilometres away. It is currently (2007) under the direction of
Ch'an
Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning "meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and S ...
Master Hui Re. The meditation centre is open to all people – both monastic and
laity
In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother.
In both religious and wider secular usage, a layperson ...
– and does not discriminate on the basis of religion, nationality, sex, or any other factor. Beginner, intermediate, and advanced Ch'an & Pureland
retreats
The meaning of a spiritual retreat can be different for different religious communities. Spiritual retreats are an integral part of many Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist, Christian and Sufi communities.
In Hinduism and Buddhism, meditative retreats are ...
are held, and include an
organic
Organic may refer to:
* Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity
* Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ
Chemistry
* Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...
,
vegetarian
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarianism m ...
diet. The centre includes a large meditation hall, a monastic residence, and residences for the meditation practitioners.
Abbots and abbesses
The
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...
s and
abbess
An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey.
Description
In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...
es of Nan Hua since its inception have been:
* 1992–2002: Ven. Hui Li (慧禮法師)
* 2001–2003: Ven. Man Ya (滿亞法師)
* 2003–2006: Ven. Hui Fang (慧昉法師) (1st term)
* 2006–2008: Ven. Yi Chun (依淳法師)
* 2008–present: Ven. Hui Fang (慧昉法師) (2nd term)
Bomb explosion
On 30 October 2002, the
Boeremag
The Boeremag (, "Boer Force") is the name by which a group of men convicted of treason in South Africa is commonly known. The South African government described them as a South African right-wing terrorist organization with white separatist aim ...
, a
militant
The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...
Afrikaner
Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from Free Burghers, predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: ...
right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
organisation planted a
bomb
A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...
in the
basement
A basement or cellar is one or more floors of a building that are completely or partly below the ground floor. It generally is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, ...
of the temple. Two staff members were lightly injured when the
detonator
A detonator, frequently a blasting cap, is a device used to trigger an explosive device. Detonators can be chemically, mechanically, or electrically initiated, the last two being the most common.
The commercial use of explosives uses electri ...
went off prematurely. At the time a
South African Police Service
The South African Police Service (SAPS) is the national police force of the Republic of South Africa. Its 1,154 police stations in South Africa are divided according to the provincial borders, and a Provincial Commissioner is appointed in eac ...
spokesman stated that the blast could have killed and injured dozens of people if the detonator had not failed to set off the explosives. About 150
devotee
Devotion or Devotions may refer to:
Religion
* Faith, confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept
* Anglican devotions, private prayers and practices used by Anglican Christians
* Buddhist devotion, commitment to religious observance
* Cat ...
s from South Africa,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
were attending ceremonies in the main temple at the time and about thirty construction workers were close by as well. South African politicians across the political spectrum condemned the blasts.
See also
*
IBPS Manila
The International Buddhist Progress Society of Manila, Philippines (also known as Fo Guang Shan Manila) () is the main branch way-place of the Taiwan affiliated Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order in the Philippines. As do all branch temples, way-places ...
*
Zu Lai Temple
The Zu Lai Temple (in Chinese, 如來寺, in Portuguese, "Templo Zu Lai", lit. ''Tathāgata Temple'') is a Buddhist temple in Cotia, São Paulo, Brazil. It is the largest Buddhist temple in South America with 10,000 square meters of constructed ar ...
*
Chung Tian Temple
Chung Tian Temple () is a Chan Buddhist temple located at 1034 Underwood Road, Priestdale, Queensland. The temple is part of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist monastic order. Construction of the temple began in January 1991 and it opened in June 1993. ...
*
Hsi Lai Temple
*
Buddhism in South Africa
Buddhist traditions are represented in South Africa in many forms. Although the inherently introspective nature of Buddhism does not encourage census, adherents to these traditions are usually outspoken and supported by perhaps an even greater, ...
*
South African Chinese
Chinese South Africans () are Overseas Chinese who reside in South Africa, including those whose ancestors came to South Africa in the early 20th century until Chinese immigration was banned under the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1904. Chinese ind ...
*
Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum
The Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum (), formerly known as the Buddha Memorial Center, is a Mahāyāna Buddhist cultural, religious, and educational museum located in Dashu District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The museum is affiliated with Fo Guang Shan, ...
References
External links
Nan Hua Buddhist Temple WebsiteTravel Information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nan Hua Temple
Buddhism in South Africa
Chinese-South African culture
Religious buildings and structures completed in 2007
Buddhist temples in Africa
Fo Guang Shan temples
Tourist attractions in South Africa
Religious buildings and structures in South Africa
Buildings and structures in Gauteng
Taiwanese diaspora
Tourist attractions in Gauteng
Religious organisations based in South Africa
City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality