The Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple of New Zealand is a

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

and

community centre A community centre, community center, or community hall is a public location where members of a community gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may be open for the whole community or for a sp ...

of the

Fo Guang Shan Fo Guang Shan (FGS) () is an international Chinese Buddhism, Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhist organization and monastic order based in Taiwan that practices Humanistic Buddhism whose roots are traced to the Linji school of Chan Buddhism. The headqu ...

Chinese Buddhist Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, first=t, poj=Hàn-thoân Hu̍t-kàu, j=Hon3 Cyun4 Fat6 Gaau3, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism. The Chinese Buddhist canonJiang Wu, "The Chin ...

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 an urban area of Auckland for several de ...

suburb of

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

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

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

. 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 l ...

. But it is also intended open to non-Buddhists, "through education and teaching people how to lead good lives." The temple had provided community courses such as Chinese School, Children Dharma Class, Meditation Class, as well as providing a venue for talks and meetings. In Early Jan 2024 onward every Saturday 1030am temple having the English Dharma Services.

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 3 pm but some parts of the temple (notably the exhibition hall and the external shrine) open later at 10am and close earlier 2.30pm. 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 new year based on lunar calendars or, informally, lunisolar calendars. Lunar calendar years begin with a new moon and have a fixed number of lunar months, usually twelve, in contrast to lunisolar calendar ye ...

Main Buddha hall

The main Buddha hall contains a single large Chinese-style statue of the Buddha Gautama 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 remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

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, New Zealand, West Auckland between metropolitan Auckland and the Tasman Sea, the ranges and its foothills and coasts comprise some of public and private land. ...

. 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 staffed by a volunteer member of Buddha's Light International Association (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, or the Spring Festival (see also #Names, § Names), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holi ...

) 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 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 that only ser ...

providing

vegetarian food Vegetarian cuisine is based on food that meets vegetarian standards by not including meat and animal tissue products (such as gelatin or animal-derived rennet). Common vegetarian foods Vegetarian cuisine includes consumption of foods containin ...

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 south-western China and nor ...

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 East Auckland 21st-century religious buildings and structures in New Zealand 2007 establishments in New Zealand 21st-century Buddhist temples