WHERE WE WORSHIP
Buddha's Light rooted in Taiwan

By Zenaida Serrano Espanol
Advertiser Staff Writer

Abbess Yi Chao of Buddha's Light International temple in the Chinatown Cultural Plaza makes an offering. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

Our denomination or affiliation: Fo Guang Shan, or Buddha's Light Mountain, a Buddhist order based in Kao-Hsiung, Taiwan.

Where we are: Suite 206, Chinatown Cultural Plaza, 100 N. Beretania St..

Our numbers: The temple has about 300 members. Between 50 and 70 members attend service, which is held in Chinese, 10 a.m. each Sunday.

Our head of clergy: Abbess Yi Chao.

What's special about us: While there are more than 300 temples worldwide that have branched out of the

Fo Guang Shan order in Taiwan, Buddha's Light International Association of Hawai'i is the only such temple in the state, said Albert Lui, association vice president.

Our history: The Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order was founded in 1967 by the Venerable Master Hsing Yun, born in China in 1927.

The order's first temple established in the United States was Hsi Lai Temple, or West Coming Temple, built in 1988 in Hacienda Heights, Calif.

Hsi Lai Temple is the headquarters of the more than 20 temples throughout North and South America. Hawai'i's temple was established in the late 1980s. Members first gathered in a Hawai'i Kai home that was purchased by the organization, Lui said, and they moved to the Chinatown location in 2001.

Today there are more than 3 million members of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order worldwide.

What we believe: The Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order has been described by members as Humanistic Buddhism, or "everyday life Buddhism," Lui said.

It is a "reformed, modern-day Buddhism" that works to unite all Buddhist schools and sects, integrating Ch'an, or Zen, Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhism, he said.

"In Buddhism, we do not worship a supreme being," he said.

"We practice the Buddha's way of teaching."

Members also do not worship the Buddha, Lui emphasized, but they do honor him: "We bow to the Buddha because he's a great teacher and we pay respect to our teacher."

The teaching emphasizes two values: compassion and wisdom.

"Being a true Buddhist is like being a true student of the Buddha," Lui said. "We don't rely on blind faith. It's a learning process."

During services, members often meditate and chant or read from sutras, which are basically the words of the Buddha put into text, Lui said. The sutras cover many subjects, but all revolve around compassion and wisdom.

Their mission statement: "Let Buddha's light shine through the universe and let the dharma (the teaching of the Buddha) flow through all continents in the world," Lui said.

What we're excited about: The temple, along with Chung Wah Chung Kung Hui, or the United

Chinese Labor Association, and other Chinese organizations, will celebrate the 2,554th birthday of the Chinese sage Confucius at 10 a.m. today at the Chinatown Cultural Plaza courtyard.

"Confucius is regarded as the most learned man in China's history," Lui said. "Confucius set up the foundation of moral standards for China and that's why he's respected so highly."

The event will include a ceremonial service officiated by the temple, speeches, a lion dance and firecrackers. This celebration "to honor the great teacher of China" is open to the public, Lui said.

Contact: 779-8822

If you'd like to recommend a faith organization for Where We Worship, e-mail faith@honoluluadvertiser.com, call 525-8035 or write: Where We Worship, Faith Page, The Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802.