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The 2019 World Association of Gods has successfully concluded

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The 2019 World Association of Gods has successfully concluded

January 02
13:10 2020

The 2019 When Buddha Meets the Gods, jointly organized by the Association of Chinese Traditional Religions, the Bureau of Cultural Heritage and the Kaohsiung City Government, was held on December 25th at the Buddha Museum. 1,000 temples, 3,000 deities and 70,000 followers from home and abroad took part in the grand ceremony. Through inter-faith dialogues, they crossed the religious and national boundaries, realizing the vision of “living side by side without distinction.” All the audiences were deeply moved by the harmonious atmosphere. Venerable Master Hsing Yun, founder of Fo Guang Shan, made a special presence to wish everyone with good luck and happiness. He thanked all religions for their concerted efforts to achieve this international grand gathering.

Most Venerable Hsin Bao, Head Abbot of Fo Guang Shan, thanked all the participants in his speech, speaking of how the event promotes better life through religious faith, and that the event reminded him of the support and enthusiasm of all the temples during his first participation in the alms procession. To him, this is the embodiment of religious harmony. He believes that through concerted efforts, not only can religious beliefs continue to expand from one person to another, the world can also be permeated with truth, goodness and beauty. People are also making friends and communicating with each other, showing the power of religious faith and social harmony. When everyone serves the society with kindness, it is as if one is in heaven.

Basilica del Santo Nino has also come from the Philippines to Taiwan at the invitation of Fo Guang Shan Chu Un Buddhist Temple. Basilica del Santo Nino is the oldest Roman Catholic church in the Philippines. Like the Buddha, the Santo Nino brings people joy and hope to all beings. This meeting thus unites more strength for world peace.

Roman Mellah, a German tourist who is working in Taipei, came to visit the Buddha Museum in the midst of a five-day Christmas holiday. He had thought that the Buddha Museum would be a very empty place, but was unexpectedly greeted by a grand religious event. “It was really cool!” he claimed.

Maria Taibo, an Italian international volunteer at Fo Guang Shan said that she had never seen such a grand scene in Italy, and described it as a religious carnival, claiming “It’s incredible!”

Deleuse Laurent, Greta Pach, Grayson Buchanan, Fo Guang Shan volunteers respectively from France, Germany, and the United States, claimed that they have never seen so many deities placed at the Big Buddha Terrace.

Eva Nomm, an Estonian volunteer at Fo Guang Shan was impressed by the event which include participants who came from different religions and temples.

In line with this year’s theme “Faith and Inheritance,” the event not only promotes dialogue among different deities, but also promotes cooperation among temples.  In his speech, Wang Jinping, General President of the Association of Chinese Traditional Religions, said that the event has being held for the tenth time since it was first held in 2011, and its scale has become increasingly large under the blessings of Venerable Master Hsing Yun. With the Buddha Museum as a platform, Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism are brought together, and believers of religions such as Yiguandao and Catholicism have also attended this grand gathering, forming a profound influence to all beings through religious exchanges. This year, with the assistance of the Bureau of Cultural Heritage, not only has the number of performing groups reach 108, there is also more diversity. When Buddha Meets the Gods has heightened public awareness in the protection of intangible cultural assets, and brought about a better way of living by promoting virtues.

See more information at:

http://www.fgsbmc.org.tw/en/index.aspx

https://www.fgs.org.tw/events/2019_budd

Micro film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_MBnLmOQW8&t=72s


Media Contact
Company Name: Fo Guang Shan Affiliated Museums
Contact Person: Ven. Ru Hui
Email: Send Email
Phone: +886-7-656-3033 Ext: 4197
City: Kaohsiung
Country: Taiwan
Website: http://www.fgsbmc.org.tw/en/index.aspx