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.