Fo Guang Shan (North Island) Sunday Dharma Service – Introduction to the Great Wisdom Shrine in FGS (Taiwan)

On 30 May, Fo Guang Shan (North Island) held its Sunday Dharma Service which was attended by 50 members. They recited ‘An Exhortation to Generate the Bodhi Mind’ and ‘A prayer for the lay people’ written by Master Hsing Yun. It was followed by watching a DVD of the story of Fo Guang Shan’s Great Wisdom Shrine within the Men’s College.
Within the shrine itself is an image of the Dharma Prince himself, Manjusri Bodhisattva of Great Wisdom, who holds aloft the sword of wisdom and rides upon a golden lion. The sword represents the wisdom that cuts through ignorance, and the lion symbolizes the powerful energy of the lion’s roar, the teaching of the Dharma. It is in this shrine that the students of the Men’s College conduct their morning and evening chanting, to increase and fulfill for themselves the prajna wisdom of Manjusri Bodhisattva.
Beneath the Great Wisdom Shrine is the Zongyang Memorial Hall, in commemoration of Venerable Master Zongyang from the first year in the formation of the Republic of China. Venerable Master Zongyang is a 44th generation Patriarch of the Linji Chan Sect. When the hall was opened, Venerable Master Hsing Yun stated that: “He was a true hero who displayed all the Buddha’s vows in liberating the world. As a young man, I learnt his valor and love of the nation.” We hope that all fellow practitioners who pay respects here, can also, like the Venerable Master Zongyang, practice the spirit of the great Bodhisattva path to liberate living beings through vows of compassion and kindness.
(Abstracted From www.fgs.org.tw)