A Pagoda of Modernity and Ancientness

by Huan Truong Vi (Vietnam)

I didn't expect to find Taiwan

Descended from a family whose beliefs are influenced by Buddhism’s commandments in Vietnam, I have been given the opportunity to visit more than thirty pagodas distributed vertically from the North to the South of Vietnam. All of the pagodas I have been to are all grave and divine with different characteristics listing from buddhas’ statues, incense thuribles, the fragrance of agarwood, divinations and prophecies. Therefore, I had long engraved pagodas in my mind as a tranquil and sacred spectacle that has remained ancient and unchangeable since the beginning of time. However, this deep-rooted idea of mine changed completely when I had a chance to visit Fo Guang Shan Pagoda - a pagoda situated Kaohsiung, Taiwan in June 2018. Fo Guang Shan Pagoda presents a marvelous combination of ancientness and modernity while employing advanced technology to promote good deeds. The biggest chamber to worship the Buddhas is decorated in a dark tone with little light and thin incense-smoke as if we were taking a walk through the unknown world of divinity. The whole chamber is secretly installed with advanced sensory systems. For every footstep that you take, magical things would happen. The biggest Buddha’s statue - the Amitabha Buddha’s statue, would greet you cheerfully with a lively smile and say “Xin nian kuai le” (Happy New Year). I was quite terrified at first to see his statue’s mouth moving to greet nearby people, then heard the laughing sound actually coming from him. Minutes later, I happened to find a projector carefully concealed on the opposite side of the Buddha’s statue, which helped portray his moving mouth. Wandering around that statue for a while, I found a sign which told me to make a wish and take three steps towards another Buddha’s statue to be blessed. This is another Fo Po Guan Yin’s statue with two hands holding a sacred vase and a twig. I followed the instructions and was astonished to see the statue slowly moving forward a little bit, then used the small twig, soaked it with sacred water and splashed the cool water on me. This is based on a sensory system underneath my feet. There is also a modified fire basket for prophecy. The instructions ask us to warm our hands on this artificial fire basket, then open our palms and receive a blessing word. Mine was the “Security” one. This blessing fire basket is generated thanks to the combination of a sensory system within the basket and a white laser light system carefully concealed on the rooftop space above the fire basket. There is also another area for watching the journey to 18 floors of hell to promote humans not to do evil deeds. In the chamber that worships Fo Po Guan Yin Qian Shou Qian Yan (Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva 1000 Eyes 1000 Hands), each of the underneath tiles is patterned with a luminous white lotus on a green theme - a symbol of purity in Buddhism. All in all, Fo Guang Shan Pagoda is an example of a perfect combination between the ancientness and the modernity but still remains highly holy. I believe that everyone should visit this pagoda once in their life to see a magical world created by ancient religions and advanced technological applications. Moreover, as a person who is influenced by Buddhism’s commandments, I find out that applying technology in the way that Fo Guang Shan Pagoda is doing will bring Buddhism closer and further to the new generations.