Every Journey in This World Brings Merits and Wisdom

Faith is the foundation of our lives. During the New Year, visit Fo Guang Shan to offer incense, ring the Peace Bell, spend time with spiritual mentors, pay respects to the Buddha, and enjoy the harmonious and joyful moments with your family and friends. In moments of hardships, faith is a shining lamp that will guide us through darkness and uncertainty. Taking a walk through the majestic and peaceful shrines will help settle restive emotions a and infuse one with positive energy to start the year.

There are various events at the “Fo Guang Shan New Year Festival of Light and Peace” for you to participate in. One may offer peace lanterns for oneself or on behalf of family members to wish for health, peace, and happiness; join a pilgrimage to pay respects to the Buddha; make vows through sutra transcriptions; attend the New Year’s Homage to the Thousand Buddhas Dharma Service, the Light Offering Dharma Service, and the Great Compassion Repentance Service. One may also visit the shrines, draw Dharma words, and experience tea meditation to gain joy and wisdom.

Enjoy Festive Hi-Tech New Year Lights

Every year, we host the New Year Festival of Light and Peace as well as the Light Offering Dharma Service, in the hopes of allowing devotees to light up their own inner lamps of compassion and wisdom. During the day, in addition to offering lights, visitors may also interact with the AI screens and interactive VR technology at the Dharma Hall, have fun with the “Pure Land of Vairocana” Interactive Projection at the Dharma Gem Square, and partake in the Buddha Museum’s events such as “Buddha Museum on the Move – One-Minute AR Introduction,” “Animals on the Move”, “ANiMAL – National Palace Museum New Media Art Exhibition”. In addition, the entire monastery has been decorated with various colorful and beautiful lantern displays. May the lamp of your heart also be illuminated in the midst of enjoying the sea of lanterns!

This year’s festival takes inspiration from Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s concept of propagating Dharma through technology by incorporating the latest technology to illustrate the truth, virtue, and beauty of the Pure Land, in hopes to guide visitors to discover the meaning of “The Buddha is in my mind, the Dharma Realm is in my heart.” This new approach of touring Fo Guang Shan with technology will offer a new perspective to the traditional celebration of the New Year.

In addition to the colorful lanterns, there is also the "Lights of Wisdom" Prayer Ceremony at 7:00 PM every evening at the Buddha Museum. After the ceremony, one may follow the lantern parade along Fo Guang Boulevard back to the Main Shrine to dedicate merits and wish for a new year of good fortune, auspiciousness, and peace for the whole family at the Light Offering Dharma Service. Stay put until 20:30 PM to enjoy the “Auspicious Stars” Drone Light Show which will feature 400 drones flying over the skies of the Main Shrine.

Spread Virtue and Beauty in a World of Happiness

Venerable Master Hsing Yun says that money is not what we should leave to our descendants. We should accumulate wisdom for ourselves and teach morals to our descendants. Worldly success is only temporary, while the strength of faith is everlasting. Education, morals, and faith should replace money as legacy, so one’s descendants can enjoy unlimited spiritual wealth.

Families visiting Fo Guang Shan can stop by the Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery to see the Taiwanese Traditional Artifacts Exhibition featuring artists Chen San-huo and Hsieh Tung-che. There is the “Story House Under the Big Tree” at the Buddha Museum Rhino Area and the “New Year’s Celebrations-A Melting Pot of Performers” at the open stage of the Dharma Gem Square. At the Buddha Museum’s Great Enlightenment Auditorium, one can enjoy the “2020 Lantern Festival and 10th Shanghai Cultural Festival Shanghai Wooden Puppet Show – Fabulous World of Puppet” Each exhibition hall has wondrous displays of art, and in particular, the “World Filled with Good Fortune Floral Exhibition” at the Main Hall offers a visual feast and festive ambiance.

Families may also partake in interactive activities at the Sutra Repository such as the “One-Stroke Calligraphy Dharma Words” and the “One-Stroke Calligraphy Scavenger Hunt”. At the Dharma Hall, both the young and old may enjoy the “Three Acts of Goodness International Microfilm Exhibition” and, through the lens of AR technology, experience the “Story of Taiwan” Nostalgic Art Exhibition by Artist Huang Hsin-Jung,”. There is also the “Bonsai Exhibition” at the Dharma Gem Square.

Savor Delicious Vegetarian Cuisine

Fo Guang Shan’s vegetarian dishes are internationally-recognized. During the New Year, peace porridge is offered at the Devotees Building and Buddha Museum Camphor Grove Tea House. At the Fo Guang Boulevard Fair, one may enjoy local Taiwanese snacks, delicacies and drinks, while Huaiyang Cuisine is served at the 32 Vegetarian Restaurant. The variety of selections will surely satisfy the taste buds of every visitor! At each of the Water Drop Tea Houses, and at the Buddha Museum’s Front Hall 2F and Liberation Snack Bar, all kinds of vegetarian cuisine, including the signature “Fo Guang Noodles” and “Jixiang Rice” are available for visitors to savor.