The Fo Guang Shan temple is a large temple and community centre of the Fo Guang Shan

Fo Guang Shan

Fo Guang Shan is an international Chinese Mahayana Buddhist monastic order based in the Republic of China , and one of the largest Buddhist organizations. The headquarters of Fo Guang Shan, located in Kaohsiung, is the largest Buddhist monastery in Taiwan. The organization itself is also one of...

 Buddhist

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 movement in the East Tamaki

East Tamaki

East Tamaki is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. This is a mixed residential, light industry and retail area which is growing rapidly. Prior to the 1960s this was largely a dairy farming area. A landmark is Smales Mountain which in 2010 has the remains of an old Pa, a stone field garden, an early...

/Flatbush suburb of Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. It is the largest Buddhist temple in the country. The temple and complex were built over seven years at a cost NZ$ 20 million. It was designed in the architectural style of the Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

. The temple also includes a large Buddha statue and a two-tonne bell.

Opened in late 2007, the mission of the new temple is to promote Humanistic Buddhism

Humanistic Buddhism

Humanistic Buddhism is a modern Buddhist philosophy practiced mostly by Mahayana Buddhists. It is the integration of people's spiritual practice into all aspects of their daily lives...

. But it is also intended to benefit (and is open to) non-Buddhists, "through education and teaching people how to lead good lives." Even before its official opening, the temple had provided community courses such as Chinese calligraphy, Chinese language, yoga and martial arts, as well as providing a venue for crime prevention talks and meetings.

External links

• Fo Guang Shan New Zealand (North Island) (official website)