Main Shrine
The Main Shrine is the sanctuary of Guang Ming Temple, enshrining the Buddha Shakyamuni and capable of accommodating nearly 500 practitioners for collective worship. The Buddha embodies great wisdom, pure morality, and compassionate power, subduing demons and rescuing all suffering and deluded sentient beings, much like a great hero of the world. On the left front of the Buddha is a statue of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva.
Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, who has attained Buddhahood over countless eons under the name of the True Law Bright Tathagata, manifests in the form of a Bodhisattva to guide sentient beings with compassion. The Bodhisattva perceives the suffering of beings with a compassionate eye, responding to their cries for relief and thus is named Avalokiteshvara (the One Who Perceives the Sounds of the World). The Bodhisattva remains unaffected by external conditions, realizes the truth of the world, and, free from hindrances (wisdom), responds to the needs of beings to relieve their suffering and enable their liberation (compassion), thus also known as the Bodhisattva Who Observes Freedom.
Dining Hall
The Dining Hall, known as Five Contemplations Hall, is a place where venerables, devotees, and volunteers gather for meals. It can accommodate around 200 people and is currently open only on Sunday afternoons or during special ceremonies. The kitchen, called the Big Kitchen, is run by skilled volunteer chefs who prepare nutritious and delicious vegetarian dishes, both Chinese and Western.
The name Five Contemplations Hall serves as a reminder to reflect on the "Five Contemplations" before eating. These five contemplations are:
• Assessing the merits of the meal and its source.
• Reflecting on one's own conduct and recognizing the meal as a necessary offering.
• Guarding against negative emotions such as greed.
• Considering the meal as medicine to maintain health.
• Accepting the meal to support one's path to enlightenment.
Memorial Hall
Meditation Hall
Meditation Hall is one of the seven halls of in Chinese Buddhism Monastery, historically known as the “Monk Hall.” It refers to the building within a Tsung Lin (the monastery) where the monastic community carries out its daily practices—rising, sitting, and reclining. It is also known as Cloud Hall, Sitting Hall, Buddha-Selection Hall, Sacred Monk Hall, and Withered Wood Hall.
In traditional monastic complexes, the Meditation Hall is reserved exclusively for the practice of monastics. In contrast, the Meditation Halls established at the various Fo Guang Shan branch temples are open to both monastics and lay people, as well as the general public, for meditation practice.
Tea House
Master Hsing Yun established tea houses at Fo Guang Shan branches worldwide to embody the principle of giving back — "When receiving a drop of water's grace, one should repay with the gratitude of a spring." In keeping with this belief, an elegant space has been created on the first floor of Guang Ming Temple. This area offers a tranquil environment where visitors can relax, reflect, and find peace. By combining literature, the fragrance of tea, and artistic paintings, the tea house aims to inspire the public to cherish blessings and appreciate relationships.
Library
The public is encouraged to apply for a library card, while Fo Guang members can obtain one for free with their membership card.
