The university is within convenient driving distance of many other attractions as well: to the east is the Alishan National Scenic Area of Chiayi, one of the most beautiful mountain districts in the world; to the west are various coastal towns along the Taiwan Strait, such as Budai, Chiayi, which is famous for its fish market; and, to the northwest, on the border with Yunlin County, is the township of Beigang, home to the oldest Mazu Temple in Taiwan, Chaotian Temple.
The Pratas Da Wang temple is dedicated to 'Kuang Kang' and 'The South China Sea Goddess'- Mazu.
As Ma Tzu said, 'attained once, attained forever.' Any enlightenment that comes and goes or has gradations is nothing more than delusion.
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The meditation center averaged approximately 500 monks per biannual retreat, which was unheard of since the days of Hui Neng and Ma Tzu.
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He stated that attaining perfect enlightenment was equal to becoming a Buddha, and this was also equal to definitively solving the gong'an, remarking that this was not his unique teaching, but that of numerous masters including Huineng, Ma Tzu, all the way down to current masters.
The Taokas were not always opposed to Han encroachment on their lands as several Taokas groups were involved in building the Ta-Chia Mazu Temple.
From the Chan/Zen point of view, Buddha and Mind are one (即心即佛) (see the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch (六祖壇經)), as expressed in Mazu's famous dictum "Mind is Buddha".
Mazu | Mazu (goddess) |
Chaotian Palace (朝天宮) of Beigang, Yunlin County in Taiwan, is devoted to the goddess Mazu, also has human-shaped statues for the four Dragon Kings, each riding on a dragon.
Her 2004 bestselling novel Mazu's Bodyguards was adapted into a musical, presented at the National Theater in Taipei in December 2009.
Lin was accompanied by Vice President of ARATS Zheng Lizong, Taiwan Mazu Fellowship honorary chairman Yen Chin-piao, Morakot Post-Disaster Reconstruction Council chief executive Chern Jenn-chuan and Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Liu Shih-fang.