A young Brazilian chorus called Crianca Feliz dressed in colorful T-shirts sang and danced a samba inside the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall auditorium, preceded by a trio of singers from Argentina. It looked like an international singing contest, but was actually a celebration of 50 years of devotion from local Buddhist Master Hsin Yun (
The 77-year-old Hsin Yun is one of the most respected monks in the country. He was born in China in 1927 and came to Taiwan in 1949. He became a monk at the age of 12 and started preaching the Dharma publicly in Ilan in 1952. He also founded one of the most influential Buddhist organizations Fo Guang Shan (佛光山).
In recent years Hsin Yun has focused on brining Buddhism onto the world stage, and has succeeded in recruiting believers in five continents.
To celebrate the anniversary, Fo Guang Shan is holding an international Buddhist song contest, Sounds of the Human World, and a photography exhibition of Hsin Yun's life, Cloud and Water.
"There will be contestants from about 10 countries, including Brazil, Malaysia, Singapore and the US. They will be singing melodies they composed themselves with lyrics inspired by Master Hsin Yun's preachings," said Chueh Nien (覺念), secretary to Hsin Yun.
"For the Cloud and Water exhibition, we have chosen 200 out of over 50,000 photographs, representing each stage of the master's life. We are also publishing an photography anthology with 2,000 photos."
When asked about what his greatest happiness and sorrow had been in the past 50 years, his answers reflected his deep involvement with secular society.
"I am most happy that Taiwan has become more and more open and progressive, embracing freedom and democracy, but at the same time, I am sorry to see that because of freedom and democracy, people are taking elections too seriously and causing rifts in society. I hope to help mend the rifts," said Hsin Yun.
The Sounds of the Human World contest begins today and runs till Saturday, starting at 7:30pm and running to 9:30pm every evening at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. The Cloud and Water exhibition is on display at the same location during the day.
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