FoGuang Shan Chu Un Temple
V. Rama Street, Calamba, Cebu City Contact number: (+63 32) 253-8144
There are many temples in Cebu City built by the Chinese immigrants. One of them is the FoGuang Shan Chu Un Temple located along V. Rama St. (FoGuang Shan literally means Buddha’s Light Mountain while Chu Un means compassion and gratitude.) The Chu Un Buddhist Temple is one of the branches of the worldwide Sangha of FoGuang Shan based in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. It stands at V. Rama Avenue, a religious complex constructed in 1988 by PaternoLuym Sr. to honor his mother, who was a devout Buddhist.
Three buildings of the temple lie on 1.8 hectares of sloping land: Kuan Yin Shrine, Bamboo Garden Dining Hall, and Di Zhang Shrine. In March 1989, Venerable Tze Rung came from Taiwan to administer Chu Un as its first Abbess. In 1990 the late Head Abbot Venerable Hsin Ping led a group of disciples to perform the purification ceremony of the Kuan Yin Shrine (The Great Mercy Hall). The third floor of this building is the tea room or conference hall. Also here is the Ludo and Luym Family Memorial Hall. The second floor is for praying for the deceased. Here is found the temple’s columbarium and the statue of Amitabha Buddha of the Pure Land.
This temple, which attracts crowds around the Chinese Lunar New Year, attests to the growing diversity of religious followers in the City. It has offered religious, educational, and cultural activities for the past 20 years. For example, the temple gives bundles of joy to the neighbors every Christmas. They have since also included activities every first Sunday of the month to encourage interaction between the temple and its neighbors in the barangay. A teacher or master will teach them good grooming, how to set a table, flower arranging, taichi, meditation and to follow the three acts of goodness: Do good deeds, speak good words, and think good thoughts. They have also conducted medical and dental missions for the barangay.
PROGRAM: 6:00 p.m. – Opening Prayer; “Siddhartha” musical excerpt; Chinese Cultural Presentation; Buddha Bathing; Tea Ceremony; Chinese Calligraphy