3 days in Taipei - can i do tao or buddhist things?

October 9, 2023 11:16 PM

I know just a little about buddhism and some of the practices. I'd love to use some of my very little time to learn some more. (also open to other sugestions to get the most out of a short visit)
posted by jander03 to Travel & Transportation around Taipei, Taiwan (3 answers total)

I am a Buddhist and was in Taipei pre pandemic. Now there are many different types / branches of Buddhism so what I found as a Tibetan Buddhist is that the temples in Taipei were beautiful, vibrant and with different iconography. I looked for but didn’t see any classes or open prayer sessions (I don’t speak Taiwanese nor Mandarin) which strikes me as typical for non-western Buddhist centers - people of the community attend but not a lot of drop ins. I visited a few temples both in Taipei and outside the city. Aside from looking around and taking pictures, I sat with a statue of Guanyin (Avalokiteshvara) and meditated. If I was wanting something more, I would look up the puja (prayer) schedule and sit politely in the back and listen and absorb the vibes.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 8:56 AM on October 10, 2023

With such a short time I would suggest visiting some of the temples. There's Lung Shan Temple and the Confucian temple (which is next to another complex). Also next to the Yuanshan MRT station (which is the one you want if you visit the Confucian temple) is the Linji Huguo Temple.
There are always monks wondering there that you can probably chat up. Not far from there is Dharma Drum Mountain Nung Chan Monastery which is another place you can probably find people of the temple to talk with.
posted by rmmcclay at 8:29 PM on October 10, 2023

Agree on Longshan, though it's technically more of a taoist temple with a lot of folk deities. I think one guide said there's like over 100 of them in Longshan Temple, including Guanyin and Mazu.
posted by kschang at 8:38 PM on October 10, 2023