kaohsiung fo guang shan, kaohsiung

When life gives you pagodas, take a step back and appreciate the symmetry!

As you stand in the shaded archway of the Fo Guang Shan Buddha Memorial Center, the grand courtyard stretches out before you like a meticulously arranged chessboard. The pagoda-style buildings, with their orange-tiled roofs, seem to challenge the overcast sky, standing tall and proud in their symmetrical perfection. A few people dot the scene, tiny in comparison to the monumental scale of the architecture, reminding us that in the grand scheme of things, we’re all just tiny specks. The lush greenery around the plaza tries its best to soften the rigid lines of human creation, but let’s be real, the trees are losing that battle. The stone steps leading up to the monument invite you to ascend, but let's be honest, who among us has the energy to climb to enlightenment? In the grand chessboard of life, this place is definitely a checkmate.