Tainan Fahua Temple 台南法華寺

Front gate of Fahua Temple

Fahua Temple in Tainan 台南法華寺 used to be an important Buddhist site. It was started by a Ming loyalist Li Maochun 李茂春 when Zheng Chenggong took over Taiwan. Li was the friend of Chen Yonghua 陳永華 and they often met in this place which was Li's residence before. There might be some connections with Tainan Huangbo Temple because they were built around the same time.  I visited this place in Dec. 2015 and found out it is a rebuilt temple. A free pamphlet distributed by the monastery gave a detailed history of the temple. It seems the temple has involved in a long-term dispute with Tainan municipal government because the city insisted the temple is a historical site and prohibits its expansion project. The abbot Ven. Qingxu  晴虛 is leading a petition and argues there is no historical relics in the temple and the government should allow its expansion. Dr. Yang Kuei-hsiang told me Ven. Qingxu used to be abbot in Lingquan Temple in Jilong 靈泉禪寺 as well. Lingquan Temple is very important in reviving Taiwan Buddhism in the modern period. 

Temple History by Fahua Temple

Expansion plan

Petition by Ven. Qingxu