Post-World War II Taiwanese Buddhism made frequent exchanges with Buddhism in overseas countries, especially Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. When Taiwan lifted martial law in 1987, Taiwanese Buddhism became increasingly active in their propagations overseas, notably its four major Buddhist orders such as Fo Guang Shan, Tzu Chi Foundation, Dharma Drum Mountain, and Chung Tai Shan. Hong Kong is one of the select places of development for these Buddhist orders. In contrast to the Tzu Chi Foundation, Dharma Drum Mountain and Chung Tai Shan, Fo Guang Shan’s propagation activities in Hong Kong are more dynamic. In 1983, Fo Guang Shan founded the Foxiang Vihara in Hong Kong. With the increasing number of devotees gathering for the Dharma and as more activities were added, IBPS Hong Kong was duly established, and the Fo Guang Vihara Hong Kong founded at the Billion Centre in Kowloon Bay in 2010. Furthermore, in April 2005, to promote Humanistic Buddhism to higher education institutions, the Centre for the Study of Humanistic Buddhism was established―in cooperation with the Chinese University of Hong Kong―to actively promote various academic activities. This paper explores the conditions under which Fo Guang Shan established viharas in Hong Kong, including its implementation of various propagation works. Additionally, discussions regarding the development of different locations from the Foxiang Vihara, to the Fo Guang Vihara Hong Kong, and the Centre for the Study of Humanistic Buddhism are featured. In the end, observations are included on the relationship between Fo Guang Shan’s monastics in Hong Kong, Fo Guang Shan’s various branch temples (or centers) in Hong Kong, and the future development of the Centre for the Study of Humanistic Buddhism. This is in the hope of demonstrating the characteristics of Fo Guang Shan’s Dharma propagation in Hong Kong.
