齋教龍華派=Longhua religious sect; 苗栗七十份天神宮=Tian Shen Temple in Qishenfe Miaoli; 浴佛節與佛祖回鑾=Bathing Buddha Ceremony and Buddha's Ancestral Return; 東山迎佛祖=Welcome the Buddha at Dongshan
Jiuling Temple, a long - historic traditional Buddhist temple, surrounded with quiet and beautiful environment. It is also one of the oldest century cloisters in Puli Guanyin Mountain. It is said that the original site, surrounded by two streams and located in a vital part , is used to be a fort on the 34th year of Emperor Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1908). Therefore, the local residents called here Guanyin Mountain, which is also known as Sheng Fan Ding Jiuling Temple was named “ Jiuling Hall ”of the Longhua religious sect. However, it is renamed a“ Jiuling Temple ”to present.
This paper mainly discusses the different types of the activities between “ Buddha's ancestral return” at Jiuling Temple in Nantou and “ Dongshan Ying Buddha ” at Biyun Temple in Tainan. Jiuling Temple's ancestral return activity is originated about 1949. In order to place a Buddhist statue at Shen Temple in Qishenfen Miaoli, they looked for the statue around. However, the descendant of Tian Shen Temple, Tian- Mei Chen who lived in the Guoxing county, told the staffs of the temple that there were some Buddhist statues could be requested. That’s the origin of the “ Buddha's ancestral return ”. Besides, this activity also combined with Bathing Buddha Ceremony held at Jiuling Temple and Due to these origins, they inspire the author to write this paper. First, we can preserve the historical origin of the Jiuling Temple. We also can retain the significance of the “ Buddha's ancestral return ”. Jiuling Temple’s “ Buddha's ancestral return ” is not only to help incense contribution of Tian Shen Temple in Qishenfen Miaoli but also the tendency of folk religious beliefs and exploring its worth. The research results of this paper are helpful to understand the historical origin of the“ Jiuling Temple ” and the background of the Buddhism environment at that time. Through the different types of Dongshan Ying Buddha ”（ Welcome the Buddha at Dongshan） at Biyun Temple in Tainan, it is clearer that the Jiuling Temple has different meanings and values of “ Buddha's ancestral return” and its development of the whole history.
