妙果和尚與圓光禪寺:從「曹洞宗說教所」到寺院建立及其護法=Venerable Miao Guo and Yuan Kuang Ch’an Monastery: From the “Caodong Sect Academy of Teaching Dharma” to the monastery’s establishment and its efforts of protecting Dharma
Venerable Miao Guo helped with the establishment of Fayun Monastery in Dahu, Miaoli, Taiwan, in 1913. The construction was basically completed in May of 1917. In the meantime, Venerable Miao Guo and his teacher Venerable Jue Li obtained the qualification of “Buddhist Teachers of Spreading Dharma”, which became a main effort to apply the establishment of “Caodong Sect Academy of Teaching Dharma”. It has long been considered that the predecessor of Yuan Kuang Ch’an Monastery was “Caodong Sect Academy of Spreading Dharma”, but according to the relevant documents from the Office of the Governor-General that its correct name is “Caodong Sect Academy of Teaching Dharma”. This essay aims to explore the development of this predecessor of Yuan Kuang Ch’an Monastery, “Caodong Sect Academy of Teaching Dharma”. It also particularly focuses on the correlated history between Ven. Miao Guo’s propagating Buddhist teachings and his Buddhist devotees from the establishment of “Caodong Sect Academy of Teaching Dharma” to the establishment of monastery.