Dates：2018-11-09 ~ 2019-04-21
Opening Hours : Tuesday–Sunday : 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Location：Golden Lobby & Special Exhibit Area Ⅰ
Closing Day : The museum is closed every Monday, and Chinese New Year’s Eve to Chinese January 5th.
Buddhism originated in India. Just as the Ganges irrigates the lands of India, so did Buddhism spread eastward, to the Yellow River and the Yangtze River in China and to the basins of Southeast Asia, such as the Mekong River, the Chao Phraya River, and the Irrawaddy River. In the 3rd century BC, Ashoka (273–232 ) of the Maurya Empire in India sent monks to Jindi (Suvaṇṇabhūmi, around modern Myanmar and Thailand) to preach Buddhism. Since then, Southeast Asia has been deeply connected to this religion. In ancient Southeast Asia, the Buddhist sects took turns winning popularity, and other branches of Buddhism such as Brahmin, Vajrayana, and folk beliefs were also worshipped. It was not until the 11th century, when the Theravada system from Sri Lanka spread into Myanmar ,Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos, that this religious circle of Theravada was gradually distinguished from the religious beliefs in Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia. This exhibition is centered on the core of Theravada of this region to explore how this religious culture became rooted in a land full of torment and conflict and established an influence as wide as a river that has been integrated into every aspect of people’s lives.
When Master Hsin Tao established the museum, he received support from various devotees. Among them, close to one hundred Theravada objects donated by Master Yuan Kuang, who had long been preaching Buddhism in the Philippines, were especially rare. After research and curation, this exhibition, which will be launched on the 17th anniversary of the museum, consists of over 50 Buddha statues, statues of gods and goddesses, objects, and scriptures. Dynamic spread maps and situational devices are integrated to introduce the historical background, Buddhist meditation, and religious life of Theravada.
Website：https://www.mwr.org.tw/2018river
