President Tsai Ing-wen (???) and Premier Chen Chien-jen (???) were among the thousands of people who gathered in Kaohsiung Monday for the funeral of Hsing Yun (??), the founder of the Fo Guang Shan (FGS) Buddhist organization.

Hsing Yun, who died on Feb. 5 at the age of 95, founded Fo Guang Shan as a monastery in 1967 and gradually grew it into an international religious organization with arms in education, charity and the media.

Police had anticipated that around 30,000 people would attend the event, many of whom ended up watching the proceedings on large screens set up outside FGS’ Cloud Dwelling Building where the funeral took place.

During the ceremony, which began at 9 a.m., Tsai awarded Hsing Yun with a posthumous presidential citation in recognition of his “far-reaching impact and contributions to the state, society and religious life” in Taiwan.

Aside from Tsai and Chen, other political figures attending the event included Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (???), Kuomintang Chairman Eric Chu (???) and Interior Minister Lin Yu-chang (???).

An attendee who gave her name as Ms. Lee (?) told CNA she had taken the day off work to pay her respects to the late religious leader, whom she admired for his “contributions to society and efforts to bring people closer to Buddhism.”

Hsing Yun’s funeral ceremony also included a procession around the Fo Guang Shan campus, during which many of his followers pressed their palms together, knelt or even prostrated themselves as the vessel containing his body passed.

Following the funeral, Hsing Yun’s remains were scheduled to be taken to Tainan’s Baihe Daxian Temple for cremation and interred at Fo Guang Shan’s Wanshou Garden.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel