Museum of World Religions
Encyclopedia
The Museum of World Religions (世界宗教博物館) is a museum
in Yonghe District, New Taipei City, Taiwan
.
The museum was founded by Venerable Hsin Tao
(心道), a Buddhist monk, and set up through the Ling Jiou Mountain Buddhist Foundation. The museum building was designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates, the designer of major American museums including the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
in Washington DC and the expansion of the Hayden Planetarium
at the American Museum of Natural History
in New York City
.
The Museum of World Religions was opened in 2001 by Hsin Tao. Further elaborate opening ceremonies were held on September 11th and in November 2002 with many religious leaders and others from around the world, including the President Chen Shui-bian
. The Taiwanese architect and educator Han Pao-teh
was the first curator.
The museum presents exhibits on ten different major world religions
. It also features a model called "Avatamsaka World" illustrating the Avatamsaka Sutra
.
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
in Yonghe District, New Taipei City, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
.
The museum was founded by Venerable Hsin Tao
Hsin Tao
Dharma Master Hsin Tao is a Buddhist monk who set up the Ling Jiou Mountain Buddhist Foundation in 1989.Hsin Tao was born in Burma and is now based in Taiwan. His family were from Yunnan in China. He founded a monastery in Taiwan...
(心道), a Buddhist monk, and set up through the Ling Jiou Mountain Buddhist Foundation. The museum building was designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates, the designer of major American museums including the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history...
in Washington DC and the expansion of the Hayden Planetarium
Hayden Planetarium
The Hayden Planetarium is a public planetarium, part of the Rose Center for Earth and Space of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, currently directed by astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson....
at the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
The Museum of World Religions was opened in 2001 by Hsin Tao. Further elaborate opening ceremonies were held on September 11th and in November 2002 with many religious leaders and others from around the world, including the President Chen Shui-bian
Chen Shui-bian
Chen Shui-bian is a former Taiwanese politician who was the 10th and 11th-term President of the Republic of China from 2000 to 2008. Chen, whose Democratic Progressive Party has traditionally been supportive of Taiwan independence, ended more than fifty years of Kuomintang rule in Taiwan...
. The Taiwanese architect and educator Han Pao-teh
Han Pao-teh
Han Pao-teh , born in 1934, is a Taiwanese architect, educator and curator.Han Pao-teh grew up in Shandong, a rural province in China and moved to Taiwan in 1952. In 1958, he graduated in architecture from the Tainan Institute of Technology in Tainan City, Taiwan, which is now known as the...
was the first curator.
The museum presents exhibits on ten different major world religions
Major religious groups
The world's principal religions and spiritual traditions may be classified into a small number of major groups, although this is by no means a uniform practice...
. It also features a model called "Avatamsaka World" illustrating the Avatamsaka Sutra
Avatamsaka Sutra
The is one of the most influential Mahayana sutras of East Asian Buddhism. The title is rendered in English as Flower Garland Sutra, Flower Adornment Sutra, or Flower Ornament Scripture....
.