中台拈花，眾生微笑
一九八七年 上惟下覺大和尚應大眾之請，闢建靈迫寺。開山以來， 大和尚稟承如來教法，大振宗風，隨著皈依的四眾弟子人數驟增，原有空間已不敷使用。
In the Grand Master’s compassionate vow to provide a complete environment for all who wish to learn the Buddhadharma, the design of Chung Tai Chan Monastery began in 1992. After three years of planning and seven years of construction, under the Grand Master’s leadership and with the devotion and generous support of disciples and friends, this landmark building opened its doors in September 2001, initiating a new era for the propagation of Buddhism at Chung Tai.
Viewed from afar, Chung Tai resembles a cultivator surrounded by mountains, sitting in meditation, majestic and serene. The architecture of Chung Tai Chan Monastery expresses a harmony of the arts, culture, science, and the teachings of the Buddha. As one of the largest Buddhist monasteries in the world, Chung Tai integrates the Dharma teaching into three fronts: Sangha education, social education, and school education. The Chung Tai Buddhist Institute trains the sangha to be qualified teachers of the Dharma; meditation centers in local communities provide Chan Buddhism classes; Pu Tai Elementary, Junior High, and Senior High Schools are modelled to provide our youth a well-rounded education. The three-front approach in education brings the benefits of Buddhism to all levels of society.
Under the guidance of the Grand Master, and with his unified and practical approach, Chung Tai now has established more than 100 meditation centers and branches in Taiwan and abroad giving a pure land to a mundane world for generations to come.
From living in isolation in a single small hut to the founding of Chung Tai, the awe-inspiring Chung Tai Chan Monastery, and from leading 4 ordained sangha and 300 lay disciples in 1987 to overseeing over 1,000 ordained sangha and hundreds of thousands lay disciples today, Ven. Wei-Chueh had revived the Chinese Chan (Zen) tradition in Taiwan and had tirelessly brought the Buddha’s teachings to those in need. An heir of the Linji (Rinzai) lineage, the Grand Master’s teaching was straightforward, flexible, and timeless. A word, a gesture, or even silence inspired students.
中台禪寺現任住持見燈大和尚，一九九一年於老和尚座下披剃出家，一路走來，始終謹遵師志，如實行持，無有疲厭。承擔、負責，積極推動寺務運作，慈悲的胸懷與統領能力，深受大眾肯定。
為落實弘宗演教、安僧度眾，中台禪寺在老和尚的指導下，建立完善的制度與弘法方向。二○○五年，老和尚將住持責任交予見燈大和尚，付囑弟子傳承法脈，荷擔弘法度眾、守護道場的責任。 稟承師志，見燈大和尚引領四眾弟子持續推動佛法五化，積極推廣禪修、法會活動，完備普台高中、中台世界博物館等弘法建設。秉持老和尚的悲願和教誨，帶領菩薩僧團，在穩固基礎上，繼續向上提升、向下扎根，為中台廣傳的弘法使命而精進努力。
佛法浩瀚廣大，中台禪寺開山方丈 上惟下覺大和尚取其精要，親擬「三環一體」、「中台四箴行」、「佛法五化」之教化理念，作為弘法標竿、修行準則，建立中台禪寺宗門道風。
The Three Links of Cultivation helps us cultivate merits, wisdom and concentration on the bodhisattva path.
The Four Tenets of Chung Tai helps us develop our intrinsic virtues when interacting with others.
The Five Directions of Spreading Buddhism makes the Dharma available to people from all walks of life.
