Taiwanese taking civil service exam ask for the Buddha’s help in Changhua temple

Taiwanese taking civil service exam ask for the Buddha’s help in Changhua temple

2025-06-25

The exam to get into Taiwan’s public service is pretty competitive. To help examinees feel more confident, Changhua’s Kaihua Temple held a Buddhist event for them. It opened the top floor, where believers climbed up to visit an eight-meter-high statue of Guanyin. In addition to taking photos with the statue, some reverently touched the statue’s feet, hoping to be blessed by the Buddha so that they would pass the exam.

Member of the public
I want to take the national exam. I want to touch the Buddha’s feet so I will be blessed and pass the exam without a hitch and everything afterwards will be safe and go smoothly.

Member of the public
This year was the first time it was open and you could touch the Buddha’s foot. Afterwards I felt very happy in my heart.

Lin Ta-yu
Kaihua Temple
When you do things at the last minute, when you encounter an emergency or something, you only think then of coming to worship Buddha. Our last-minute pre-exam touching of the Buddha’s feet is different. When you are going to take the exam, you have made the preparations and then you come to worship Buddha to increase your confidence.

As the saying goes, God helps those who help themselves. If you want to get a high score in the civil service exam, the temple suggests that one must work hard and rely on the power of faith so that one can get help from a supernatural force during the exam.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#taiwan #taiwanculture #religion #folkreligion #rituals

8公尺高觀音像開放"抱佛腳" 考生登頂盼金榜題名

2025-06-25

彰化市開化寺，舉辦臨"試"抱佛腳活動，開放信眾登上頂樓，參觀八公尺高觀世音神像，除了可以與神像合影留念，還有考生抱著虔誠的心，觸摸神像腳部，希望在"佛腳"神力加持下，金榜題名！

[[民眾]]
“我想要考國考，那我想要就是來摸佛祖的腳，就是可以保佑我可以考試順利，然後一切可以平安順遂”

[[民眾]]
“今年第一次開放說可以來抱佛腳，然後我覺得說心裡面，感覺很歡喜”

[[廟方林大猷]]
“臨時抱佛腳，你是遇到緊急還是怎樣，你才想到要來拜佛祖，我們這臨"試"抱佛腳這不同啦，你是遇到考試，要來考試，你有做準備，來拜佛祖增加信心”

所謂天助自助者，想要金榜題名，自己也要努力，再透過宗教無形力量穩固信心，讓考生們考試時才能有如神助，萬"試"順利！

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