"The Museum of World Religions belongs to all faiths. Its founding is inspiring and encouraging interfaith dialogue so that we all work together to create peace and understanding in the world we share."

If one sees Buddhist monks and nuns spreading their religion or raising funds among the masses in Taiwan, the most usual explanations are that they wish to erect a magnificent and reverent temple where monks and lay people can offer their worship to Buddha or to build a hospital or refugee center. In other words, their desire is to relieve people's physical suffering.Master Hsin Tao does not share this point of view however. What he wishes to relieve is the suffering endured in people's hearts and minds.

People are frequently inquisitive, wondering what kind of experiences might have caused Master Hsin Tao to renounce the world and spend more than a decade in lonely isolation, living in a cemetery pagoda and a rock cave on a desolate mountain, far removed from the bustling and prosperous world. And, after Master Hsin Tao was awakened to the truth and left this seclusion, what resources of strength and single-mindedness of character propelled this bashful and modest man from Myanmar, who even when preaching is soft-spoken, to work steadfastly to build an unprecedented museum of world religions on the island of Taiwan, where most people care only about quick success and instant profits?

Master Hsin Tao sees the world as a global village in which differences in nationality or religious belief ought not to lead to division and disagreement. Unfortunately, at present, religious conflict is a constant theme in numerous places around the world. During the course of proclaiming the Buddhist truth, Master Hsin Tao has learnt personally that the disorder that characterizes modern society is the result of a decline in moral standards. At the same time, a loss of order amongst religions themselves has left the general public unclear in its understanding of religion. The traditional education system also fails to provide a good conduit for religious belief. In response to these various problems, Master Hsin Tao's dream of the World Religions Museum is to pioneer a correct form of religious education, to satisfy the public's spiritual needs, and to provide a leisure place that serves both education and enjoyment. He hopes to raise the standards of Taiwan's artistic and cultural life, as well as to establish a tourist destination of international reputation for Taiwan.

Taiwan has many different religions, and yet has no religious education system. Moreover, a situation in which each religion is further split into numerous sects and schools, including several who use the good name of religion to trick and swindle the public, leaves ordinary people either very confused or reluctant to have any dealings with religion. Alternatively, contact with a particular religious group and a subsequent complete faith in the words uttered by an evangelist preacher, leaves people with no means of distinguishing right from wrong which, at its most serious, can cause grave problems in the family or society. Whilst not wishing to pressurize everybody into embracing religion, Master Hsin Tao nevertheless thinks that we ought to educate the general public in the basics of religious knowledge, as only in this way can we prevent the a growth in superstitious beliefs and a wholesale 'loss of way'.

If, in following this reasoning, the Wu-sheng Monastery were to establish a museum of Buddhist Teaching or to build a large temple, this would provide for the spiritual care of local Buddhists. It would, moreover, be something the faithful would be happy to see, and raising funds for such a venture would be easily accomplished. Master Hsin Tao is aware, however, that such a plan would fall short of attaining the broader objectives mentioned above. He is steadfast in his vision that the proposal to set up a modern museum, which makes use of both educational and leisure to disseminate and introduce religious knowledge, is the best approach and has yet to be improved upon.

These experiences led to a process of careful consideration, from which emerged the concept of a world religions museum heretofore unprecedented throughout the world. Its mission is to emphasize international aspects and include every religious belief of the world.