Prince Siddhartha the Musical 悉達多太子音樂劇
The Journey Continues
In this captivating, inspiring and vibrant musical, discover the story about Buddha – a young prince who renounced his royal status and luxurious life to seek enlightenment.
The Musical tells the story of a prince named Siddhartha who was born 2,600 years ago in an ancient India city known as Kapilavastu. At birth, a seer prophesied that Siddhartha would either be a skilled leader like his father or a great spiritual teacher. Upon hearing this, King Suddhodana did everything in his power to ensure the kingship of his son.
Siddhartha soon grew to be a fine young man within the confines of the palace walls, oblivious to the reality of pain and suffering in the real world. But one day, as Siddhartha was exploring the kingdom, he witnessed old age, sickness and death. Seeing these made him renounce his royal status to find the root cause and the end of suffering.
For six years, he practiced austere meditation in the forest until he realized that extreme practices will not provide him the answers to all his questions. He decided to sit and meditate under a bodhi tree where he stayed until he achieved enlightenment and became the Buddha.
The insight Siddhartha gained became the basis of the teachings that is still kept alive by millions of people today.
The Beginning of Siddhartha the Musical
Siddhartha: The musical was produced through the collaboration of Fo Guang Shan (FGS) Chu Un Temple in Cebu, Philippines and the Cebu chapter of the Buddha’s Light international Association (BLIA) in 2007. Depicting the life of Siddhartha Gautama, the Indian prince who became the Buddha, the musical features original songs based on the writings of Venerable Master Hsing Yun. Propagating compassion and oneness, it has made the Dharma (the teaching of the Buddha) accessible to more people.
To date, the musical has been staged a total of 100 times and attracted more than 100,000 audiences. It has been shown in Cebu, Manila, Iloilo, Bacolod, Taiwan, United States, New Zealand, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. The cast of over 70 volunteer actors and dancers showcases the musical and performing talents of Filipinos, particularly Cebuanos. In November 2013, the entire cast and crew of Siddhartha: The Musical were invited by FGS Hsi Lai Temple to perform in southern California as part of the temple’s 25th anniversary celebration. The production also traveled to northern California and other parts of the U.S. Proceeds from the shows were used toward rebuilding structures damaged by the earthquakes in Bohol, Cebu , as well as in relief operation for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda.
Discover the future talents in Guang Ming College
Established in 2014, Guang Ming College (GMC) is the fifth member of Fo Guang Shan International University Consortium. Being the pioneer Humanistic Buddhist College in the Philippines, it is open to students of all faiths willing to learn in an environment of mutual respect of one another’s customs, cultures, and religions. It is dedicated to provide the highest quality of humanistic education and experience towards the well-rounded development of socially responsible and Inspired professionals for societal transformation.
GMC’s dance and theatre programs aim to cultivate the innate talents of artistically inclined students through a fully competitive baccalaureate program. The school also offers a bachelor’s degree program in Buddhist studies for students who are more philosophical or spiritually inclined. GMC provides full scholarships for all the deserving students who are chosen to study in any of the programs offered.
Housed at the Fo Guang Shan Mabuhay Temple in Manila, Guang Ming College is initially offering three major programmes: namely, dance, theatre and performing arts and Buddhist studies. Selected based on demonstrated potential and financial status, students of Guang Ming College are provided with full scholarships that include board and lodging.
Guang Ming College is named by Venerable Master Hsing Yun. Master Hsing Yun saw the artistic and performing talents of the Filipino, thus he decided to establish a college that integrates Buddhism and Art to nurture local talents and to purify the minds of the locals.
Our Dream School—Guang Ming Institute of Performing Arts (Cebu)
A dream was ignited when Ven. Master Hsing Yun visited Chu Un Temple in Cebu. His love and compassion for the Filipinos built a safe space for budding artists not only in Cebu, but the whole Philippines.
Prince Siddhartha the Musical has been staged in different theaters and schools all over the world for eleven years and counting. The story of the life of Buddha has been portrayed by homegrown Filipino artists who also come from various religions. Despite this diversity, the cast are united in the goal of spreading Humanistic Buddhism to the people through performing arts. Ven. Yung Guang, the head abbess of Fo Guang Shan Philippines, has thought of extending the network of inspiring more Filipinos with the dharma by establishing a performing arts school. Guang Ming College, the first school built by Fo Guang Shan in the Philippines and the fifth of their university consortium has produced its first batch of performing arts graduates in 2018.
Cebu is a home court to the cast of Siddhartha the Musical, and many other astonishingly talented individuals. To fulfill further the vision of Ven. Master Hsing Yun to fostering talents through education, Ven. Yung Guang has brought the opportunity to Cebuanos as Guang Ming Institute of Performing Arts-Cebu is on its way to making dreams come true.
Come March 2019, GMI Cebu will soon be housing Cebuano talents who have the heart for performing arts- singing, dancing, acting, costume designing, and many more. Currently, several workshops and classes have already been conducted, and surely, more will be offered to the gifted, talented and committed Cebuanos who are ready to take on the learning journey.
If you used to be the kind who would love to give your passion a try but are too afraid to do so, this may be your chance to shine. With inspiration, effort, and discipline altogether, you are ready to face the world doing the thing you love to do most. With your passion ablaze and GMI Cebu by your side, you will be the instrument to inspire the hearts and lives of other people. Get the right people to guide and help you in GMI and you shall find your light.
Supporting Scholarships
By purchasing a ticket, you are supporting the scholarship of a Guang Ming College student in the Philippines. Every peso from your ticket purchase of Siddhartha the Musical will go to the Fo Guang Shan Philippines Education Fund and by purchasing a ticket, you are supporting the Cebuano arts because part of the proceeds will be used to build a school for the performing arts here in Cebu, where we can maximize the potential of our Cebuano artists.
Venerable Master Hsing Yun Spreading Sounds of the Dharma—The Development of Buddhist Hymns
From ancient to present time, devotees have been singing Buddhist hymns in the temple. I have often said, “If people chant inside the temple to praise the Buddha, why can’t we do it together for everyone to enjoy, since ‘Everyone has the Buddha nature’?” Because I firmly believe the function of music to propagate and conduct Dharma service, I advocated the use of music in chanting of prayers. This gave rise to the “Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Monastic Choir” in 1979, composed of the Monastic of the same order.
With the international gaining ground of Buddhist hymns, there were more international participation and propagation. In 1999, Fo Guang Shan Malaysia arranged “The Biography of Sakyamuni Buddha” into a musical play, attracting a total of more than 18,000 viewers in its three presentations. It was performed in countries such as Singapore, South Africa and Indonesia. In just a span of 7 to 8 years, it had accumulated the experiences of more than 30 performances which raised the bar of modern Buddhist musical.
Aside from this, Manila Fo Guang Shan Mabuhay Temple, Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) Philippine Chapter, Cebu Chu Un Temple, BLIA Cebu and Cebu Young Adult Division Subchapters organized an English version of the musical entitled “Siddhartha, the Musical”. It incorporated songs from the “Sounds of the Human World”. It also blended Filipino and Indian cultures, music and arts. Another amazing fact is that almost all of the performers were Catholics, and the play was directed and choreographed entirely by Filipino artists, supported behind the scene by Filipino Fo Guang Shan Youth.
In 2007, “Siddhartha, the Musical” was staged in Waterfront Hotel, Cebu, Philippines garnering more than 10,000 viewers. It instantly became a record-breaker in musical play in Cebu. In 2008, at the invitation of BLIA, ROC, the play was performed in many places in Taiwan for 13 shows, which were all well-received by the viewers. What makes this musical group truly special is that we find the camaraderie and brotherhood among members with diverse social, cultural and religious backgrounds. The entire musical group exudes the true essence of oneness and harmony.
World Class Performances in the International Stage
From its humble beginnings, Siddhartha the Musical has attracted artists and performers who have performed in the international stage. Siddhartha the Musical has so far performed in the following countries:
- Philippines – Cebu, Manila, Iloilo, Bacolod (2007-present),
- Taiwan – Kaohsiung, Taichung, Keelung, Tainan, Taipei (2008-2013 & 2016-present),
- Singapore (2015),
- Malaysia – Kuala Lumpur (2015),
- Hong Kong (2015),
- Macau (2015),
- United States – New York, Houston, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles (2013 & 2018),
- New Zealand – Christchurch (2016),
- Japan (2016), and
- Australia – Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney (2017).