In 1953, when Venerable Master Hsing Yun first became abbot of Lei Yin Temple in Yilan, he formed the Yilan Buddhist Chanting Association, creating an atmosphere for leaming and cultivating Buddhism in Yilan. With the steady increase of followers, a lecture hall was added in 1956; this was the first lecture hall in Taiwan that was bult specifically for giving lectures on Buddhist sutras and Budhist cultivation.
The lecture hall enshrines a statue of Amitabha Buddha that was sculpted by the local sculptor Yang Yingfeng in 1955 at Venerable Master's request. Digniffed in appearance, the right hand of the Buddha statue is raised in the abhaya (fearfesness) mudra, while the left hand displays the varada (wish-granting) mudra.
