It was founded by the Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhist monastic order Fo Guang Shan in 2000 and as such represents the culmination of education efforts of the order that started in 1963 with establishing Chinese Buddhist Research Institute at Fo Guang Shan.

The Ministry of Education granted approval on July 20, 2000, and the school formally opened in September that year.

Begun in 1996, the project involved major changes to the slope, but every effort was made to keep the impact on the natural environment to a minimum during the construction process.

The results of efforts at the time are already evident - eagles, monkeys, bamboo partridges, raccoons and other fauna can still be spotted on campus right now, especially the nationally protected Formosan blue magpie.

These two generating sources now provide spectacular lighting at night, adding considerably to the luster of the campus.