TEN THOUSAND BUDDHAS MONASTERY

Description

Essentials about the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery

Buddha devotees should definitely have seen the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery during a trip to Hong Kong. Located in the Sha Tin district, the monastery is one of the most impressive Buddhist temples in the city. Whereby the designation as a monastery is a little misleading, because in the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery no monks live today. As the name suggests, the main attraction of the monastery are the thousands and thousands of Buddha statues in different poses. To be quite accurate, the name is even a slight understatement, because the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery houses almost 13,000 Buddhas.

The history of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery

The monastery was founded in 1951 by the Buddhist monk Yuet Kai, who came to Hong Kong in the 1930s to spread the teachings of Buddha. Yuet Kai was given the land by an industrialist to build a Buddhist school on it. However, this plan was never realized, so a monastery was built instead of the school. Yuet Kai and his followers built the monastery with their own hands, supported by donations from the local population. In 1957, their work was completed. However, the thousands of Buddha statues were not part of the monastery from the beginning, but were mostly added in later years.

Yuet Kai died in 1965, the founder of the monastery having prophesied before his death that he would never decay. In accordance with his wish, Yuet Kai was buried in the lotus position. According to legend, eight months after the burial, his body was indeed found in an un-decomposed state (whether Yuet Kai was embalmed cannot be determined today). His followers then covered Yuet Kai’s body with gold and laid the monastery founder to rest in a glass shrine in the middle of the temple’s great hall.

Getting to the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery

The way to Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery is a bit arduous. Since the monastery is located on a hill, visitors have to climb a relatively steep staircase with 431 steps. In the often hot and humid weather of Hong Kong, the climb to the monastery can be quite strenuous. Motivation on the way up is definitely provided by the 500 life-size gilded statues of so-called arhats (the Buddhist equivalent of saints who have found enlightenment) standing on either side of the path.

The buildings of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery

The temple complex is eight hectares in size and is divided into two areas. In the upper area there are four temples dedicated to Buddhist and Taoist deities. In the lower area are the main temple, a nine-story pagoda (which can be climbed) and three pavilions. In the main temple, by the light of hundreds of candles, stand three very large, gold-covered Buddha statues surrounded by thousands of smaller Buddhas. The three Buddhas are Koon Yum, the goddess of mercy, Yao Shi Fo, the medicine Buddha, and Di Zhang, the god of earth and hell. Along the sides of the temple are nearly 13,000 small Buddha statues in various poses on wall shelves. They were all donated and bear an inscription with the name of their donor. Those who are overwhelmed by so many Buddha statues can also have their fortunes told by fortune tellers at Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery. There is also a monastery kitchen that serves vegetarian dishes.