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The monastery known as the Buddhist Kingdom in the South is located in the Lantau Island. It’s one of the well-established Buddhist monasteries of Hong Kong. The monastery was originally built by three monks in 1920 with a shrine only dedicated to Buddha and served as a Buddhist retreat. It was renamed into Po Lin Monastery in 1924 and many monks gradually settled here. Since the 1930th the monastery was expanded: large halls and temples were added to it. And in 1970s it became one of the top 10 Buddhist monasteries of Hong Kong. The decorations inside of the main temple of the monastery are very simple. They don’t tend to overwhelm visitors with the glamour of Buddhism. The monastery contains the largest outdoor Buddha statue in the world. It’s a big copper statue of a sitting in a mediating position Sakyamuni – Tian Tan Buddha located on the top of the Muyushan Mountain. With its adjoining pedestal the statue is about 34 meters high (111 feet). The pedestal of the statue is a three-story exhibition hall with a big bell inside. Buddhist figures and scriptures are delicately engraved on the bell. It rings every seven minutes once, 108 times per day – in essence to “relieve” 108 vexations. You can walk up 268 steps to the platform with the tiny museum containing many elegant relics that can’t be found at the main temple. Serving as a place where the Buddhist faithful seek enlightenment through mediations, the quietness of this monastery is only broken by visitors especially on weekends. Alcohol and meat are forbidden in the monastery but you can try Chinese vegetarian dishes offered at the temple. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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