2nd February 2023
"There's something about a holiday that isn't about how much money you spend."
-Hilarie Burton
I told myself that I would spend these CNY holidays worthwhile and I did what I desired. The first day was spent wandering at Tsim Sha Tsui. The 2nd day was working day but I will be given another holiday for compensation. The 3rd day was spent spending the red pockets I received from my bosses on food and winter clothes shopping, with a bonus Ferris Wheel ride at night (this part isn't shared yet).
Here comes the 4th day, the 25th of the month, and the last day of my CNY holidays. I was hesitant of going out at first since the weather was too cold, but I felt bored at home so I opted to go out in the afternoon after lunch. Some of the places that people are visiting every Chinese New Year are temples to offer prayers for their ancestors and pray for their prosperity and longevity.
#HKCNYDAY4: The 10K Buddhas Monastery At Shatin Town
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One of the places I desired to visit, although I've been there a few times is 10K Buddhas Monastery in Shatin. It was in 2017 when I first visited this monastery, then the second was in 2019 with my bosses. The last one was in 2020 with a friend.
To go to 10K Buddhas Monastery, one must travel to Shatin MTR station and exit to New Town Plaza, and walk to the other side. The way to the monastery is just a few minutes walk from the plaza. Google map is the key for those not familiar with the place. It's easy to spot anyway. Since it was the last day of CNY, people were swarming around. You wouldn't think about the raising cases of Covid here as social distancing isn't being followed. People seem not to care about it anymore.
The village in the photo is part of Pai Tau Village and the starting point going to the monastery. It would take a little exhaustion and exercise to climb up since the monastery is located on the hillside.
Some old houses are preserved in this place which is one of the attractions before going to the monastery.
One of them houses the HK Penjing and Artstone Society which is known for holding bonsai exhibitions.
Some traditional Chinese snacks are also sold in the area for those who want some souvenir food. Although it isn't allowed to eat food at the monastery, you might want to buy a bottle of water before heading up because it's definitely exhausting.
Visitors can also rent bicycles at Lung Kee and use them to wander around Shatin town. There are more popular tourist destinations in this town, aside from the monastery, such as the riverside, an old village with more old houses, and others.
There are a few ways to go to the top of the monastery from this place. One is behind this small village, the other one is tracing the middle part where you could see a small temple and several vegetarian restaurants, and the other one is behind a mall along the highway which is the main entrance to the monastery. That's where I headed since I am more familiar with it.
Located near the entrance is a bamboo forest and inside this fence are some wild pigs and visitors are not allowed to approach them. I spotted one which seemed to find food to eat. The do's and don'ts are posted to remind the public of the consequences if they disobey the rules.
Just a few more walks from this area is already the entrance to the monastery. Be prepared for the exhilarating climb up the winding slopes.
Welcome to Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery
Are you like me who's curious if there are really 10K Buddhas in this monastery? Should we start the counting? I rather not, lol. You might want to count the steps as well (400+ exhilarating steps if I'm not mistaken, lol).
The opening hours say it's only up to 4 in the afternoon, and when I checked the time, it was already 3:59. Although unsure if I can still go inside the monastery, I continued heading up, especially when I saw a few people going in the same direction.
The starting point is a paved flat road and still an easy climb since it isn't too steep. But the next point started to become steep and I started to pant as well. A long staircase on the side makes it easier for visitors to climb.
Since it was already four in the afternoon, most visitors are already leaving but I continued to go up with the hope of seeing even just the main floor of the monastery.
There are a few sheds made for resting, especially for the elderly.
The monastery was founded in 1950 and has two floors surrounded by different golden buddhas with different poses and expressions, and each seems to have a story to tell. It says that the number of buddhas is nearly 13,000.
On the higher part of the hill is a scenic view of Shantin Town and mountain skylines.
Here are some snapshots of different buddhas with interesting poses I took on my way up to the monastery. You can even make some stories out of their poses.
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Not to disrespect, but are they gays? Are their gay buddhas too?
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The bookworm buddha.
This first buddha is similar to the one in Thailand, isn't it?
The buddha with many kids. Do buddhas have many wives too?
You may wonder what are buddhas?
The title ‘Buddha’, which means ‘awakened’, is conferred on an individual who discovers the path to nirvana, the cessation of suffering, and propagates that discovery so that others may also achieve nirvana. source
We are all, for sure, familiar with Siddharta Gautama, also known as Buddha, a teacher of religion and the founder of Buddhism. It says that there are more buddhas in the past, and a lot more yet to come in the future.
Some of the buddhas in this monastery came from the Tang Dynasty. They are equivalent to saints that have acquired enlightenment. Source
Going up to the first floor of the monastery are these buddhas with different animals and more peculiar buddhas ahead.
The long-hand buddha.
The long-legs buddha.
I wonder though if they were created based on real humans.
After more than twenty minutes of climbing up the winding path (including taking photos and videos) I finally reached the first floor of the monastery and I could see the pagoda from the distance.
I finally saw some women buddhas on the side of the entrance to the first floor of the monastery.
Before entering the monastery is this souvenir shop selling cute size buddhas, pagodas, zodiac statuses, accessories, lucky charms, and other gift items. Unfortunately, it isn't allowed to take photos inside so I opted not to enter. I did buy one cute souvenir snake statue during my last visit.
According to the rules, it isn't allowed to take videos and photos inside the temples, so we wanderers are just up to the outside areas. My boss said it shows disrespect to the buddhas and deities inside the temple.
This is the Man Fat Tsz Temple, the main temple among five temples in the monastery. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to visit the other four temples since the monastery closed at five in the afternoon and it was almost four thirty when I reached this floor.
The temple is painted pink, and its roof and ceiling have mythical creature designs in blue, green, and gold colors, with some red lanterns hanging on the sides.
The buddha statues along the pathway and outside the temples are countable if I would want to and they aren't ten thousand (over 500 probably). So do you wonder where are the other thousands of buddhas? The answer is here. Zooming out my camera from the outside of the temple, I saw these:
The main temple houses the ornate buddha miniature which says closer to 13,000 and took a decade to complete. Each miniature has 12 inches high and inscription of the donor's name. Source. There are giant buddha statues too which probably are their deities.
The last time I came here with my boss, I was told that one of these miniature buddhas was named after my boss' late mother. The embalmed body of the monk who founded the monastery is also inside the main temple. Nowadays, there isn't a real monk residing in this monastery and only the laypersons are managing it.
Some Buddhist visitors were lighting incense sticks and offering prayers to Buddha. While some are just taking this for granted, others are fervently praying.
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But one thing that caught my attention while watching them pray are the designs of the incense urns.
Aside from temples, there are pavilions too that house different giant statues. I am uncertain of what they are, but I saw some lighting incense and offering prayers in front of them.
These two were placed facing back to back. They probably have something in common. Google lens said it's called the Kwun Yam statue. I am uncertain though which one is Kwun Yam. Probably the white one.
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And these two statues riding on different mythical creatures are on different pavilions.
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A mother and a child buddha.
If there are ten thousand buddhas in this monastery, there is a buddha with thousand hands here.
I am not sure who is this Buddha, but this four-headed and eight-hands buddha is similar to Mahabrahma, the ruler of the Brahma world and protector of Buddhist teachings. Source
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But among all attractions in the main shrine, the nine-story pagoda is the main one, and each window has buddha statues as well. Meanwhile, statue creatures similar to lions are on the four corners. If permitted (closed on some occasions), visitors can climb to the top of the pagoda which offers a panoramic view of Shatin.
Of course, I can't leave the place without taking a selfie with this historic structure.
Not just wild pigs can be seen on this hill, but also wild monkeys. They look starving and pitiful. However, it isn't allowed to feed wild animals as they can be harmful.
There is still a higher floor of this monastery. But as I mentioned above, they closed at 5 so I wasn't able to visit the high floor. But here are some photos taken during my last visit in 2020. There are more female buddhas on the higher floor. It also offers a stunning view of Shatin Town.
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It was a worthy experience climbing up the hill and seeing the ten thousand buddhas for the fourth time. That day was freaking cold, but climbing up the hill was a great warm-up exercise. I ended up removing my thick jacket and scarf, but put them back when I went down.
Before going back to the base, I visited this snack house located along the pathway. They are selling hot tofu fan or tofu pudding with different toppings as well as siomai and other snacks. I ordered tofu pudding with taro balls and sit on the balcony of the upper floor of the snack house. Glad it was available because I liked the view.
So that's how I spent the last day of the Chinese New Year holiday. Later at night, I visited yet another attraction in Shatin, which is another story to tell.
Thanks for reading and see you in my next travel blog.
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