When talking about a trip to HK, the last thing that would come into one's mind is probably a pilgrimage. But yet that's what I'd like to call my most recent trip to the PRC's Special Administration Region, aka Hong Kong.
I have a friend whose family is into Mahayana Buddhism as much as Dheravada. Such is the beauty of Buddhism! Upon the beginning of the Chinese New Year, my friend decides it's time to go to a trip to "Wai Pra" or pay homage to the Bodhisattavas in the temples in HK. Who am I to argue? Being very new on the scene of all thing religious, I welcome the thought of going to HK for the first time with no shopping list in my hand! Well, the list of restaurants to visitt is pretty much as long as ever, though! heh-heh :-P For non-temple photos and stories of this trip, go visit my other blog at http://livelearning.blogspot.com
Since we were there only for 3 days 2 nights, we kept our pilgrimage brief. This time we went to only two temples: Chilin Nunnery and the Kuan Im Temple on Repulse Bay. But that's enough to whet my appetite as I sort of look forward to visit more temples in the future. Po Lin, which is on Lantau Island, has the world's largest outdoor Buddha made by Bronze. I heard its size is almost as big as Daibutsu in Kamakura, Japan!
Here's a look of how the first temple we visited looks like. It's called Chilin Nunnery. Hard to believe you'd see something like this in Hong Kong, right? :)
Chilin Nunnery was founded in the 1930s and occupied 30,000 square-metre site at the foot of Diamond Hill. To get there, get on HK's MTR Subway. It is at the Diamond Hill station on the green Kwun Tong Line.
If you go to Hong Kong, chances are that your hotel would probably be on the red Tsuen Wan Line because the line goes through several shopping districts! Well, I stayed at the Kowloon Hotel just behind the Hong Kong Peninsula Hotel and just off Nathan Rd. So I just walked for 2 minutes and then I'm already entering the Tsim Sha Tsui station.
From my hotel, I have to take the train towards Tsuen Wan direction and get off at Mong Kok which is on the green Kwun Tong line to change the train. Then, I take the train towards Tiu Keng Leng direction and get off at Diamond Hill. It took quite a while, mind you, so you have to be ready to sacrifice some time off your shopping plan!
Once there, it's easy. Just follow the sign in the station to the exit that points to Chi Lin Nunnery. I think it's exit E. When you come out of the station, you would almost see it right away. Just cross the street at the intersection and you are there.
In 1980s Hong Kong government was developing the Diamond Hill aread so they invested money in creating a Tang-Dynasty style temple compound. Money also poured in from all kind of people, (mostly HK movie stars, so I heard). Chilin now operates not only as a religious center but also a secondary school and nursing home for the elderly. Its adjacent Zen-style park also serves as a recreation spot for the busy HK people and the architecture that was copied from the Tang Dynasty era circa A.D. (พศ.) 618-907 is a symbol of Chinese culture and heritage.
And here's the photo of Chilin Nunnery with my lovely friend in the foreground. The pavilion you saw on her back is only a front hall as the nunnery itself is quite spacious and sprawls well into the mountain. 
Main hall. When I took th is picture I could have sworn it looks as if I'm in front of the big Zen temple in Nara I used to visit. The one with a lot of deers roaming free in the garden. What is special about Chilin that makes it very clean and tidy and thus resembles its sister temples in Japan is that they prohibit you to light up candles and jossticks on the compound.
Green grass in the compound, complete with a rock to remind me even more of the classic Zen rock garden. In a book describing the origin of Chi Lin, they mentioned that the open space design inspires the 3-fold discipline of Buddhism -- morality (ศีล), concentration (สมาธิ), and wisdom (ปัญญา). But my wisdom is clearly not enough to understand what part of it is meant to represent what. heh-heh If you happen to be able to crack the code, please let me know! I'd really appreciate that!
Side Hall. They have many side halls here. One houses Pra Tang Sam Jung (พระถังซัมจั๋ง). I had some kind of goosebumps or in meditation term is called rapture (Piti) when I was paying homage to Pra Tang Sam Jung. Taking it as a good omen, I quickly prayed for a smooth path in my study! hee hee hee Another has the Celestial King (Ngek Sian Hong Tay). Others have different Bhodisattavas of the Mahayana sect.
Beautiful flowers. I'm still very impressed at how they can keep this place very crisp & clean. Everything you see there is very neat and tidy, so unlike Hong Kong!
Pond on the way towards main hall. You'll notice that the Chinese auspicious walk way according to the Feng Shui is never straight, but always zigzag like the picture below, reason being that the devils can only move in straight line (remember the jumping ghosts from Chinese movies?), therefore, if we make the walk way zigzag, the ghosts won't be able to reach us!
Last hall with Kuan Im Goddess of Mercy inside.
A local prays for Kuan Im's help.
Me doing a little walking meditation (เดินจงกรม) in Chilin's side garden!
Sign pointing towards the nuns' living quarters.
I pay homage to the Bhodisattavas.
Golden Buddhas among the elegant offerings.
One day I'll be back, Chilin...
Next day we visited the Kuan Im Temple on Repulse Bay. The best way to go there if you are not going with tour groups is to go by taxi and tell the driver to wait for you there because it is in a very secluded, far end of the island where there is no flow of traffic going in except for tour bus!
My very thorough friend also went with a complete guide of how to pay homage to the Gods and Goddesses there. On any given day, there should be at least one Thai tour and perhaps one English-speaking tour. If you don't have your own instruction of how to pray for good luck, etc., just walk along those tours!
Anyway, may I humbly remind you here that Lord Buddha said the faith in Buddhism's triple gem (Lord Buddha, the Holy Scripture, the Sangha) is enough. So, if I were you, I wouldn't worry about the instructions there that much....
My young friend paying homage to Bhodisattava Kuan Im the Goddess of Mercy according to Mahayana Buddhism. In the background are tourists from many South East Asian countries, including Thailand. My friend and I went by ourselves and not with the group. I think it's more fun this way. You also have a lot of time on your own to explore things you'd like to study.
In this trip I was very fortunate to visit Hong Kong Museum of Arts to see asa many as 50 Impressionist Paintings by France's grand masters such as Monet, Renoir and Manet. I'll cover that later on my "Life" page. Stay tuned for more pictures and stories! :)
