I’m getting ready to head back to Australia next month for some highly desired R&R on the beach at Mooloolabah. However, while still in this part of the world it was time to take advantage of the $200 airfares to Hong Kong to catch up with my friends Andy and Yoko.
Garden statue, Stanley market
I find it fairly difficult to get excited about sight-seeing in Hong Kong. Cities have never been a big draw card for me and although there are some cities (like Rome, Florence, Paris, and Prague) that have grabbed my imagination and kept me interested, most of the time I head for mountains and natural environments for my sightseeing pleasure. This time wasn’t any different to the last time – I spent most of the time hanging around in or near my friend’s apartment just talking and catching up.
Fruit seller, Mongkok market
I did get out a couple of days during the week (although I found that I had short-changed myself by 1 day; I thought I had booked 7 days away, but actually only had 6). One day to see Stanley and Repulse Bay, both home to the foreign rabbit warrens and tourists trying to buy the best crap money can find. Not interesting. The other day found me walking the markets in Mongkok and then visiting the 10,000 Buddha temple.
I accidentally missed the approach to the temple however and instead wandered into a columbarium that is situated directly in front. Still thinking that it was the prelude to the main temple, I wandered around the rooms looking curiously for even one or two of the little Buddha statues that were supposed to exist. Eventually I realized my error, and instead poked around to see what else I could find.
Food for the soul in the columbarium. Food is left out to give the oldies something to eat in the afterlife.
The Chinese (like most people) are big on status symbols, and this contined through into the ash cubicles chosen for people. Those that thought themselves the most important (or the ones that the children had the most cash and desire to honor) would buy extra space to fit their bigger heads into. In the photo below, the guy in the middle of the room was obviously loaded. His plot took up the room of six smaller ones and was facing the main statue of Buddha of the entire complex.
Ash lockers (the gold ones are still waiting for their occupants) in a columbarium
The main show was much more interesting however, and I got far fewer glances from the locals when entering. Although named the Temple of 10,000 Buddhas, there are actually 12,800 of them lined up in shelves around the inside of the temple. Every one of them are staring down on the wax like preserved body of one of the temple monks from a long time ago.
The stairway up to the 10,000 Buddha temple
Some of the bizarre statues along the pathway to the 10,000 Buddha temple. The plastic / fibreglass construction of the statues made them feel a little cheap, but with all the metal theft happening these days, it’s probably just as well for them.
Unlike when I went to see Uncle Ho in Vietnam (who looked just downright creepy), the preserved monk in this temple looked quite content with his position. I guess practicing lotus and meditation prepared him for the little glass box he’s kept in, and then being peaced out by 12,800 little statues of Buddha allows him to maintain that calm. I was impressed that the temple even quite reasonably allowed photography without flash. In the end I decided not to take a closeup holiday snap of my friend the happy monk though.
On shelves all around the walls are mini-B’s (tiny statues of Buddha). The stuffed monk takes pride of place in the centre of the floor.
Just to show that I’m not completely irreverent to all religions, I include a photo of goldfish.
