Making buddies with Buddha

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Just tucking into my free vegetarian noodles, salty dumplings and spring roll after saying a prayer to Buddha and numerous other god-type effigies. I feel truely blessed now, so blessed that I decided to see what He had in store for me...So I brought my pot of a hundred of so numbered sticks, knelt down in front of the glistening gold Buddah, (I think it was him anyway, they all look the same after a while), and started shaking the pot.

At first there was a clear winner, and I could see determination and speedy progress on the horizon, but then that stick dropped back, as if it was a possible future, but currently unobtainable. Up comes the 2nd and 3rd and I started to panic about the curses that may unfold if I greedily drew two fortunes instead of the permitted one; I suppoes that's a Gemini for you! Finally a stick breaks free and my path forward falls noisily to the floor.

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Odd, that my future happens to turn out to the the answer to everything, but I didn't feel comfortable pondering on its meaning, so I picked up my fortune slip and read the English translation:

While still on earth, you seem to repose in paradise. Law suits will be favorable. A privileged man who recieves gifts from heaven. The sick will be cured. No harm will come to your ancestor's graves.

Pretty good so far, then...

Harmful insects like worms and hairy caterpillars will prey on your paddy fields. Do not contemplate migration.

All in all, I feel satisfied, almost relieved, having narrowly missed going into the paddy field business.

Anyway, the 36m heigh bronze Buddha was a whopper to say the least. Built around 25 years ago for a rather ridiculous price but the local monks and Taosits seemed to like it, and it did look rather majestic, resting on top of Lantau Peek.

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Photos

Wisdom Path
The Buddist version of Stone Henge, where this collection of engraved tree trunks, arranged into the infinity symbol, represent the infinite splendour and concept of nothingness - something which the Buddhists, Confucians and Taoists seem rather pleased with.