What To Do With Ten Thousand Buddhas

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I have recently gone through a spate of bad airplane-seat-neighbors. You know who I mean: the chatty ones. The ones who recently got dumped by their fiances, are on their way to see their spoiled grandchild, won $20 at the lottery, or need to pass their fireman's EMT exam but probably won't because instead of studying they are flirting with you.

The curse was broken, however, on my flight to Hong Kong. I sat next to a sullen-looking expat who waited until ten hours into the flight to open his mouth and ask me if I was visiting for the first time.

I took the opportunity to ask him if there were any activities that he would recommend; things a little off the well-beaten tourist path.

"You have to go to the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery in Sha Tin. It's a really neat hike up past all these Buddha statues. In Sha Tin, just remember that."

I arrived at Sha Tin station this afternoon in a sweltering, sweating, shirt-drenching heat, and eventually found myself at the bottom of a hill of Buddhas. (At least, I thought they were Buddhas; turns out they are merely followers of the Buddha.) Up, up - up a winding path of 500 steps, more or less, lined with gleaming life-sized gold-painted statues, each one different. I found statues that were serious and contemplative; statues holding flowers or fruit or animals; men with paunchy bellies and man-breasts; men who looked like they were ready to party, and others who were ruing the party of the night before. Most of them were bald. All of them were wearing lipstick.

I don't want to give you the wrong impression. The Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery is not some ancient site of profound historical importance. It was built just 60 years ago by Yuet Kai, a monk, poet, and lyre-player whose mummified remains now form the centerpiece of the monastic temple.

But keep in mind that Hong Kong itself was little more than an amalgam of fishing villages until the British staked their claim at Possession Point in January 1841, so really the monastery is not far behind in terms of antiquity.

According to the monastery literature: "Reverend Yuet Kai passed away in 24th April 1965. . . after eight months of burying, his disciples followed his will to take his body out from the coffin, unbelievable miraculously, just as Reverend Yuet Kai himself anticipation before death. . . coated the body with Chinese laquer and gold leaves."

Exactly. So now you understand, yes?

The temple, where Reverend Kai's embalmed body sits upright in a glass cubicle to welcome visitors, is lined with the 12,800 tiny golden Buddha statues that give the monastery its name. (I can only assume that "Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery" is more aesthetically pleasing than "Twelve Thousand Eight Hundred Buddhas Monastery.") They line the walls from floor to ceiling, a sort of Buddhist wallpaper, if you will, and actually create a lovely pattern, each one lit with a tiny yellow Christmas-light-sized bulb. They all looked slightly different to me.

Apart from Reverend Kai's remains and the bewildering array of Buddhas, the highlight of the monastery is the pagoda, which earned recognition when it was printed on HK$100 bills.

You get a great view of the pagoda and temple if you're willing to heave yourself up just a few more dozens of stairs to the upper monastery buildings. You'll be rewarded not just with the monastery view, but a panorama of the lush hills and stark skyscrapers of the New Territories. And, if that's not tempting enough, there are yet more statues to line the path; this time they have been painted, and women finally make an appearance.

The Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery is definitely off the beaten path; but I'm really glad I took the time to visit. Apart from being the only Westerner in sight from the very moment I got off the train, it was a really interesting glimpse into the recent history and religious life of the Cantonese.


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Photos

This Guy Just Wants to Party
Maybe he's singing "Livin' On a Prayer"?

Comments

[Mom]

So at last I see why you wanted to make this trip. This temple while really out of the way and perhaps relatively new compared to many, makes the trip special. Those 12,800 buddhas will be a lifetime memory. Enjoy!!!