Ten Thousand Buddhas ‘Monastery’ in Hong Kong
The Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery is a misleading name that significantly downplays the number of Buddha effigies, as there are actually well over 12,000 statues present. Another misnomer lies in the fact that it is technically not a monastery, as no monks live on site to maintain the property. Instead, a team of laypeople handle the day-to-day operations of this Buddhist temple complex. Groundbreaking and construction began in 1948, at a bamboo forest hillside location overlooking the small village of Pai Tau and its agricultural fields. Its completion in 1957 coincided with the establishment of a market township known as Sha Tin Hui, built on the unused fields at the base of the hill. The township stood until the late 1970s, demolished to make way for the Sha Tin New Town development. The entire complex comprises five temples, four pavilions, one verandah and a 9-storey pagoda, spread over 8 hectares. There are numerous statues of deities on display, as well as the gold covered embalmed body of the monastery's founder, Yuet Kai, exhumed 8 years after his burial. With the agricultural fields long since built over, the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery now overlooks the urban expanse of Sha Tin town, and provides a peaceful sanctuary on its fringes. The walk up is lined by 500 life-size gilded Arhat statues on both sides of the concrete path, each in a unique pose. Made from fiberglass then painted bright gold, the Arhats are the work of artists in Yunnan and Guangdong, and exude an air of calm and spirituality as visitors make the steep ascent up the path to the temples.
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