Yesterday was Buddha’s Birthday. During the 6 years we lived in Hong Kong, Buddha’s birthday was a public holiday when we didn’t have classes at the International School where we were teachers.
Before 1997 the big May holiday in Hong Kong was Victoria Day but that was changed to Buddha’s Birthday after the city was handed over to China.
During our years in Hong Kong which is home to about a million Buddhists, and while traveling in Asian countries where Buddhism is practiced, we learned quite a bit about the religion.
On a visit to Cheng Mai in Thailand I had a chance to sit down for a visit with a Buddhist monk named Puttatammo Photilath. He told me about the five moral precepts of Buddhism.
You must not kill or harm living things. You must not steal, lie or use hurtful speech. You are to eat simply and avoid drugs, alcohol or anything that interferes with the clarity of the mind. You are not to engage in frivolous entertainment or irresponsible sexual behaviour.
During our time in Asia I learned about the Eightfold Path of Buddhism which requires adherents to be understanding, compassionate, truthful, honest, useful, encouraging, aware, and calm.
One of my favourite places to visit in Hong Kong was the Chi Lin Buddhist nunnery. It was home to one thousand ordained Buddhist nuns. Its 8-acre site featured sixteen huge cedar halls each housing a statue of Buddha.
The complex also housed clinics, homes, and activity and education centres for senior citizens and children- a way to carry out the mandate of Buddhism to be compassionate.
A vegetarian restaurant offered excellent food in an idyllic setting. Not all Buddhists are vegetarians but many are.
In the 1980s the Hong Kong government gave the hundred year old nunnery a complete face lift because they thought it would be beneficial for their citizens to have a beautiful place to visit that would remind them of the important teachings of Buddha.
The Lutheran Church we attended in Hong Kong, Tao Fong Shan, had been founded by a Norwegian Missionary Society with the intent of ‘creating a gentle bridge between Buddhism and Christianity’ so it was built to look very much like a Buddhist Temple.
Parts of the liturgy, the bonsai garden, and even the bells and furniture in the church had Buddhist influences.
Living in Hong Kong and traveling in Asia led me to a greater understanding of Buddhism. It also helped me to realize it was a religion with much to teach me about I could enrich my own faith journey.
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I visited the impressive Big Buddha in 2010 taking an inexpensive cable car up from the city and then climbing the 268 steps to reach the statue and the set of smaller statues encircling it. I recall some hikers walking up the mountain below the cable car and some faithful Buddhists climbing the stairs on their knees as they prayed. It was a beautiful spot and was free to visit.
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You are certainly well traveled. How many days were you in Hong Kong and what other places did you visit there?
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Love travel but not been able to match what you and your husband have accomplished.
I think it was just for 3 days. I had gone first to Guangzhao, China, then after HK, over to Brisbane for a few days, Sydney and on to a high school science conference and competition in Adelaide and Kangaroo Island.
Would love to go back to Australia again and visit NZ some day…
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My main goal in HK was to visit the harbour area, small zoo and tour this beautiful wetland education centre.
https://www.wetlandpark.gov.hk/tc
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