Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery

 In my last blog post, I mentioned that, weather permitting, I was dead-set and determined to get myself over to the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery, one of Hong Kong's most famous yet secluded tourist attractions.  By the time I got myself on the MTR, things were still looking questionable in the great expanse above, but I had to take some packages to the post office anyway so, no matter what, me "going into town" was not going to be a waste of time.  The 2 packages are now on their way:  one to Meme and Papa, and the other to Sara.  Y'all can expect them in a week in a half to 2 weeks.  Enjoy!

At the post office, though, my plan for the day was looking more and more grim.  It rained the whole time I was there, pouring buckets so fast the streets could hardly drain fast enough to keep from becoming miniature rivers.  Bummed, I walked outside and started to open my umbrella.  Within a matter of seconds, the rain stopped, the clouds dissipated, and the sun came out, making for just as bright and clear a day as you can imagine.  That's Hong Kong for you, but I said my prayers of thanks nonetheless.

From the post office, the way to the monastery is reasonably well-marked all the way through Pai Tau Village (this is just a market village in Shatin that makes up 5-6 blocks next to the bus station and across the street from the post office).  Here's the first one:

 

Naturally, I looked where the arrow was pointing and this was my view.  At this point, I realized exactly where my destination was.  Of course, this shot was taken with the camera lens zoomed in at maximum capacity.  You could say the monastery was a good ways away, but then again...isn't that the point?

One thing I did not expect to run into was, well...this.  That's right.  From an economic standpoint, you could say it's a "competing monastery."  Just for fun, let's take some time out for a short economics lesson.  Some of you who have seen the popular movie "A Beautiful Mind" are familiar with the term "Game Theory."  This is one of the most fun aspects of microeconomics.  From my point of view, having these 2 monasteries so close to one another is a perfect example of "Hotelling's Game."  Instead of going too deeply into the matter here, here's a website that explains it in a fun, easy, and visual way:  http://mindyourdecisions.com/blog/2008/03/25/game-theory-tuesdays-hotelling%E2%80%99s-game-or-why-gas-stations-have-competitors-nearby/.  Now you can impress all your friends when you tell them why gas stations are always clumped together!

OK, I know you're all way more interested in Hong Kong than in Game Theory.  Forgive me, besides International Business, my other major is in Economics.  As interesting as the Franciscans were, I still had a long way to go through Pai Tau Village.  The weather was still bright and sunny, but there were clouds reforming.  As I caught sight of this sign, I picked up the pace.  The last thing I wanted was to be coming back down the mountain while a typhoon was building up.

I walked and walked and walked.  I'd read on the Internet that there's almost 500 steps total to get up to the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery.  Obviously, I refused to even attempt counting such a large sum but, when I took this picture, I estimated I had probably made it halfway.

I was wrong, by the way.  I've apparently built up a lot more stamina than I realized.  Only a few steps more left me face-to-face with this guy.  Life-size gold-painted Buddha?  I guess I was already there.

It wasn't long before I found the whole staircase lined with Buddha statues on both sides.

I took pictures of most of my favorites, and I even have nicknames for several of them.  Be prepared for some seriously bad puns and cultural references.  This one got off lucky.  No nickname for him.

I continued my climb, watching as the statues became both larger and more complex.

It really struck me that Buddha is represented in many different ways.  Standing at the same spot, there were peaceful renditions of Buddha on my left:

And warlike versions on my right:

Buddha doing everything from shuffling along with a cane (left), sitting atop a tiger (center), and wielding a sword (right):

To be honest, I began wondering if all the statues were really meant to be old Siddhartha.  Seriously, take a look at these next 2.  They look more like Japanese oni than the peaceful, meditative types.  Here's the website, I'm not explaining this one:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oni_%28folklore%29.

I finally made it up to the top and reached the Red Pagoda:

I realized that, for a guy that liked to spend all his time alone, Buddha sure gets a lot of company in these parts:

He's also a bit high-maintenance, it seems:

Here's one of the small incense pots.  I already explained the significance of the incense in the blog post where I visited the Tian Tan Buddha.  If you're still confused, I refer you to the vast knowledge of the Internet:

More Buddha statues (of course), but I'm particularly loving the guy on the far right, rocking those eyebrows:

I finally reached the main hall.  It was a weird thought going in there since I knew that's where the founder, Yuet Kai, was on display in a glass case:

Behold, Elastigirl Buddha!  Even if you've never seen the movie The Incredibles, you should still be able to tell which one I'm talking about:

Outside the main hall were all kinds of animal statues.  I'm not sure what their purpose actually is, though it's probably some form of guardianship.  At first I thought they were the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac but, correct me if I'm wrong, elephant isn't one of them (see the 2nd photo).

Meet High-Water Buddha.  I don't know what he's actually doing, but my guess is probably wading?

The weather was still good at this point, but things were beginning to look doubtful:

I even saw a hill that brought back bad memories of my early days in Hong Kong.  This sloping pavement looks eerily similar to the one that led to my little tumble and my scraped up knee:

OK, time for some Foo Dogs.  I don't know where this term originated, but mostly Westerners say it.  People around here just say "lions" or "lion dogs."  Anyway, they guard the entrances to the main buildings in Buddhist monasteries.  Fun fact:  Lions don't live in Hong Kong...imagine that.  Anyway, the male Foo Dog goes on the right-hand side.  You can tell he's male because his paw is resting on a ball.

And on the left-side is the female Foo Dog.  You can tell she's female because her paw is resting on the pup.

A small offering of peanuts at the donation shrine:

And here are the past, present, and future Buddhas.  I would like to take this time to point out the symbols on their chests.  Yes, those are swastikas.  No, Buddhism has nothing to do with Nazism.  Just to settle everyone's curiosity, the Buddhists had the swastika symbol first, and it's meant to bring good luck and longevity.  The Nazis nabbed it back in the '30s and since then it's had a bad reputation.  I still wouldn't recommend wearing a swastika necklace in a US public school, though.  Very bad idea.

Here's the history of the monastery.  Do not ask me to translate this because I absolutely will not do it.

And on the inside of the main hall?  Buddhas!  Even more of them, if you can believe it.  And, yes, each and every one is totally unique:

This is just to give you an idea of the enormous quantity of statues in this place:

I call this one Dio Buddha:

No, these are not little tablets with even more Buddhas on them.  These are actually memorial tablets, placed here by the loved ones of the deceased:

More Buddhas:

Paul Bunyan Buddha:

Even little mini-pagodas with more mini-Buddhas:

Here are the 3 statues protecting the body of Yuet Kai:

And then, the founder himself:  Reverend Yuet Kai:

The fresh air felt good after all that incense and this is what I stepped out to:

Another Beastly-Eyebrows Buddha:

Plus a more traditional rendering:

Somehow I feel like this version isn't so much a statue of Buddha as a statue of the Hindu god Brahma:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahma.

Rave Party Buddha:

Yes, those are arms sticking out of the statue:

After wandering around a bit, I was starting to feel more like I was in a Hindu temple than a Buddhist monastery.  I realize, though, that there's an astounding level of cultural overlap.

I decided to make my next venture the Red Pagoda.  On the inside was this sign:

Here's what things look like on the inside.  Not too exciting, but I was still looking forward to reaching the very top.  Pagodas, by the way, are absolutely NOT for the claustrophobic.

So what exactly did await me at the top?  Somehow I had built up in my mind that there must be something cool (at least a great view) from the top of a pagoda.  I was wrong.  This was my view:

And this was what I got to climb back down 3 stories:

I wandered down several more paths, finding even more new and interesting versions of Hermann Hesse's favorite guy.

This is Pale Man Buddha.  Ever seen Pan's Labyrinth?  If not, here's why:  there's a nasty creature called the "Pale Man."  Here's his video clip:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9YD2PFF31E.  Warning:  don't watch the video if you hate scary movies.

On a lighter note, meet How-to-Train-Your-Dragon Buddha:

And Blues Brothers Buddhas:

I think there's some kind of buddy-system going on that I don't know about.  Check out this picture, and see if you agree:

Here are some pictures from my wanderings-around:

And yes, after that long walk around, the scenery was still breath-taking:

I found out that the real big fellow lives in this building:

I think he's probably the largest Buddha at this location.  He even gets his own A/C!  It did creep me out, though, that when I walked in, the red dot on his forehead started flashing green and music began playing.  Whoever thought of rigging Buddha up with a motion sensor anyway?  For this reason, I call him Brinks Security Buddha:

Really there were just too many Buddha statues to count.  I wish I could have gotten a better look at some of these, but they were rather far back there in the woods:

Waterfall Buddha:

Unfortunately, this one's under construction, but I can tell it will be really beautiful when it's complete:

After more than 2 hours of looking around the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery, I had finally run out of things to look at.  As I went for the exit, this was the first Buddha to catch my attention.  I call him "You're Leaving Already?!" Buddha:

Beside him was Miles Family Buddha.  Take a look at this guy's face and tell me he's not a relative (make special note of the eyes):

Yes, I really did just want a picture of the snail.  I'm that kind of person.

High-Five Buddha.  I would have returned the high-five if a big British family hadn't been following me.  I didn't feel like getting too many weird looks.

It was all Buddhas on the way up and so it was also all Buddhas on the way down:

Even Verizon Wireless Buddha...can you hear me now?

At the foot of the mountain was a large collection of what I call "lazy offerings."  Instead of climbing all the way up to the actual monastery, people who don't feel like making the climb just put their offerings down here:

Needless to say, after all that I had worked up quite an appetite for lunch.  I love to frequent hole-in-the-wall establishments and so far I've found quite a few that I like here.   I can now add "Wong's Kitchen" to that list because lunch was delicious...and no, I don't think it was because I was ready to eat my shirt by the time my food arrived.