Oh My Buddha! A Visit to the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery

Oh My Buddha! 10,000 Oh My Buddha’s to be exact. I’ve never seen so many Buddhas in my life!

Located on Kowloon Island, Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery is an easy metro ride and a quick walk to get to. Walking up the road we came to a sea of people; the line began at the bottom of a hillside and wrapped up the stairs to the top.

My friend and I looked at each other in horror, “It’s Qingming next weekend!”. Qingming is an important day to show respect to ancestors in the Chinese culture.

Over the Chinese New Year, we took a visit to Jade Buddha Temple. Only to find out upon arriving that it happened to be the most important day of prayer for Buddhists during CNY. Now, here we were at a Hong Kong temple the weekend before Qingming.

‘Well, we’re already here”, we decided as we got into line.

Instantly one of the guards walked over to us, pointing to another pathway, “Ten Thousand Buddhas”. Turning around, we saw a tiny sign for it and a clear path, not a soul in sight. Thanking the guard profusely, we exhaled a sigh of relief.

It turns out that the line we were in was for the Po Fook Hill Ancestral Hall. Visitors who weren’t able to pay their respects to their ancestors the following weekend for Qingming were visiting.

The journey up the hillside is a journey in itself with over 400 steps and a path lined on both sides with life-sized golden Arhat. These are the Buddhist equivalent of saints who have achieved enlightenment. Each one is designed in a unique and different pose. I thought this was part of the 10,000 Buddhas. Turns out these 500 arhat’s don’t even count in the 10,000 Buddha’s.

Ascending the path, I found thousands of Buddhas. Despite the name, Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery, there are actually over 13,000 Buddhas. In Cantonese, the term ‘ten thousand’ simply means ‘an extremely large number’. With this large number of Buddhas, the grounds to house them is fairly large as well. It consists of the lower level terrace featuring a hall, a nine-story high pagoda, and two pavilions. The upper-level terrace contains four halls, a souvenir shop, a bookstore, and a vegetarian dining hall.

The Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery was overwhelmingly beautiful and one of my favorite places in Hong Kong. I had no idea I was going to fall in love here. Buuuutttt….of course, it wouldn’t be the JJ adventures if there weren’t some unexpected surprises.

I was on my way to the temple bathroom, already an undesirable location that I was dreading being a squatty potty and all, when I saw this cute little guy hanging out. Of course, I had to walk over, take a picture and say hello!

Apparently, he saw the restroom sign and decided he needed to go as well. He jumped onto the railing and proceeded to do his business.

Unhappy with his lack of privacy, (I mean, we were standing less than a foot away from him while he was doing his business) he turned around and bared his teeth at the man standing next to me.

This, of course, caused me to scream and run up the stairs.

The Chinese man just laughed and continued puffing on his cigarette.

Unhappy with this man’s reaction, the monkey jumped onto the ground next to him and proceeded to run towards the actual restroom. The one I was just about to use…

It took a good 30 minutes before I would even attempt to walk into the restroom. Images of a monkey attacking me in a bathroom stall in Hong Kong will forever haunt me. I officially have PTSD, my souvenir from Hong Kong!

How much: FREE!

How to get there:

Take the Hong Kong MTR to Sha Tin Station, Exit B, take a left down the ramp alongside the bus terminal. Continue past Pai Tau Village, take a left at Pai Tau Street (you will see an IKEA), and continue walking to the end of the road. You’ll reach the lower level of the Po Fook Hill Ancestral Hall. The Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery is on the right-hand side if you are facing the hillside.

Note:

There are no directions to the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery from the MTR stations. The government banned the promotion of the monastery due to safety concerns. Try to follow my directions fairly closely but rest assured many people in Hong Kong speak English.

TIP:

Don’t give money to any of the monks begging outside the monastery. The Hong Kong Buddhist Association states ‘genuine devotees are not allowed to beg within Hong Kong’. Therefore, these are considered fake monks. Many have been arrested and police are advising to avoid their scams at all costs.

Find more things to do in Hong Kong here.