Hi guys! You are now reading the part two of my Ngong Ping Village Tour in Lantau Island, Hong Kong. I mentioned this on the first part already,but I will mention it again. Just to refresh your memory 🙂
Ngong Ping Village is one of the cultural tourist locations located at Lantau Island in Hong Kong. This 1.5-hectare village is where you can find the famous Big Buddha, Po Lin Monastery, Ngong Ping Piazza, Di Tan, Bodhi Wishing Shrine, etc..
This time, I’m gonna show you the Di Tan, Po Lin Monastery, and the Big Buddha(Tian Tan Buddha). Are you excited?
First is Di Tan or Earth Temple. This is the open round space facing the Po Lin Monastery and the Big Buddha. You will never have a hard time finding the Di Tan. If you see a round area with banners and flags, that’s the Di Tan. It is also where religious ceremonies are occasionally held.
Next is the Po Lin Monastery. Po Lin means “Precious Lotus” and the lotus flower symbolizes “purity” in Buddhism. This monastery is located at the Ngong Ping Plateau just across the Big Buddha. Dubbed as ‘the Buddhist World in the South’, Po Lin Monastery served as a home for many devoted monks. Believe me, you will not have a hard time finding this one.
Before you reach the main monastery temple, you have to pass through this temple gateway called Hall of Bodhisatva Skanda.
Inside the gateway hall, you will see some statues of deities and guards protecting the entrance. You will also see people giving their offerings and prayers to each of them.
So here’s the Po Lin Monastery’s main temple. To bad I was not able to explore it because there was an ongoing meditation/ritual of the monks. So temporarily the main temple is off limits. You can view them from the temple’s doors but you can’t take pictures/videos.
If you would notice at the back of the main temple is another palace-like temple which is larger and newer. There’s a shrine hall there called the Hall of the Ten Thousand Buddhas. It also has an exhibition hall for Budhist relics,a Scripture Library, a Meditation hall, there are also facilities there for cultural and tourist events. In the picture above, you will hardly see it since It was foggy that time and my point of view is from the front of the main temple. I’m really sad that I was not able see it. 🙁
There was an ongoing festival during that time at Po Lin Monastery. First time to ecounter this kind of festival. The Buddha Bathing Festival. Please see my Instagram video so you can see how to do it.
Bathing the Buddha is just one of the festival activities to celebrate the birthday of Buddha. It is also one of the unique and most spiritual festivals celebrated in Hong Kong.
Next is the Big Buddha or Tian Tan Buddha. It is that big and high(34 metres high) that it took 12 years to complete it(year 1993). WoW! You definitely should see this when you visit the village. But of course, you have to climb up the 268 steps for a closer look of the bronze buddha and it’s surroundings, which I did. Well, It’s worth it!
That’s me taking a selfie on my way up!. Unfortunately, It was very foggy when we visited the village so I wasn’t able to take clear photos of the Tian Tan Buddha. But being there and seeing the famous Buddha for real is already a very nice experience for me.
The Big Buddha or Tian Tan Buddha became a major cultural landmark in Hong Kong. Imagine how many tourists, buddhist and even locals go to Ngong Ping not just for vacation or to roam around but also to give their offerings and prayers.
When you reach the top platform, there are six more smaller bronze statues on their knees surrounding Tian Tan Buddha. It is called “The Offering of the Six Devas”. You would notice that they are holding something, these are actually offerings. Flowers, incense, ointment, lamp, and music.
There are also three halls underneath the Big Buddah, The Hall Of Remembrance, The Hall of Benevolent Merit, and The Hall of Universe. Too bad taking pictures are not allowed within these halls. But just want to let you know that there are these halls that you might want to consider visiting.
Know more of Ngong Ping’s Big Buddha or Tian Tan Buddha:
NOTE: Po Lin Monastery and the Big Buddha is open for public between 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
On our way back going to the Ngong Ping cable car station, Aside from the dogs, we also saw a few cows roaming around and walking freely with the tourist. We followed some and saw them chillin’ in the parking lot. Just be mindful of your steps. You don’t want to be stepping on a “gold mine” hahaha. You know what I mean. 🙂
Haaaaay… Gonna miss this place and I would definitely want to go back again and again and again… 🙂 So. If you are in Hong Kong, don’t miss out going in Lantau Island.
By the way, you can also read the Part one of my Ngong Ping Village, Lantau Island tour here…
www.girlandboything.com/places-to-go/ngong-ping-village-in-lantau-island-hong-kong/
Till my next travel!
