Looking at the Lantau Island from afar, especially on a foggy morning, evokes deep feeling of serenity and calm. Having taken 12 years to plan and build, the statue was completed on December 29th, 1993, the day of the enlightenment of Gautama Buddha, the founder of the Buddhist religion. Unusually, the statue faces north, whereas all the other big Buddhas face south. In 1999 Hong Kong post office issued a stamp depicting the Tian Tan Buddha.
The statue symbolises the stability of Hong Kong, prosperity of China and peace on earth.
In 1973, the monks of Po Lin Monastery, the Venerable Chi Wai and the Venerable Yuen Wai, having visited Buddha statue of Kamakura in Japan
and a statue in Zhanghua, Taiwan,
vowed to build a big Buddha statue in Hong Kong – believing the spirit of tranquillity and peace exuded by the Budda’s image would be a source of spiritual comfort for people. Their later visit to Tian Tan (altar of Heaven) in Beijing prompted them to call the statue Tian Tan Big Buddha Statue.
The construction of the statue is a work of art in itself, a result of thousands of drawings and meticulous planning, which prompted the statue to be elected as the fourth of the 10 Engineering Wonders in Hong Kong in 2000. This is the contemporary significance of this statue – it is inspired by tradition and spirituality and executed using the advances of modern science and technology. Perfect harmony of old and new, the statue is breathtaking.
In our picture, Monique is wearing one of our orange knits and carries Vivi bag in orange, very similar in colour to saffron robes of Buddhist monks, which prompted us to think about the significance and production of the saffron robes, firmly associated with Buddhism.
If you ever wondered about the origins of the bright colours of Buddhist monks, here is some insight. The Buddha taught the first monks and nuns to make their robes of “pure” cloth. Pure in this context meant discarded, unwanted by anyone else. Monks would scavenge cloth from the streets, wash it and dyed by boiling with various available herbs and plants bark, flowers, leaves or spices, such as turmeric and saffron. So it is the search for simplicity, and using the cheapest options available at the time, that lead to creation of one of the most well-known colour association.
Ngong Ping, the village that hosts Po Lin Monastery and the Buddha, is an interesting mix of purely tourist attractions, such as Disneylandesque plastic Tree of Buddha, and the genuine attractions, such as the monastery itself and Wisdom Walk. Next to the temple, you can purchase the food cooked for and by monks in the monastery, if you do not feel like visiting one of the restaurants – it is an interesting experience.
And finally, although you can get to the Big Buddha by bus or by a cable car, you can also aim for an adventure and walk to the statue. You can do that by following a path consisting of wooden staircases and very steep hills – this experience is not for faint hearted!
