Even the Big Buddha [天壇大佛] on Ngong Ping on Lantau Island offers all believers with the possibility of purchasing the Buddhist image, statue, prayer beads or other reminder at the numerous gift shops around the monastry grounds.
The Buddha sits on a lotus in prayer with one hand in greeting and another accepting. He is 34 metres tall, weighs 250 tonnes, and was the world's tallest outdoor bronze seated Buddha prior to 2007. There are 28 pieces that were shipped from Shanghai foundry where he was cast and then reassembled here on the island. The Buddha is surrounded by six Devas offering various objects [food, boxes, pan pipe flutes] to the Buddha.
For lunch if purchased the $60 [$9 Aust] value meal and had a thin lemon grass soup, rice, stir fried vegetables with dou fu [ 豆腐 ] and a deep friend dou fu wrapper with steamed vegetables.
This first image of me on the steps leading to the Big Buddha is atop.
The Po Lin Monastry [寶蓮禪寺 literally the Precious Lotus Zen Temple] houses one small part of the six surviving pieces of the original Pali Tripitaka [written on bamboo splices]. The Pali canon was probably written about 300 to 600 years after the death of the original Buddha. It tries to formalise his original teachings and sayings and rules.
I'm sure he did not envisage several shops selling the trinkets and statues when considering his teachings and his disciples.
After the monastry, I rode the bus / train home to the Baptist University, took the bus to Tung Chung, followed by three train rides to Lai King, Prince Edward [Taizi, 太 子], Lok Fu. And not once did I get lost.
Another photo today because the one of me doesn't really count.
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