Before the Tian Tan Buddha was built, was the Po Lin Monastery 宝莲禅寺. This monastery is located directly across the Big Buddha. Or rather the Big Buddha is located directly across the Monstery. The monastery was built in the early 1900s by three monks from Zhejiang 浙江 province in China. They loved the location and first built a small stone house and then a big hut where it got its first name Big Hut 大茅蓬. Soon word of the place spread and more monks came here to stay and the place was expanded and renamed to its present name.
Now, it is more than a monastery, it is a major tourist attraction too. A huge incense burner is at the main entrance of the temple grounds and is quite hot so better to keep your distance. There is a vegetarian restaurant to the left of the monastery. The central temple is quite impressive and well kept. The temple is much like the other temples I have seen elsewhere in China and it doesn’t really stand out for me. There are three sacred statues of Buddha in the temple which represent the past present and future.
Despite the tourist horde, a lot of Buddhist do come here for worship and they do not seem to mind the endless throng of tourists pointing cameras at them. Outside the main temple is a nice little courtyard with nice flowers planted. My friend and I took a few minutes to rest from the climbing we just did from the Big Buddha. The courtyard is shaded so it was a great place to relax.
Finally, we head on out to go down the mountain. It really love coming here, even though I am not a Buddhist. I can’t remember how many times I have been here, either for fun or just bringing someone around. Nevertheless, despite the crowd of tourists that come here, it remains a peaceful place for me to be in.
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