The Monastery was begun in 1949 and completed in 1957. The main temple is filled with over 13,000 small Buddha statues lining the wall (the number 10,000 in Chinese culture represents a large amount, thus the discrepancy). The path to get to the Monastery is long and steep and lined with 500 golden life sized statues.
We began our climb up...
...and up.
We took a little rest while admiring some of the beautiful gilded Arhan statues.
And then we climbed some more. The sheer number of statues, each one unique, was astounding.
Just when we thought there was no end to this climb, there was the gateway to the lower plaza (that's right, lower).
The plaza is filled with beautiful statuary, incense burners, and a nine story pagoda.
One of the most striking statues is of Kwun Yam, the Goddess of Mercy.
The entire plaza is surrounded by statuary and columbaria where ashes are kept.
Photographs are not permitted inside the temples and columbaria as they are holy places. But a few of the shots taken from outside give a small glimpse of the enormity of this collection of Buddhas.
The interior is lined with shelves two stories high holding 12 inch high Buddhas with with a small light in front of each. There are several circular columbaria holding receptacles of ashes and a large altar. One other amazing thing is a what looks like another statue but is actually the preserved body of the founder of the monastery. The Diamond Indestructible Body of Yuexi is the corpse of Reverend Yuet Kai who, according to his wishes was disinterred eight months after his burial and embalmed with Chinese lacquer, painted with gold leaf, draped in robes and put on display seated in the lotus position.
After touring the lower plaza we headed up (where else?) to the upper plaza.
On this level there are several buildings which house remains and where funerals are held.
At one end of the plaza there is a hillside filled with gold statues perched on the rocks, a giant reclining Buddha and another beautiful statue of Kwum Yam.
From this level there is a beautiful view of the nine story pagoda.
We had reached the end of our upward climb and prepared to begin our descent.
We encountered a gentleman who was doing some upkeep by painting some newly installed statues to match the others.
We were looking forward to an uneventful descent, but then we saw Buddha had some company...
...monkeys!
Even some monks were quite taken by them.
We knew to be wary of these cute little visitors and for a while they simply led the way down hopping from one side of the pathway to the other.
But when one little guy decided to rattle the lamp post till it shook like crazy, it did get a bit scary.
Once he settled down we could enjoy their antics once more.
Eventually the monkeys were diverted by a gentleman who threw fruit into the woods to distract them. And then we continued going down...
...and down.
As we neared the bottom, Michele decided to channel her inner Buddha.
An afternoon of fresh air and exercise was coming to an end and we finished up our adventure at Cochrane's (a favorite bar) with a few Painkillers. They were aptly named for this day.
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