Buddha's Birthday｜Tsz Shan Monastery Copying Scriptures and Bathing the Buddha

🍀Today is Buddha’s Birthday, also known as Buddha’s Bathing Day. Hong Kong has a one-day holiday. I would like to introduce to you a good place to go on Buddha’s Birthday - Tsz Shan Monastery in Hong Kong. 🍀As the name suggests, Buddha's Birthday was established to commemorate the birth of Sakyamuni Buddha. According to Buddhist scriptures, when Sakyamuni Buddha was born, the sky was calm and fragrant, and under the guidance of the gods, the Buddha was born among flowers, trees and greenery. According to legend, people bathed the Buddha in perfume and sprinkled flower petals on his body to celebrate his birth. Therefore, later generations designated the birthday of Sakyamuni Buddha as Buddha Bathing Day. 🍀On this day, Buddhists will go to Buddhist temples or monasteries, offer incense, flowers and offerings in front of the Buddha statue, and then bathe the Buddha statue with flower water or clean water, symbolizing the cleansing of sins, the removal of physical and mental filth, and expressing respect and gratitude to the Buddha, which can also enable people to pursue inner purity and tranquility. 🍀Tsz Shan Monastery in Hong Kong is a temple with profound Buddhist cultural heritage, located in Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong. The temple covers an area of ​​4.7 hectares, with a building floor area of ​​nearly 5,000 square meters and can accommodate more than 2,000 devotees. Tsz Shan Monastery was developed by the Hong Kong Ching Ko Lotus Society and received an investment of HK$1.5 billion from Mr. Li Ka-shing. 🍀Tsz Shan Monastery has a unique architectural style, with a design that combines a pagoda and a temple into one. The buildings in the temple are arranged symmetrically along the central axis, including the Hall of Heavenly Kings, the Main Hall, the Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas and the Hall of Medicine Buddha, which are solemn and dignified. At the same time, details such as the courtyards, side halls and statues in the temple also reflect the exquisite craftsmanship of traditional Chinese culture. 🍀The biggest feature of Tsz Shan Monastery is its unique Guanyin Hall. Compared to many other temples, the worship of Guanyin here is different from the traditional incense and candles, but is replaced by "offering water". This change in form stems from the inner attitude and reform spirit of the Hong Kong Zhengjue Lotus Society. Guanyin Bodhisattva represents compassion and wisdom, and Tsz Shan Monastery conveys its unique temple culture through the water-supplying ceremony. 🍀The Buddhist statue collection of Tsz Shan Monastery is an important part of its Buddhist culture. Many of the precious Buddhist statues are also sourced from Sotheby's and Christie's. The most representative of these is the statue of Sakyamuni Buddha. These Buddha statues show the image of Sakyamuni Buddha in different periods and scenes, such as his birth, enlightenment, and preaching. In addition, there are also some other Buddhist statues, such as Guanyin, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, etc., which are worth spending more time here to stay and watch. 🍀Tsz Shan Monastery not only provides believers with a peaceful and solemn place of worship, but also provides tourists with an excellent place to appreciate Buddhist art. What I like most is the experience of copying scriptures in the main hall. Although the sun is scorching, the process of copying scriptures has become a rare process of pursuing peace and tranquility. I highly recommend it! PS. Remember to make an appointment in advance before visiting Tsz Shan Monastery! #Buddha's Birthday #Tsz Shan Monastery #Tsz Shan Monastery Sutra Copying #Buddha Bathing Festival