The Tung Po Tor Monastery is situated at the foot of Tin Fat Shan in Lo Wai,

Tsuen Wan Tsuen Wan (formerly also spelled Tsun Wan) is a New towns of Hong Kong, town built on a bay in the New Territories West (constituency), western New Territories of Hong Kong, opposite Tsing Yi, Tsing Yi Island across Rambler Channel. The market ...

, Hong Kong. Parts of the monastery are listed as Grade II historic buildings.

History

The Tung Po Tor Monastery was founded in 1932 by the Buddhist Mau Fung for the worship of the

Kwun Yum Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...

(Goddess of Mercy) including a main hall called Yuen Tung Po Din () and an entrance hall called Tin Wong Din () separated by an open courtyard in between. There is a big bronze tripod in front of its main hall and the place on which the tripod stands was made in a blast during the Sino-Japanese War. The articles used by Mau Fung and the yellow sateen, the Five Garments and the Bag given by the Emperor of Japan are in display in the Memorial Hall. The temple also displays a statue of a Buddhist medical practitioner that is cast in ancient bronze in the Ming Dynasty.

Architecture

The Tin Wong Din (or Wai Tor Din ) is a building in front of the Yuen Tung Bo Din building. It is also a two-storey building constructed of concrete and stone with its walls and columns to support its pitched roofs of timber rafters, purlins and clay tiles. Four round columns painted red are arranged in 1:2:1 proportion in the interiors of the building. The external walls are plastered and painted in earth yellow colour. An altar in the middle of the ground floor hall houses a statue of

Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit) or Metteyya (Pali), is a bodhisattva who is regarded as the future Buddhahood, Buddha of this world in all schools of Buddhism, prophesied to become Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha.Williams, Paul. ''Mahayana Buddhism: Th ...

() facing the entrance and a statue of Wai Tor (, Skanda) facing the garden. At the two side platforms are the four standing huge statues of the

Four Heavenly Kings The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhism, Buddhist gods or Deva (Buddhism), ''devas'', each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. The Hall of Four Heavenly Kings is a standard component of Chinese Buddhism, Ch ...

(). The upper floor is a classroom and library for the young monks to study while the ridge of the building is decorated with a pearl and two aoyus ().

Conservation

Yuen Tong Po Din, as well as Tin Wong Din and Wai Tor Din, were declared as Grade II historic buildings in April 2010.

References

External links

Antiquities Advisory Board The Antiquities Advisory Board (AAB) is a statutory body of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region with the responsibility of advising the Secretary for Development, Antiquities Authority on any matters relating to antiquities and monum ...

. Historic Building Appraisal
Tung Po Tor Monastery, Yuen Tung Po DinPictures
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. Historic Building Appraisal
Tung Po Tor Monastery, Tin Wong Din & Wai Tor DinPictures
{{coord, 22.379220, 114.127074, region:HK_type:landmark_source:kolossus-zhwiki, display=title Buddhist monasteries in Hong Kong Buddhist temples in Hong Kong Grade II historic buildings in Hong Kong Tsuen Wan District