The Yuen Yuen Institute () is a

Taoist Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...

temple in Lo Wai,

Tsuen Wan District Tsuen Wan District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. It is located in the New Territories and is served by the Tsuen Wan line of the MTR metro system. Its area is 60.7 km2. Its residents, who mostly live in Tsuen Wan Town, enjo ...

, Hong Kong.

Location

The Institute is located on hectares of land around Sam Dip Tam (), Tsuen Wan District in the

New Territories The New Territories (N.T., Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: ) is one of the three areas of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of H ...

. The area is interspersed with temples, pavilions, and monasteries.

History

The Yuen Yuen Institute was established in Hong Kong in 1950 by monks from Sanyuan Gong (Three Originals Palace) in

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

, which in turn traces its lineage to the

Longmen Longmen () may refer to: *Longmen (mythology), The Dragon Gate in Chinese mythology, located at the top of a waterfall cascading from a legendary mountain *Longmen Grottoes, collection of Buddhist cave art in Luoyang *Longmen Mountains, mountain r ...

(Dragon Gate) Lineage of

Quanzhen The Quanzhen School (全真: ''Quánzhēn'', "All-True", Complete Perfection, Integrating Perfection or Complete Reality) is currently one of the two dominant denominations of Daoism in China. It originated in the Shandong peninsula in 1170. O ...

(Complete Perfection) Taoism. The Yuen Yuen Institute is the only temple in Hong Kong dedicated to all three major Chinese religions:

Taoism Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...

. The first three Chinese characters of the Institute's name denote the essence of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism respectively, so as to advocate the integration and realization of the three religions' teachings. The main building at the Institute is a replica of the

Temple of Heaven The Temple of Heaven () is a complex of imperial Religious Confucianism, religious Confucian buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperor of China, Emperors of the Ming dynasty, Ming and ...

(Tian Tan) in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. In 1968,

Moy Lin-shin Moy Lin-shin ( zh, c=梅連羨, p=Méi Liánxiàn) (1931 in Taishan county, Guangdong – June 6, 1998, Toronto, Ontario, Canada) was a Taoist monk, teacher and tai chi instructor who founded the Taoist Tai Chi Society, the Fung Loy Kok Instit ...

co-founded (together with Taoist Masters Mui Ming-to and Mrs Tang Yuen Mei) the temple for the Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism on the grounds of the Yuen Yuen Institute.

Purpose

The Institute's purpose is: *to spread the principles of the three religions, Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism; *to uphold the eight virtues (i.e. filial piety, respect, loyalty, fidelity, propriety, justice, honesty and honour); *to promote social welfare.

Activities

*During the annual

Lantern Festival The Lantern Festival ( zh, t=wikt:元宵節, 元宵節, s=wikt:元宵节, 元宵节, first=t, hp=Yuánxiāo jié), also called Shangyuan Festival ( zh, t=上元節, s=上元节, first=t, hp=Shàngyuán jié) and Cap Go Meh ( zh, t=十五暝, ...

, donations are exchanged for lanterns in the belief that these will bring fortune and health. The proceeds go to maintaining the Old Age Home and the hospitals and schools run by the Yuen Yuen Institute. *An annual

Bonsai Bonsai (; , ) is the Japanese art of Horticulture, growing and shaping miniature trees in containers, with a long documented history of influences and native Japanese development over a thousand years, and with unique aesthetics, cultural hist ...

and Stone Appreciation Show. *A restaurant is maintained at the Institute that offers vegetarian food. *Celebration of

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival (see also #Names, § Names), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holi ...

or Ghost Month (the 7th month of the lunar calendar).

References

External links

Institute website
{{commons Taoist temples in Hong Kong Tsuen Wan District Three teachings