April 22 (Lunar calendar: March 3), 2023 Saturday | Dawnxisoul393art

《The Avalokiteśvara》, painted by dawnxisoul393

 

Today we went to Tsz Shan Monastery as a family and sketched and painted. We just wanted to take our daughter to see the general appearance of Tsz Shan Monastery first, with the Avalokiteśvara statue in the distance. We hope that our daughter will have a general impression of Tsz Shan Monastery, and in the future, when she is a little older, maybe three years old, we will make an appointment to Tsz Shan Monastery and go into Tsz Shan Monastery to pay tribute to Avalokiteśvara. Tsz Shan Monastery is located in Tai Po, New Territories, at the foot of Pat Sin Leng, surrounded by mountains and facing the Plover Cove Fresh Water Lake, Tsz Shan Monastery is a peaceful and quiet place to meditate, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. In order to make the environment more peaceful, Tsz Shan Monastery has implemented crowd control measures by reservation, so that visitors can truly meditate or visit in peace and quiet.

In December 2003, Xianghai Zhengjue Lotus Society, with master Jue Guang, President of the Hong Kong Buddhist Federation as the president and Li Ka Shing, chairman of Changjiang industry as the honorary consultant, put forward a plan to develop Tsz Shan monarchy. The project was primarily intended to promote Buddhism and would not be used as a columbarium or developed as a tourist development. The plan had aroused the concern of environmental protection groups and some residents in the District, such as the need to cut down forests, and worried that Ting Kok Road, the only access road in the District, could not cope with the increased traffic flow after its completion. However, after master Jue Kwong and engineering designers explained to the District Council and the town planning committee, the plan was approved by the Home Affairs Bureau and the planning department, It was approved by the town planning board in June 2006. 

Illustrated by dawnxisoul393

Tsz Shan Monastery covers an area of about 500000 square feet. It was founded by Mr. Li Ka-shing, chairman of Li Ka-Shing Foundation. It lasted more than 10 years and used more than HK $3 billion in construction funds. Mr. Li Ka-shing hoped to practice the core concepts of Buddhism: clarity, compassion, and action, pray for the eternal Buddhist philosophy, inject and respond to contemporary vitality, do his best to promote Buddhism and benefit the public. Tsz Shan Monastery collected the aura of mountains and rivers and the essence of sun and moon. Its architectural design paid attention to greening and strived to coexist harmoniously with the surrounding environment and integrate with the natural scenery. The overall design of Tsz Shan Monastery was a return to the basics and combines traditional features with modern functionality. Tsz Shan Monastery was officially opened to the public in April 2015. On April 15, 2015, Tsz Shan Monastery received the first batch of 400 visitors who made reservations through the website. Mr. Li Ka-shing was inspired by the power of Buddhist art to soothe and nourish the heart and soul, so he built a museum of Buddhist art under the Avalokiteśvara statue in the monastery.

The most striking outdoor sculpture of Tsz Shan Monastery was the Avalokiteśvara sculpture, which was set against the mountain and faced the freshwater lake. Standing 76 meters tall (about 25 stories) on a three-story lotus flower platform, Avalokiteśvara had a benevolent face, sitting north to south, opposite the Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau Island. Avalokiteśvara‘s sash facing the wind, holding a mani pearl of wisdom in her right hand and a purifying vase in her left hand, giving pure water, in a peaceful and solemn manner. Avalokiteśvara was looking down, signifying the compassion of the Bodhisattva. On the top of the Avalokiteśvara's hairs was a statue of Amitabha Buddha, signifying the infinite divine power to protect all beings. Today, after visiting the appearance of Tsz Shan Monastery, we told our daughter a legend about "Thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara", which was the most popular and familiar one we heard from childhood.

Illustrated by dawnxisoul393

Our daughter listened quietly and carefully, occasionally looking up at Avalokiteśvara sculpture. In ancient times, there was a Miaozhuang state. The king was called King Miaozhuang. He had three daughters. The eldest princess loved to dress up. She wore heavy makeup, the second princess ate and drank all day long, the third princess wore ordinary cloth, ate vegetarian food, and read poetry and literature. King Miaozhuang was old. He thought, who would inherit the throne? The eldest princess and the second princess spent all day drinking and didn't know how to make progress. The third princess was virtuous, fair and upright, and smart, it was more appropriate. Therefore, King Miaozhuang decided to recruit a door-to-door son-in-law for the third princess as soon as possible. One day, King Miaozhuang said to the third princess, "My daughter, the Chancellor's eldest son was very talented and can match my daughter." The third princess listened with tears in her eyes and just shook her head. After a few days, Miao Zhuang Wang said again: "My daughter, the new scholar is an outstanding talent, this marriage you want?" The Third Princess shook her head again.

A few days later, King Miaozhuang came to find his daughter again，"My daughter, you will be satisfied this time. The son-in-law your father found for you is the richest man in the dynasty. His family has a golden mountain and a silver mountain..." Without waiting for king Miaozhuang to finish, the third princess shook her head like waves. King Miaozhuang was so angry that he jumped up and shouted, "Today's marriage, whether you want it or not, must be done! Get engaged today, and get married the day after tomorrow." The next morning, the prospective bridegroom's family came to deliver the bride price, gold, and silver, pearls, and onyx in a steady stream of cars into the palace. King Miao Zhuang was very happy and ordered his palace maids to invite the third princess to come. King Miao Zhuang thought it was very honorable to have a marriage with such a rich family. Not long after, the court lady came back in a panic and reported, "Your Majesty, something is wrong! The Third Princess is missing!" When King Miao Zhuang heard the report, he also panicked and shouted, "Men, go and find the Third Princess!" In an instant, the palace was in chaos, with palace maids and eunuchs scurrying around in search of the third princess.

Later, King Miaozhuang sent people out to search everywhere, after half a year, only in the Peach Blossom Island in the White Bird Nunnery found the third princess. The third princess had become a nun and was named Miaoshan. King Miaozhuang sent his minister to persuade the third princess to change her mind and return to the palace. Who knows, the third princess was as firm as iron and unwavering. When King Miaozhuang failed to persuade her, he paid a lot of silver to buy the owner of the nunnery, asking her to abuse the third princess and force her to return to the common customs. The owner got silver and blacked her conscience. She tried every means to torture the third princess. She told her to get up and work before dawn every day and go up the mountain to cut firewood. In the cold winter and December of the year, there was heavy snow. The Peach Blossom Island was covered with snow. The third princess was numb with cold hands and feet and fell down in the gully. An old man with a white beard and white hair came to the third princess, took out a bright bead, and put it on her lips. The third princess was refreshed and relaxed. Under the old man's guidance, the third princess went to a barren mountain in the east of Peach Blossom Island. The third princess accompanied birds and animals on the barren mountain, chanting scriptures.

Illustrated by dawnxisoul393

After one year, the whereabouts of the third princess were finally learned by King Miaozhuang. This time, he led his troops to the Peach Blossom Island where the third princess lived. King Miaozhuang took people ashore to search the island. The snakes and insects came out of the caves together and bit people when they saw them. King Miaozhuang was so angry that he ordered people to set fire to the island. Suddenly, a red light rose in the fire. The third princess, wearing white robes and stepping on the lotus platform, loomed in the red light and slowly floated into the distance. A few days after King Miaozhuang returned to the palace, many pustules suddenly appeared on his body, making him itchy and unbearable. King Miaozhuang used all the good medicine, but it had no effect at all. Suddenly, a voice called in his ear, "King Miao Zhuang, go to Putuo Mountain to beg your daughter to save you!" Hearing this, King Miao Zhuang hurriedly ordered people to prepare cars and boats to Putuo Mountain to ask for help from the Third Princess. When King Miaozhuang reached Putuo Mountain, suddenly, a bright light appeared in the sky. In the colored cloud, the Third Princess sat on the lotus platform and said to King Miaozhuang, "Father, if you take my arm back and decoct it with medicine, father's illness will be cured."

The third princess broke her arm and threw it in front of King Miaozhuang. King Miaozhuang took his daughter's arm. He was ashamed, regretful, and worried. He was afraid that his daughter would be disabled after losing her arm. Just when he was hesitating, he suddenly saw a flash of golden light in the sky, and countless arms suddenly grew out from under the body of the third princess. It turned out that the third princess had become Avalokiteśvara. The place where the third princess became Avalokiteśvara was Luojia Mountain, and the last place where she appeared was over the Brahma Cave in Putuo Mountain. Avalokiteśvara broke her arm but grew countless arms. So it is also called Thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara.

“Tsz Shan Monastery”, Hong Kong, Dawnxisoul393

（Original by dawnxisoul393）