10,000 Buddhas, 100 monkeys

The shimmer of gold Buddhas illuminated the path up the mountain to the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery in Sha Tin.

To my right was a sign, "don't feed the monkeys," it read. My friend from Australia Adelaide and I looked around for the monkeys.

Silence. Only tufts of weeds could be seen in the enclosure. We started our trek up the 400 stairs leading to Hong Kong's most sacred site. Buddhas accompanied us on all sides of the pathway. (Click here for a slideshow of the Buddhas.)

Sad Buddha. Happy Buddha. Pensive Buddha. Walking Buddha. Musical Buddha. Virtuous Buddha. Intellectual Buddha. Child rearing Buddha. Wise Buddha. Silly Buddha. Angry Buddha.

Out of all the Buddhas, I found one high up on the hill side that typified myself: Writing Buddha. He clutched a small pencil in his right hand. His features, curious and intent, offered me a glimpse of belonging amongst all these foreign figures.

I realized that my knowledge of Buddhism was mainly limited to The Eight Fold Path and the Four Noble Truths I had learned in high school history class.*

My trek to this monastery signified a phenomena in western countries. Many westerners, not just Americans, are currently trying to walk beside the Buddha. Many friends have told me recently of parents and friends who have recently begun to identify with Buddhism.

Whether Buddhism is a religion or not remains a matter of debate. It can be safely said that Buddhism has been described as more of a philosophy of life.

According to "A Basic Buddhism Guide," The Buddhist path can be summed up rather simply as:

• to lead a moral life.
• to be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions
• to develop wisdom and understanding.

Originally, I thought I was seeing the different forms of one god: the Buddha. I could not have been more wrong. Buddha was simply a man who found enlightenment and afterwords taught the principles of Buddhism, called the Dhamma, meaning truth. He does not claim to be a god and either do his followers.

Not all Buddhas looked the same in this monastery. I learned later that there are many different sects of Buddhism. This includes, Theravada Buddhism (Southern Buddhism), Mahayana Buddhism (Northern Buddhism), Vajrayana Buddhism (Tantric or Esoteric Buddhism), Tibetan Buddhism, and Chan and Zen Buddhism.

With a deep breath, the humid air filled my lungs as I clambered up another set of the 400 steps leading to the top of the monastery.

An older Chinese couple easily passed me on my way up the mountain. Compared with the escalators I took earlier on Fo Pook Hill, this climb seemed arduous (Read more about Po Fook Hill below).

Even with sweat dripping down, the top proved worthwhile. Inside one of the temples I found out there were 12,000 miniature Buddhas lining the walls in addition to the 10,000 outside. A couple kneeled down before an altar. This place was more than just an oddity for western tourists. This was a sanctuary for meditation with the Buddha.

Buddhists do not "worship" Buddha. Instead, Buddhists sometimes pay respect in gratitude for his teachings.

After reaching the top of the hill, Adelaide and I recalled a path leading downward that we had passed earlier.

Relieved to be walking down hill, we soon said farewell to the last Buddha. At the bottom of a set of stairs, a sign directed us to a local bee man selling honey and books. With a shrug, I urged Adelaide to see what this local had to offer.

We crossed a walkway surrounded by jungle. Looking down I realized we were walking through a maize of feces. I dismissed the droppings as from the local dogs I had seen meandering about and kept a sharp lookout.

A few meters up a small hill, I found the bee man's house. While we easily found the bees, the bee man was no where to be found.

We turned away, disappointed, only to see a pack of monkeys crossing the pathway we had just left minutes earlier.

We rushed down toward them, fascinated at both the noise and number of monkeys in the trees all around us. Jumping, fighting and even flying. These monkeys knew no boundaries or borders. They jumped on roof tops, sprung between telephone wires and slid down tree trunks.

Baby monkeys clung to their mothers while flying in the air, without falling off. Two friends picked bugs off each other.

(Click here to see video of the monkeys.)

I began to understand the sign about the monkeys I saw earlier. These monkeys were fearless. Several walked within inches of me. A mother and baby strolled within a few feet.

Each monkey seemed to have its own personality. One of the larger monkeys rebuked the younger ones, as if telling them off for breaking some rule unknown to the human eye or ear.

After 30 minutes, the pack moved on, marking its way with the loud clamor only made from using trees as rope swings, unaware they played near a sacred site.

Like most westerners, they had left the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery without knowing who the Buddha was. Buddhists do not believe in conversion, which was reflected in the lack of information on the site about Buddhism.

Unlike the monkeys, I left curious to find out more.

*I am not a Buddhist. My explanations of Buddhism are from research and conversations only. If I have made any errors, please feel free to contact me or write a comment. Much of this blog came from information found from The New York Times Topics about Buddhism, Religious Tolerance.org by agnostic Bruce Robinson and other sites. All facts gathered were cross checked on multiple sites to ensure accuracy.