Big Buddha

Because we only meet once a month for family home evening, we had our last one on Sunday with our "family" from the branch  We are having a lot of lasts and it's quite sad for us as we have grown very close to these wonderful brothers and sisters.

Last Saturday, we took a few hours and went to Big Buddha again, as our friends, the Fergusons,  hadn't been there yet. We went a different way taking the gondola and not the bus, but since it was so smoggy and foggy, none of our photos from really turned out very well.  It was fun though!

From Wikipedia: The statue is 34 metres (112 ft) tall, weighs over 250 metric tons (280 short tons), and was constructed from 202 bronze pieces. In addition to the exterior components, there is a strong steel framework inside to support the heavy load. Reputedly the figure can be seen across the bay from as far away as Macau on a clear day. Visitors have to climb 268 steps to reach the Buddha

Also from Wikipedia: Surrounding it are six smaller bronze statues known as "The Offering of the Six Devas" that are posed offering flowers, incense, lamp, ointment, fruit, and music to the Buddha. These symbolize the Six Perfections of generosity, morality, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom, all of which are necessary for enlightenment

This room is inside the statue and it looks kind of like a prayer room or something like that.

Here's what Wikipedia says: Tian Tan Buddha, also known as the Big Buddha, is a large bronze statue of Buddha completed in 1993, and located at Ngong Ping, Lantau Island, in Hong Kong. The statue is sited near Po Lin Monastery and symbolizes the harmonious relationship between man and nature, people and faith. It is a major centre of Buddhism in Hong Kong, and is also a popular tourist attraction.

The columns on the buildings are so intricate!

This photo is from Wikipedia as we weren't allowed to take photos of the inside.

Here's what it says about the monastery: Po Lin Monastery is a Buddhist monastery, located on Ngong Ping Plateau, on Lantau Island, Hong Kong.The monastery was founded in 1906 by three monks visiting from Jiangsu Province on the Chinese mainland and was initially known simply as "The Big Hut" (大茅蓬 Tai Mao Pung). It was renamed to its present name in 1924. The main temple houses three bronze statues of the Buddha – representing his past, present and future lives – as well as many Buddhist scriptures.Tian Tan Buddha, a giant Buddha statue completed in 1993, is an extension of the monastery.

Then it was time to go home.

These few brighter photos are from the internet.

Where we got off, there were these little pictures of gondolas on the window.  This would be our son, Eric's name in Cantonese.

This is his wife's gondola, only Crystal should be spelled Krystal and her Chandler name should be Chan, but other than that, it's perfect. (Ha, ha!)

To end our post, we thought you might want to see a photo of one of our favorite Elders, Elder Fung, who was in our English class and who is now at the Missionary Training Center in New Zealand. He is so excited to serve and he will be a wonderful missionary there

Here he is with his companion in front of the Christus statue there. As he is grateful for Jesus Christ, so are we, and we have a testimony of Jesus Christ's divinity, that he is the son of God. He loves us and has shown us the way through his example and through his infinite atonement in our behalf. He is the way, the truth, and the light.

Also, to end our post for today, if you have time, we found this old video about the touch of the Master's hand that you might enjoy watching Touch of the Master's Hand .  Have a great day!