Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch
RASHKB and author
114
I
Vol. 1 (1961)
ISSN 1991-7295
exorcism is a common event. Two months later a much smaller ceremony was performed near Shatin at the request of villagers, who believed that an increase in traffic accidents had been caused by the "restless souls" of victims of the Japanese—a very widespread belief in the Colony. Thus, while only a tiny fraction of the population can be considered both purely Buddhist and devoutly Buddhist, a very large percentage depend on Buddhism in connection with death and the problems that arise therefrom. Furthermore, except among strict adherents of other religions, there seems to be in Hong Kong an underlying reverence for Shakyamuni, Kuan Yin, and the vast pantheon that has become native to China—at least in comparison to divinities more recently arrived.