[
    {
        "id": 204336,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1961",
        "page_number": 104,
        "title": "RAS-1961",
        "content_text": "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch\n\nORASHKB and author\n\n100\n\nVol. 1 (1961)\n\nISSN 1991-7295\n\nThe atomization of the Sangha in Hong Kong, as in China proper, has caused a wide variation in the quality of institutions. One monastery, for example, is little better than a public house. It has a restaurant that serves wine; the sound of mahjong drowns out the crickets on summer evenings; there are ping pong tables in the monastery garden; rooms are available; and the abbot (if one can call him that) is said to have originally joined the Sangha in China to escape criminal prosecution. In another, not entirely dissimilar monastery, the abbot is unable to read and write. Yet in both cases, there is a Buddha Hall and worship is carried on. These are two of the monasteries most often visited by tourists.\n\nOn the other hand, there are some institutions that really do credit to Chinese Buddhism. The members study the doctrine and, in many cases, do admirable welfare work, as we shall see below. The Vinaya is observed. The premises are well kept. There is an atmosphere that can make even the casual visitor think of taking refuge there from the dust of the world. The best example is probably the Po Lin Tsz on Lantao.\n\nMost Hong Kong monasteries are in the New Territories, built on hillsides, often with a fine view. They usually have an extensive set of buildings, capable of accommodating a much larger number of persons than are actually in residence (a reminder of greater prosperity in times past). Nuns and lay women devotees may be found in the same institution, living and worshipping separately from the monks. One reason for this type of \"co-educational\" arrangement is that only monks can be dharma masters, qualified to teach. In a nunnery, therefore, disciples must await their occasional visits.\n\nThe largest of the Colony's monasteries is the Tung Po Toh* in Tsuen Wan, which has about 40 monks, 60 nuns and 30 lay women. The Chuk Lam Shim Yuen, also in Tsuen Wan, has 20 monks, 30 nuns, and 100 lay women. On the other hand, another of Tsuen Wan's well-known institutions, the Wang Faat Tsing She, has monks only, ten in number. These figures are representative for the Colony's larger monasteries. Actually, the only other large monastery is the Po Lin Tsz, which has 30 monks, 20 nuns, and 50 lay women.*\n\n* All these figures are approximate, partly because there is a certain amount of coming and going and partly because of the feeling on the part of informants that a round number is adequate\n\nThe internal organization of Hong Kong monasteries (and the same would apply to nunneries) is generally as follows. All authority rests in the hands of the abbot. Under him there are, theoretically, four departments in charge of",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 204339,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1961",
        "page_number": 107,
        "title": "RAS-1961",
        "content_text": "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch \n\nRASHKB and author \n\nVol. 1 (1961) \n\nISSN 1991-7295 \n\n103 \n\nof Buddhist literature, chiefly sutras in Chinese, and is open to the public (although only members are allowed to take books out). It is headed by Abbot T'aam Hui of the Wang Faat Tsing She, and staffed by his disciples. There is another, much smaller Buddhist library on the Hong Kong side (the Bo Fat Tripitaka Library, Queen's Road East), under the direction of Abbot Fat Ko of the Po Lin Tsz. \n\nBy far the most numerous category of Buddhist institutions in Hong Kong is the tsing she, or hermitage, most of which - at least 120 are registered under the Temples Ordinance - are to be found in secluded parts of the New Territories (over 80 on Lantao Island alone). These are small private institutions where five or ten persons lead a peaceful life, eat vegetarian food, worship morning and night, and (in the case of the intellectually inclined) more or less diligently study Buddhism and practice Buddhist meditation. Many of the hermitages are headed by an ordained monk: in others, one or two monks may live as honoured guests, teaching the laymen who, in almost all cases, form a majority of the inmates of each institution. Little distinction is made as to sect: each inmate is free to take the approach that he finds most congenial. \n\nWomen as well as men may be found in tsing she (offering little distraction, since they are usually elderly), but most Buddhists lay women prefer the institution known as the chai t'ong, or vegetarian hall, which is a species of tsing she and follows the same regime. Here no men are to be found. Amahs and other women who have saved a little money make it over to the head of the chai t'ong in return for her commitment to support them until they die. Sometimes the spirit of the commitment is not lived up to. The proprietor tries to make life so spartan for one of her guests that the latter will leave in disgust. Her purpose is then to acquire another lump sum from the person who replaces the disgruntled member. This kind of sharp practice often leads to disputes that the District Officer must solve. \n\nIII. FINANCES \n\nTsing she, including chai t'ong, receive practically no money from public sources. Outsiders are not encouraged to attend worship there except in cases where they are potential candidates for admission. The income comes from members only and, where the latter are well-off, the standard of living can be high. \n\nThe income of the funeral specialists is entirely in the form of fees for services performed. The various study centres and libraries depend on donations from well-to-do Buddhist devotees, who, in many cases, wish to acquire merit by helping to spread the dharma. Since their personnel is usually small and their",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 204341,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1961",
        "page_number": 109,
        "title": "RAS-1961",
        "content_text": "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch\n\nRASHKB and author\n\nVol. 1 (1961)\n\nISSN 1991-7295\n\n105\n\nBecause of their limited resources monasteries in Hong Kong have never been able to act as is'ung lam, that is, public monasteries which on the mainland made it their obligation to accept all wandering monks. There has been and is no religious obligation for Hong Kong monasteries to receive refugees or visitors. They are private institutions and a stranger, even though he is an ordained monk in good standing, can be refused admission. There have, however, been some monasteries here (notably the Tung Pu Toh) that did manage to shelter hundreds of refugee monks in the years immediately following 1950, and they have been much admired for so doing. Most of these monks have since emigrated to Taiwan.\n\nOne of the problems facing the Sangha in Hong Kong is how to maintain its size. While the number of lay Buddhists is growing, the Sangha is not. Only the Po Lin Tsz performs ordination. Other monasteries do not have the equipment and personnel required. The South China Buddhist Academy (at the Wong Faat Tsing She), which was the only seminary in the Colony, has ceased to function because there were not enough candidates for the rigorous training it offered. It may be that the atmosphere in Hong Kong does not favour the development of the attitudes that best lead a young man to take refuge in the Three Jewels. If his only reason for accepting the hardship of monastery life is to escape greater hardship outside the monastery, he is unlikely to have the diligence necessary for seeking enlightenment or to contribute much in the way of helping others to seek it. The Sangha faces the danger of decline both in size and quality.\n\nIV. GOVERNMENT SUPERVISION\n\nThe Chinese Temples Ordinance, passed in 1928 to protect the public from extortion and fraud which were then becoming more prevalent in the urban areas, deals with places of Chinese worship open to the public where fees or other charges are levied. Such temples are placed under the control of a statutory Chinese Temples Committee, consisting of leading Chinese citizens with the Secretary for Chinese Affairs as the chairman and the only government member. The Committee can require the transfer of any temple falling within the provisions of the Ordinance and all its property, without compensation, to the Secretary for Chinese Affairs' titular ownership. Five old temples are specifically excluded from the operations of this Ordinance; a sixth one, the Man Mo Temple in Hollywood Road, often used by film companies, has for over 50 years had a separate Ordinance of its own placing it under the control of the Tung Wah Hospitals; the administrative and financial supervision of seven others is delegated by the Temples Committee to the Tung Wah Hospitals. The Temples Committee at present directly administers 36 temples,",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1961.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704",
        "rank": 0
    }
]