ENG-1965 — Page 263

RELIGION AND CUSTOM

213

New Territories. Thus the Buddhist Po Lin monastery at Ngong Ping on Lantau Island is reputed to have the best view of the sunrise and is much visited at weekends and holidays.

Sightseers as well as devotees are attracted to other Buddhist and Taoist monasteries in the New Territories such as Castle Peak, Tung Po Tor, Yuen Yuen Hok Yuen and Sai Lam. At To Fung Shan, a hill in Sha Tin, there is a Christian study centre on Chinese religion and culture which engages in study and discussions of issues and problems in the Chinese religious world. The work of the Christian Mission to Buddhists has been carried on there for many years. There is also a unique organization, the Hong Kong Red Swastika Society, which seeks to cultivate together under one roof Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Mohammedanism and Confucianism. To meet the demand of the urban population, Buddhist Ching She (places for spiritual cultivation), Fat Tong (Buddha Halls) and To Yuen (places for Taoist worship) have been opened in flats in residential areas. Sutras are also expounded under the auspices of various Buddhist institutions in the urban areas.

As places of public worship, the temples play an important part in Chinese religious life; it is estimated that worshippers of one major deity (Tin Hau) number no less than 250,000. The temples generally house and are named after one major deity, but other subsidiary deities may sometimes be found in the same temple. The subsidiary deities of one temple may, however, be the major ones of another. Almost all of them are sea gods and goddesses, reflecting Hong Kong's origin as a fishing port. It is difficult to classify these deities according to religions or ways of life. Except for Kwun Yam, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, the majority of them are deified mortals who, as a result of their performance of true or mythical feats, have been traditionally worshipped. The better known ones are Tin Hau (Goddess of Heaven and protec- tress of seafarers), Kwan Tai (God of War and the source of right- eousness), Hung Shing (God of the South Seas and a weather prophet), Pak Tai (Lord of the North and local patron of the island of Cheung Chau), and Lo Ban Sin Shi (patron of masons and building contractors).

Perhaps the oldest, and certainly one of the most popular, of Hong Kong's temples is the one dedicated to Tin Hau at Causeway Bay. Other Tin Hau temples are found near the entrances to most