Chuk Lam Sim Yuen, Buddhist temple in Tsuen Wan District, Hong Kong
Chuk Lam Sim Yuen is a Buddhist temple in Tsuen Wan District situated on the southern slopes of Mount Fu Yung, featuring multiple halls, pavilions, and gardens distributed across the grounds. The complex includes several shrine areas and spaces connected by pathways that form a cohesive place of worship.
In 1928 the monk Yung Tsau (Rong Qiu) built the first temple structures from bamboo matting. The permanent Futu Hall was completed in 1932, when the site formally took the name Chuk Lam Sim Yuen. During the Japanese occupation the monks farmed the hillside to feed themselves, and in 1949 they gave food and lodging to monks fleeing the mainland. The Mahavira Hall was founded in 1975 and opened in 1982.
The temple's name comes from the bamboo grove where Yung Tsau first built it in 1928. The Tian Wang Hall plaque reads "一生補處", a term for Maitreya's final rebirth before Buddhahood, and the hall holds a smiling Maitreya statue. The gateway's inner couplet, dated 1981, contrasts green bamboo with the sound of chanting that wakes people from worldly ambition.
Minibus 85 runs between Tsuen Wan's Shiu Wo Street and the temple; bus 51 from Tsuen Wan West Station stops at Sheung Tsuen, about five minutes' walk away. A large car park serves drivers and taxis. From the stone gateway, white stone steps climb to the Tian Wang Hall, with further flights continuing up to the Mahavira Hall and the stupa hall.
The temple houses a garden containing 500 arhat statues and a special Bodhi garden featuring a four-faced Buddha statue on a golden ceremonial platform. This focused collection of religious art figures represents an uncommon concentration of such works in one location.
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