Oasis ruined by urn trade, Buddhists say
Monks and nuns living in a cluster of Buddhist monasteries in an idyllic part of Lantau have combined in a rare public protest against a commercial columbarium operator they say is intruding into and destroying the 'spiritual oasis' of Hong Kong.
About 30 of them left their haven at Luk Wu yesterday for a press conference to air their grievances over the urn storage development at the Yin Hing Monastery.
Led by the Venerable Wing Sing, vice-president of the Hong Kong Buddhist Association, they called on the government to enforce the law, noting that the Lands Department had already said such use was a breach of the land lease.
'It is unacceptable that [the business] is changing the age-old monasteries and the sacred place because of economic reasons. I hope everyone can say some fair words for us,' said the Venerable Wing Sing, who is in his 80s and was in a wheelchair.
Luk Wu, a basin in the middle of Lantau with 30 abbeys - the oldest set up 130 years ago - has been the temporary home of respected monks from the mainland and other countries. Four buildings have been given grade two or three historic status.
The monasteries are open to members of the public seeking a spiritual retreat. But the monks and nuns say the atmosphere has been destroyed since a company called Hong Kong Yin Hing Monastery bought the site in 2007 and started selling urns, bringing visitors in buses every day.
The group said they had no idea why their neighbour sold the monastery site, although they heard that the former landlord could not afford to maintain the slopes.
They said about 1,000 out of 5,000 niches had been sold and they feared the developer might want to buy their sites for the same purpose as they had been subjected to harassment over the past four years. The company did not respond to inquiries yesterday. But a staff member told a reporter posing as a buyer that the niches cost from HK$35,000 to HK$209,000.
The Lands Department said it was in dispute with the company after issuing it a letter telling it not to use the land for a columbarium, but it could not comment further because of possible court action.
'My own place has been broken into five times,' a nun, Hin Hing, said. 'I got calls at midnight and someone on the phone once said, 'A shadow passed outside your house just now, are you OK, Master?' I was so upset.'
Although the other monasteries also sell urn spaces the group said they were not protesting about competition, saying they just kept a handful of spaces to sell to believers for a few hundred dollars each.
'What we have is a very limited service for believers. We are not running a business,' the Venerable Kiu Chiu said.
In July the group gathered about 17,000 signatures from Buddhists to support their cause. The Yin Hing Monastery land lease says the 30,600 sq ft site should be used for a Buddhist temple with ancillary accommodation for priests, candidates for the priesthood, or devout lay Buddhists on religious retreat.
The Food and Health Bureau said a visit in July found some niches were already in use and illegal structures had been erected on the site.
Police declined to give details of any investigation or say whether anyone had been arrested.
