Finding Peaceful Moments

There are plenty of places around the busy city Hong Kong to steal a quiet, peaceful moment. Last week, after a lot of train hopping, I finally found one of HK's favorite hidden sanctuaries - the Chi Lin Nunnery. This home of the devout was built during the Tang Dynasty and without the use of a single nail. Architects of that period used interlocking wooden beams to hold everything together; even this Nunnery with a 176-ton clay tile roof.

One of the best things about being a tourist in China is that there aren't many. In this instance, I was the only person at the entire complex. The front courtyard consists of a couple small rooms and lotus ponds with dragon-head fountains. It's noisy because you can hear the traffic from the highway below over the tinkling fountains, but once you step over the threshold to the center courtyard, there's a silence that hits you like a wall of pure peace. It's so calm, the silence almost feels heavy, broken only by the faint sound of Buddhist monks chanting their spiritual songs. Around the courtyard are small alters with statues of well known Bodhisattvas and their alters. The Buddha is featured as a large gold statue in the temple at the far end.

It's considered very disrespectful to take photos in a temple, so I didn't have a chance to take any, but I secretly snapped a shot of the big gold Buddha from outside.

The nuns at Chi Lin are not only responsible for their own grounds, but for maintaining the Nan Lian Garden - known as one of the most lovely gardens in the area. The garden wasn't as exciting as I'd hoped and, truth be told, I almost left shortly after arriving. Then I turned a corner to see a quiet koi fish pond with an inviting breeze and felt compelled to sit in the stillness. I ended up sitting for almost an hour - I couldn't move from that spot. It was so beautiful and quiet; for the first time in a long time, the only thing I felt was peace.