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Showing posts with the label Religion

Tin Hau Temple. Taoist Temple. Stanley. Hong Kong

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This temple in Stanley, Hong Kong, is dedicated to the Goddess of the sea or "Tin Hau".  The same goddess is also known with the names of Mazu or Matsu of  Lin Moniang ( simplified Chinese :  妈祖 -    traditional Chinese :  媽祖 )  This temple was build in 1767 when a small fishing village was here. Fishermen and local used to made offer to the temple and the goddess to protect them while at sea. A video of this temple is here:  http://youtu.be/R7rXf4grmxE Please notice the tiger skin on the wall at 4'27" of the video

Pak Tai Temple. Taoist Temple. Stanley. Hong Kong

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A short video of this temple is here:  http://youtu.be/fIdyL9vecZA Pak Tai, also known as  Yuen Tin Sheung Tai  ( 玄天上帝 ,  lit.  "Dark" or "Mysterious Supreme Emperor of Heaven"), is said to have been a prince  of the  Shang Dynasty .  During the fall of the Shang, the Demon King   ravaged the world. The Taoist god Yuen Chi Tin Chuen ( 元始天尊 ) ordered the  Jade Emperor  to appoint Pak Tai as the commander of twelve heavenly legions to fight this evil. Pak Tai defeated the Demon King and was subsequently granted the title of Yuen Tin Sheung Tai.  In Pak Tai temples, the bronze  tortoise and serpent  under the feet of Pak Tai's image signifies that the good always prevails over evil.

Bangkok Erawan Shrine. Four Faced God. Thailand

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A place to visit every time you go in Bangkok is the Erawan Shrine .  I always thought the statue represented the  bodhisattva  Avalokiteśvara , but I was wrong. It is actually an image of the Hindu God Brahma, revered also in Thai Buddhism as  Phra Phrom . Brahma   is one of the three Great Gods. Brahma  : God of Creation. Shiva  : God of Destruction. Vishnu  : God of Protection. Please see my collection of videos on line on my YouTube channel:  http://www.youtube.com/user/settime2588/videos These are two of the many stalls in the street near the shrine selling flowers, fruits, candles and scents to affer to the God of the shrine.  If you want to make a small offer or to busr a candle or some scent, you will spend much less money by buying the things in the stalls inside the small courtyard where the shire is. These stalls are probably government owned or pri...

Taoist Temple. Sai Kung. Hong Kong

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Here are a few photos of the Taoist Temple in Sai Kung. It is near the Sai Kung Promenade in Kowloon, Hong Kong. A video of the temple is here:  http://youtu.be/VhKFEzU4A7o This kind of temples, ubiquitous in Hong Kong, contain altars and statues dedicated to many different Gods are they are more properly part of the Chinese system of "folk" beliefs, rather than of the proper Taoist philosophy or religion.