The Yuen Yuen Institute was established in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 in 1950 by monks from Sanyuan Gong (Three Originals Palace) in Guangzhou

Guangzhou

Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...

, which in turn traces its lineage to the Longmen

Longmen

Longmen may refer to the following locations in China:*Longmen Grottoes , collection of Buddhist cave art in Luoyang*Longmen Mountains , mountain range in Sichuan*Longmen County , of Huizhou, Guangdong...

 (Dragon Gate) sect of Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Taoism.

The Institute is located on hectare

Hectare

The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...

s of land around Sam Dip Tam, Tsuen Wan District

Tsuen Wan District

Tsuen Wan District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. It is located in the New Territories and is served by the Tsuen Wan Line of the MTR metro system. It had a population of 275,527 in 2001...

 in the New Territories

New Territories

New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory. Historically, it is the region described in The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory...

. The area is interspersed with temples, pavilions, and monasteries.

The Yuen Yuen Institute is the only temple in Hong Kong dedicated to all three major Chinese religions: Taoism

Taoism

Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...

, Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 and Confucianism

Confucianism

Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...

. The first three Chinese characters of the Institute's name denote the essence of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism respectively, so as to advocate the integration and realization of the three religions' teachings.

The main building at the Institute is a replica of the Temple of Heaven

Temple of Heaven

The Temple of Heaven, literally the Altar of Heaven is a complex of Taoist buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest...

 (Tian Tan) in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

. In 1968, Moy Lin-shin

Moy Lin-shin

Moy Lin-shin . was a Taoist monk, teacher and T'ai chi instructor who founded The Taoist Tai Chi Society , the Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism and the Gei Pang Lok Hup Academy.-Early life:As a sickly youth Moy was sent to a monastery...

 co-founded (together with Taoist Masters Mui Ming-to and Mrs Tang Yuen Mei) the temple for the Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism on the grounds of the Yuen Yuen Institute.

Purpose

The Institute's purpose is:

• to spread the principles of the three religions, Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism;
• to uphold the eight virtues (i.e. filial piety, respect, loyalty, fidelity, propriety, justice, honesty and honour);
• to promote social welfare.

Activities

• During the annual Festival of the Lanterns
  Lantern Festival
  The Lantern Festival ; is a festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunisolar year in the Chinese calendar, the last day...
  
  , donations are exchanged for lanterns in the belief that these will bring fortune and health. The proceeds go to maintaining the Old Age Home and the hospitals and schools run by the Yuen Yuen Institute.
• An annual Bonsai
  Bonsai
  is a Japanese art form using miniature trees grown in containers. Similar practices exist in other cultures, including the Chinese tradition of penjing from which the art originated, and the miniature living landscapes of Vietnamese hòn non bộ...
  
   and Stone Appreciation Show.
• A restaurant is maintained at the Institute that offers vegetarian food.
• Celebration of Chinese New Year
  Chinese New Year
  Chinese New Year – often called Chinese Lunar New Year although it actually is lunisolar – is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is an all East and South-East-Asia celebration...
  
   or Ghost Month (the 7th month of the lunar calendar).

External Links

• Institute website