Borrowing Money from Kwun Yam (Guan Yin)’s Vault

BORROWING MONEY FROM KWUN YAM’S VAULT (觀音借庫)

Religion is somewhat a confusing topic in Hong Kong and an absolutely huge topic to cover. The most popular religions in Hong Kong are Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. With over 600 temples in Hong Kong, there are many temples to explore & discover. Often, during one of our food tours, or on our Free Central Walk, someone will ask about religion and which temple corresponds to which religion. Now, that’s the tough question.

There is also something called Chinese Folk religion. Chinese Folk religion can also be said to be the larger umbrella category for both Confucianism and Taoism, but yet, it can be said to be different doctrines as well. Often times, the temples in Hong Kong worship a special god, or deity that’s of a local deity & that’s Chinese Folk religion. For example, Tin Hau Temple is a Chinese Folk religion temple and it worships the goddess of the sea.

It’s almost never truly clear cut if it’s a Taoist temple, a Buddhist temple or a Chinese Folk Religion temple, but rather often times, it’s a bit of everything. For example, is Kwun Yam, the Goddess of Mercy, Taoist or Buddhist? Rather, Kwun Yam is a deity that is revered in both Taoist and Buddhist religions.

My friend, Jesse,  over at Expat Getaways compiled a list of temples in Hong Kong and we contributed by writing about the most famous Kwun Yam temple in Hong Kong. I would recommend you to check out that post first, before proceeding to the below as it will make a lot more sense that way.