Ling San Si is Hong Kong’s only Buddhist cemetery. It is located in Tseung Kwan O, an area of Hong Kong that is situated between Sai Kung and Kowloon. Tseung Kwan O is home to a number of large-scale residential developments and is an area of Hong Kong that is expected to grow rapidly over the next decade. Hong Kong is an extremely crowded and fast-paced city, and thus many of its citizens are in search of a place to find quiet solitude, to retire, and of course, to die. In a city bereft of jobs and open spaces, a city where China and democracy are the chief concerns of its population, it is all too easy to lose sight of the basic Buddhist teaching that life is suffering. Ling San Si helps to provide an alternative perspective on the meaning of life and death for urban Hong Kong people. Although the temple and its incumbent columbarium are not unique in that they serve the Buddhist community, they stand out from the rest in that they were built in an area where they were least desired by local residents and the government. At a time when public opinion on the role of religion in Hong Kong was low and when anti-China sentiment was high, the Hong Kong Buddhist community decided to build a burial ground in a joint effort to gain a foothold in Hong Kong and to propagate Buddhism through service to society. This essay seeks to trace the life of the temple complex from its early days of inception through to the completion and eventual opening of the columbarium, considering the challenges it has faced and the paradoxes that have arisen along the way.
Services Offered
Ancestral Tablet Enshrinement provides a location for descendants to pay their respect to their ancestors. A profile of the deceased will be professionally written and displayed, providing information of their life accomplishments to serve as a source of inspiration to younger generations. This service will also provide future generations with the opportunity to understand their roots and heritage. Ancestral Tablet Enshrinement is especially important to individuals with a strong Buddhist or Taoist background, and Ling San Si and Freehold Columbarium will provide the highest quality of service to cater to these individuals.
Columbarium niches are used for the permanent placement of cinerary urns. The memorial niche is an individual space within a columbarium wall where ashes and remembrances may be placed in an urn or other approved container. Each niche shall have its own memorial inscription. Ling San Si and Freehold Columbarium offers the choice of single or companion niches. Single niches will have inscriptions of one or two individuals while companion niches will have inscriptions of more than two individuals. Ling San Si and Freehold Columbarium takes pride in maintaining its niche under the highest standards of quality care. We ensure that our columbarium niches provide a safe and comfortable environment for all individuals.
Columbarium Niches
The selection of niche locations is very important to many families visiting the columbarium. The Ling San Si Columbarium offers a large selection of niches for both interment or the keeping of urns. The Ning Shen Lou site of Ling San Si offers 7 different levels, A to G. Each level has a few hundred external niches where urns are placed in a niche which is then covered with an inscribed stele. The inscribed stele lists the names of the deceased. Ning Shen Lou also has 3 levels below ground where marble urns are interred and marked by inscribed tablets. One of the more popular sites is the Mai Ji Shan or Wen Shu Yuan sites which offer external, beneath, and indoor niches with inscription services. Freehold Columbarium offers many types of niches at different prices and these details can be found here.
Ancestral Tablet Enshrinement
Ancestral Tablets are symbols of remembrance for the departed. May they never be forgotten. This is the humble request from Ling San and Freehold Management Committee to all consignees who have niches at Ling San and Freehold.
Upon the demise of the generation, enshrinement of their tablets should take place. During Qing Ming or at the request of a particular family member with tablets, an Ancestral Tablet Enshrinement and Niche Enshrinement Ceremony will be held. This formal ceremony will then be the focal point of the Ching Ming visit. An appropriate notice on the date and time of the ceremony will be announced to all members of Ling San and Freehold Columbarium. It has been documented that the whole ceremony can take place in a graceful and peaceful manner with a religious atmosphere.
Enshrinement of the tablet and the niche that contains the urn of the departed will take place over a period of many years. Hopefully, all members of the family will find time to visit the niche to render respects to the departed. The fondest memories and the bond between relatives will be retained. This is the first generation.
A preferred tablet type is recommended for the enshrinement in the niches. It is 2″ x 10″ x 12″ black granite with inscription for the name of the departed and their lineage. The consignee is the most suitable person to perform the enshrinement of the tablet in the niche. The date and time of the enshrinement of the departed into the niche will be arranged by the consignee with an officer of the Management Committee. Thereafter, the consignee will be notified to attend the activity.
Memorial Events
The Memorial Hall is designed to be a peaceful and comprehensive venue for different activities to honour the departed. There are two halls within Memorial Hall, the larger of which can accommodate up to 80 persons, while the smaller one is more suitable for occasions involving approximately 20 persons. Audio playback devices and projector screens are provided in each of the halls. Those who wish to play music are required to bring along their own CDs or cassette tapes. For those who wish to have photo-taking sessions, the enchanting waterfall and rockery at the Chung Keng Quee Memorial Garden offer an ideal backdrop. Special memorial services to commemorate the departed can be performed for a period of 15-30 minutes before or after niche interment. This service includes a simple ritual of offering incense to the departed and the recitation of Buddhist scriptures, while meditative music helps to create a calm and composed atmosphere. A solemn mood and quiet reflection among the audience would surely benefit the congregation during the ceremony.
Facilities and Amenities
The development of lush, scenic gardens and outdoor resting areas promotes the idea of ‘coming back to nature’ or “绿庭院” which is essential to the Chinese community. In disease-stricken ancient China, many sought to relocate and retire in rustic or mountainous countryside areas to escape the hustle and bustle, and this part of history is deeply rooted in many elderly Chinese folks today. The garden areas are also excellent locations for family and group outings during festive seasons.
These facilities are specially designed for visitors seeking a conducive environment for quiet reflection and contemplation away from their hectic, urban lifestyles. Nested in a tranquil setting, the meditation rooms offer the perfect atmosphere for visitors to attain peace of mind and inner clarity. It is an ideal place for those who seek to develop an understanding of themselves and a way of integrating that understanding into their everyday life. Both rooms are also suitable for group meditation sessions and discussions.
Ling San Temple Tablets and Freehold Columbarium provides a prayer hall and two well-designed meditation rooms that cater to the needs of different religions. In respecting the various traditions and cultures that have grown and flourished here, prayer sessions are scheduled and conducted in different languages, i.e. English, Mandarin, Dharma Class, Hokkien, and Cantonese each week. In considering the convenience of the public, there will be future development for a larger multi-purpose hall to accommodate seminars and talks. It is our aim to search for dedicated and committed religious personnel and organizations to help propagate the Dharma and provide counseling services to the needy in the area of holistic living and life/death education.
Prayer Halls
Perhaps the most conspicuous of the buildings at Ling San Si is the Prayer Hall of Great Compassion, where services are conducted, hearts are settled, and kindness is extended to all who are in need. The hall is revered for its divine aid and its record of granting the prayers of believers. This is not surprising, as the title of the hall is also the title of a sutra spoken by the Buddha. Steps to facilitate prostrations lead to the altars of the Buddha and Avalokitesvara (now enshrined on the left altar), and a disabled-friendly chair lift was installed in 2001 to enable the aged and handicapped to ascend to the second storey where the Guan Yin Bodhisattva shrine is located. Also on the upper level is the Sutra Library, a quiet place for reading and relaxation. The Columbarium prayer hall has a more intimate setting and is dedicated to Pure Land practices. It is designed for memorial services, where believers can sponsor a session of chanting and dedicate the merits to their dearly departed. On weekdays, monastery volunteers conduct morning and evening services in the Columbarium prayer hall and are available to guide the public in the performance of Buddhist rites for the deceased.
Meditation Rooms
There are separate meditation rooms within the prayer hall building for the use of male and female devotees. They are provided for the convenience of those who wish to have a quiet place for personal cultivation. Those who carry out extended meditation may want to stay overnight for a day or two. Such facilities are not available in the prayer halls or the kong tek (columbarium niches). To stay overnight at the monastery and to utilize the meditation rooms, it is necessary to make a booking beforehand and advise the suitable time of arrival and departure. Initially, priority in using the meditation rooms was given to participants of meditation retreats who require single accommodation. Due to demand, this facility has been extended between retreats to other devotees who wish to carry out extended meditation and cannot do so conveniently at home. An integrated system in managing initial and continued usage of the meditation rooms by different types of users, both during and outside the retreat season, has been created. This is intended to be equitable and allow meditation retreat participants to continue to benefit from this facility at any time of the year.
Gardens and Scenic Areas
There are numerous beautiful landscapes on the premises that have an otherworldly feel about them. The Eternal Garden and the Garden of Remembrance provide a tranquil environment for visitors to relax and reflect. The Eternal Garden is home to a variety of flora and is adorned with ornate marble monuments. The Garden of Remembrance is a peaceful area where visitors can memorialize the lives of their departed loved ones. Every year on the 1st of November, All Saint’s Day, a special event is held at the Garden of Remembrance. During Tomb Sweeping Day, a Chinese festival that occurs in April, a guided tour is arranged for visitors to clean the graves in the traditional fashion. Freehold has an impressive landscape and water feature in the Garden of Serenity. This unique area is tranquil and restful, ideal for our ancestral spirits. Step into Dragonfly Lake and it is as if you are in another world. This extraordinary waterland, with its mesmerizing dragonflies, is the first of its kind in a public facility and promises fun and learning experiences with nature. There is nowhere else in Singapore where you can be educated about aquatic flora and observe the life cycles of dragonflies. Come delve into the heritage and cultural aspects as our tour guides narrate the significance of these nostalgic flora – lost in time but now recultivated in this historical garden.
Parking Facilities
The parking facilities at the Ling San Si are certainly the most impressive we have come across, and certainly one of the main concerns for most living in Hong Kong. The fact is that the majority of parking areas in Hong Kong which serve a certain building are in effect at the mercy of government reforms and fluctuating prices and laws. This makes buying a parking space in Hong Kong a risky investment, and one which many in the future could regret. Ling San Si completely bypasses this issue and the three-storey super structure which can hold over 600 cars is a perfect solution for those who are still in ownership of a vehicle. This parking area is segmented from the rest of the complex so those coming and going do not disturb other residents. Step access to the apartments has been built for additional safety. This facility is for residents and hirers of Ling San Si only. Pricing for this separate parking area is reasonable and only expected to increase with year on year inflation, due to the fact it is not tied in with the uncertain future of commercial property parking. This in itself is a convincing purchase for many thinking of laying their roots at Ling San Si.
