宝莲禅寺(Po Lin Monastery),或称宝莲寺,为香港一座佛教寺庙,亦为香港旅游景点之一,位于新界大屿山昂坪,介乎弥勒山与凤凰山之间。寺庙前身为大茅蓬,由中国江苏镇江金山寺的顿修、大悦和悦明三位禅师建于1906年(即清光绪三十二年)。直到1924年,第一代住持纪修和尚正式命名为宝莲禅寺。
而刻有“永破无明是最安乐”的宝莲寺第二代住持筏可法师的荣寿纪念碗子被香港本地历史学者邓家宙所收藏[1]。
Po Lin Monastery is a Buddhist monastery, located on Ngong Ping Plateau, on Lantau Island, Hong Kong.
The monastery was founded in 1906 by three monks visiting from Jiangsu Province on the Chinese mainland and was initially known simply as "The Big Hut" (大茅蓬 Tai Mao Pung). It was renamed to its present name in 1924. The main temple houses three bronze statues of the Buddha – representing his past, present and future lives – as well as many Buddhist scriptures.
Tian Tan Buddha, a giant Buddha statue completed in 1993, is an extension of the monastery.
The Ngong Ping 360, consisting of the Ngong Ping village and a gondola lift running between Tung Chung and Ngong Ping, was built near to the Po Lin Monastery. The monastery boasts many prominent architectural structures, such as the Main Shrine Hall of Buddha, the Hall of Bodhisattva Skanda.[1]
This monastery is also noted for making wooden bracelets that are only sold near the Tian Tan Buddha statue.
In 1918, three nuns ordained at this monastery established a private nunnery called Chi Chuk Lam (紫竹林) on Lantau's Lower Keung Hill (下羌山). The nunnery is dedicated to Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy. There were about 20 jushi and nuns residing there in the 1950s, but now only an elderly abbess remains.[2]