HK - Honouring the Departed

It rained heavily last night. There’s a tropical depression in the area and the showers will continue for another few days – which is good news since the temperatures have fallen a couple of degrees to thirty Celsius (although the humidity has increased to 95%).

Today is the anniversary of my father-in-law’s death, and we made an extended family pilgrimage to pay respects to him (and to my recently-deceased mother-in-law, both of whom were interred with Buddhist rites). Our party comprised three sons and one daughter of the deceased, with assorted spouses plus my son, eight people in all, and we travelled about 45 minutes (10 stations on the underground MTR train) to a Buddhist monastery in Kowloon, the nearest mainland part of Hong Kong.

 

The monastery was secluded from the main road by a high wall and, after entering through a small doorway, we looked around. It was quiet and peaceful, a gentle rain still falling, the skies leaden.

 

There were some statues and a few mature trees in the courtyard together with a fish pond with about 30 fish of different colours; red, yellow, gold – and a large one about 18 inches long that was pure black. The only other living thing was a large fierce dog chained to a post that gave a warning growl and then lay down – but kept both eyes fixed on us throughout our visit.

 

We entered one of the two memorial halls, where the tablet to honour my wife’s parents was located. There were hundreds of tablets fixed in rows in the two halls. Our first duty was to place offerings in front of our tablet.

 

First, five bowls of rice and five bowls of tea were placed for ‘the ancestors.’ Then, separate offerings of food, fruit, and flowers were placed for my parents-in-law. Finally, paper sacks of (paper) gold, silver and coins were placed on the ground, one sack for the ancestors, one for my father-in-law, and one for my mother-in-law. All three sacks were to be ceremoniously burnt later.

As we made the arrangements, taped Buddhist chants played softly in the background.

All the tablets are inscribed using the same layout – three columns of characters. The right-hand column is the details of the male deceased (husband), the left hand column is the information for the female deceased (wife), and the middle column has details of the ancestors. Where there are only two columns, this indicates that one spouse is still living and his/her details will be added later, after death.

Then the ceremony began, quite informal but structured. Each person lit three incense sticks, bowed three times before the tablet and placed the sticks in an incense burner.

Incense Burner

Prayers were said individually. Again, homage was offered, this time kowtowing (kneeling with foreheads touching the ground) and each individual offered two sticks of incense. The respect and affection for the deceased was tangible and there were quiet tears and lumps in throats.

During the natural break that followed, we decided to sneak a look at the large image of Buddha in the entrance hallway.

Emboldened, we decided to have a look in the main prayer hall too, so, taking off our footwear we went exploring.

The main prayer hall had seats for 24 worshippers, with kneelers, plus another 20 seats around the edges.

At the back of the hall was a collection of statues of the Buddhist pantheon, I recognised a few, particularly Kwan Yin, the goddess. The walls had prints from the life of Gautama Buddha while the main focus of worship, three large gilt statues, stood on an altar before which were gifts of food and fruit, flowers and candles.

While we were exploring, the monk in charge, a bald 93 year old with sparkling eyes arrived and took a delight in explaining everything. At least, I assumed that that was what he was doing since he spoke in Cantonese. He sounded incredibly alert and ‘with it’ for a 93 year old, there was a sense of peace about him but also a sense of barely supressed amusement, as if we had made his day by turning up.      

 

Finally, we broke away and went off to set the paper bags alight. Our family is traditional so we only burned money – paper notes and coins plus paper shapes painted to look like gold and silver bars – money to pay for the deceased’s needs in the after world. Less traditional families will burn paper goods in the form of various modern conveniences, such as suits of clothes, shoes, TVs, cars – even mobile phones! The three bags were set alight, one after the other, to the sound of prayers, and then they were placed in an incinerator. 

Afterwards, we retired to a restaurant for lunch and, in keeping with the Buddhist ethos of respect for all living beings, it was a vegetarian restaurant. However, with the typically wicked Hong Kong sense of humour, we could still order dishes that appeared to be meat and fish – but were really vegetables cunningly disguised as meat or fish (see below). Also, in line with Buddhist beliefs, the restaurant was alcohol-free, and they served a non-alcohol beer (- however, that did a less effective job in passing itself off as the real thing!).

Pretend sashimi, sushi, abelone

Pretend meat-wrapped asparagus

Pretend meat skewers
 

HK - A Propos of Nothing in Partticular...Post Boxes (2)

A while back (Oldest Post Box in Hove)  I mentioned the oldest post box in Hove, dating to the 1860s.

Well, here's a picture of one of the 59 remaining Hong Kong post boxes that still bear the British royal cypher. I don't know how old it is; there is an 1892 list of the locations of the first14 boxes in the old crown colony but this one is not included.

 Up until 1997 (when sovereignty transferred to China) the boxes were painted red (as they still are in the UK) and all bore the royal cypher. From 1997 the boxes were re-painted green and the old colonial ones were gradually phased out. This example is from the city centre, Statue Square.

HK - The Joys of an Unhealthy Holiday Breakfast

After a lifetime – or what seems like one – eating healthy breakfasts (typically high-calcium yoghurt, high fibre bread, Manuka honey and fairtrade regular coffee since you ask!) it’s great to be on holiday and to be a little naughty with the diet.

 Pacific Coffee is my favourite place for breakfast; a local coffee shop chain that doesn’t just rival Starbucks but beats it hollow. The background muzak is decent small-group jazz, old Beatles tunes or some 60s nostalgia, while the barista brews a very decent cup of coffee. My usual is a medium cappuccino with a slab of cake; either the 440 calorie Cranberry, Apple & Pecan with its hint of cinnamon, or the very moist Banana Walnut at just 365 calories.

First job is to read the shop’s Thought for the Day, chalked on a blackboard above the serving point, and today's is: ‘The first duty of love is to listen.’ (Paul Tillich). Mmmmmh, ok, thought about it, now let’s settle with the day’s newspaper.

 

Reading the South China Morning Post takes about 45 minutes, much of it spent on the main section which has an extensive international news section as well as detailed coverage of the action in mainland China. Then there are the Business, Sports, City (local news), special features and adverts sections. The Post is a truly excellent newspaper with rounded coverage, balanced views and nuanced editorials. In fact, it’s a whole lot better than the London Times that I usually read and get through in a fraction of the time (of course the proportion of adverts to news and opinion seems a lot higher with the UK paper, which helps).

In case I’m in danger of running out of material I’ve always got some back-up in my rucksack.

One of the joys of travelling in Asia is discovering new authors from the region. My favourite genre is mystery fiction, particularly crime. So, each time I come to Hong Kong I scour the local bookshops for new talent in the region. Often there are worthies from Australia, Singapore or Hong Kong itself whose work is unknown in Europe but is readily available in Hong Kong book stores. Also, many American authors who are not imported into the UK by the large chains (e.g. WH Smith, Waterstones) can often be found in Hong Kong. (Although the actual figures are difficult to determine, it is highly probable that many more American nationals live in Hong Kong than British born citizens).

 

Yesterday’s discovery was Tarquin Hall, a 44 year old English author living in India. He has created Vish Puri,a wonderfully comical but deceptively sharp Punjabi private detective who wears his heart on his sleeve and tackles the pervasive corruption, bureaucracy, inequality and dysfunctional social stratification of modern India with intelligence and aplomb. There are four books in the series and I plan to read them all as soon as possible.

Isn’t it fun being on holiday?    

HK - Sunday Mass (and tiramisu)

St Joseph's Church, Hong Kong

 The highlight of Sundays in Hong Kong is attending the 11.00am Mass at St Joseph’s Church, a large modern building situated on the foothills of Victoria Peak, overlooking Hong Kong Harbour.

There are quite a number of masses at St Joseph’s on a Sunday; there are masses in English at 7.00am, 8.00am, 9.00am, 10.00am, 11.30am and 6.00pm plus masses in Tagalog (the main Filipino language) at 1.00pm, 2.30pm and 4.00pm.

There are around 140,000 Filipinos in Hong Kong, mostly domestic workers (maids), and, Sunday being their day off, they tend to pack the local churches. Apart from the joy of seeing so many people at Mass, there is the added joy of listening to them – Filipinos are renowned as Asia’s best singers and musicians, and they love to sing in the church choirs, often wearing robes specific to the mass that they serve.


The parking lot was quiet and there were only a few people praying the rosary in front of the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary – a sure sign that the church was already packed.

 And so it was, the main body of the church was packed so we made our way up to the balcony - but it was standing room there too. So, backs against the wall, we prepared to stand at the rear of the balcony for the next hour or so.

The balcony (before it got really crowded)

The celebrants were two Maryknoll Fathers (an overseas mission of the Catholic Church in the US, heavily involved in schooling in Hong Kong since the late 1950s). There were plenty of missals and song books in the pews. As we were at the back of the balcony, we couldn’t see the altar so had to rely on the television monitors overhead.

 

That was no problem. The sound system was excellent and the congregation sang their heart out, competing with the white-robed choir and the musicians far below. There was even a projector system that displayed the hymn lyrics on large screens at the front of the church.

The choir with monitor displaying lyrics

The homily, about 15 minutes, was delivered with self-deprecating wit by an elderly priest who clearly knew his congregation, loved them and that affection was reciprocated. The message was that, to get to Heaven it’s not enough to love God, we have to love our neighbour too. Using simple illustrations from his own life, the celebrant presented his theme in a very effective and amusing way. His co-celebrant, described as ‘my small friend’ was a nearly seven feet tall visiting Maryknoll Father from an African mission. 

General view of part of balcony and main body of church

The Mass was familiar, identical in fact as it is worldwide in this small 'c' catholic church. At the Lord’s Prayer people tended to hold their hands up or join hands. The ‘Peace’ greeting also tends to vary by country, in line with local custom, ranging from a bearhug to a folded hands ‘Namaste’ greeting, as in India. In Hong Kong it’s a sedate incline of the head accompanied by a beaming smile.

Front of church

Exiting the church after Mass seemed to take for ever, moving slowly down an endless stairway.

 

When we got to the bottom and thought we’d escaped the crowd – surprise! - we met another crowd waiting patiently to enter for the first Tagalog Mass of the day.

Let us in (please)!

In need of some sustenance after all that standing around, we decided to splash out and went for lunch to Dan Ryan’s Chicago Grill restaurant in the stylish shopping centre of Pacific Place. Not that we’re great fans of Mr Ryan’s speciality of huge portions of calorie-laden food – a very occasional visit suffices – but most other places would have long queues. Also, the occasional overdose with American favourites offsets the regular and less gargantuan intake of healthy Chinese cuisines.

And so it was that younger son (after first devouring a cheese-laden nachos starter and then a plate of baby back ribs) struggled with what might well be the largest tiramisu in Hong Kong…

 

 

HK - The HSBC Lions

In the centre of town, in front of the Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) headquarters building, are two bronze lions.

The lions were cast in Shanghai in 1935 and placed in front of the old HSBC headquarters building in Hong Kong. In 1941, the Japanese invaded Hong Kong and the lions suffered shrapnel damage, still visible today.

During the war the lions were shipped, together with other statues from Hong Kong, to Yokohama in Japan to be melted down so that the metal could be used in the war effort. Fortunately, they were not destroyed, an American sailor recognised them and they were returned to Hong Kong after the war. They were then sited in front of the new HSBC building that was opened in 1985 at a cost of HK$ 5bn - at that time the most expensive building in the world.

Tourists, including Japanese tourists, make a point of visiting the lions and stroking their paws, because it is said to bring good luck. (The HSBC building itself reportedly enjoys enormous good luck as it was located according to the rules of Feng Shui and sits on the intersection of five ‘dragon lines’ with uninterrupted harbour views).

I don’t believe in the good luck aspect but I always try to visit the lions soon after I arrive in Hong Kong - it’s like paying one’s respects to an aged relative, a war veteran and a survivor too. Nice to see you again!

Hong Kong Touchdown

It was a pleasure to be flying with Cathay Pacific again; particularly the charming and considerate flight attendants, the steaming pots of noodles served on demand, and the new Boeing 777 with its sculptured seats and touch-screen entertainment system that made the 12-hour flight seem shorter.

It was hot, 30 degrees Celsius, with humidity in the upper 90s as we landed last night in Hong Kong. Massive banks of dark clouds hung over the city, the legacy of a typhoon that had passed overhead, 24 hours earlier.

 

 

As we drove into town the rolling green hills gave way to concrete flyovers, vast container ports and stacks of high-rise buildings. Neon and florescent signs in Chinese characters multiplied in number and we dipped into the cross-harbour tunnel that took us into the heart of the city. Evidence of construction was everywhere - land reclamation and renovation are the name of the game here; the city’s national bird is probably the (building) crane.

You can sense the city’s heartbeat; I’ve only known two cities with such a frantic pulse, New York (Manhattan) and Hong Kong. It was good to be home. Home is where the heart is and a sizable chunk of mine is grafted onto this exciting place.

A Propos of Nothing in Particular....Post Boxes

This is believed to be the oldest post box in Sussex - it's about 150 years old! It is situated at the intersection of Western Road and Montpelier Road in Brighton (across the road from the Taj Grocers shop). The design is 'First National Standard' made by Cochrane Grove & Co of Dudley between 1859 and 1866. This is the 'Large' edition, one of only six still surviving in the UK. And I read somewhere that it has 'listed building' status!

How's that for today's obscure fact?

Whither Medjugorje?

I’ve been thinking about Medjugorje this week.

It was about 25 years ago that I first heard of it, in the mid-1980s. The story was that, since 1981, the Blessed Virgin Mary had been appearing to six children in a small village called Medjugorje in (what was then Communist) Yugoslavia. At the time, I was living and working in Hong Kong and read every book I could find on the subject – I even toyed with the idea of making a pilgrimage there - however, work pressures intruded and the notion faded.

But Medjugorje refused to go away. Every few years I was reminded of the apparitions, of the millions of people who had gone on pilgrimage there over the years. And every few years I bought another book on Medjugorje or researched the latest articles on the internet. Some of them were not very complimentary about Medjugorje, the visionaries, the alleged messages, or some of the people closely involved with the phenomenon, especially the local Franciscans.

The history of Medjugorje and its surroundings is complex with racial, cultural, religious and political elements involving the Byzantian, Roman and Ottoman Empires; the Slavs, Franks, Bulgarians, Bosnians, Serbs and Hungarians; Orthodox, Moslem and Catholic adherents - a real stew of peoples, plots, conflicts and battles that continued until the Second World War, with contributions from the Nazis, Chetniks and Ustasa.

What a challenging place that the Mother of God (Our Lady of Medjugorje, Queen of Peace) reportedly chose for her communication! There are unsettling parallels with the Rwandan apparitions of Our Lady of Kibeho that took place at the same time. Both alleged appearances took place in 1981 and both presaged conflicts; the Rwandan Genocide in 1994-5 in which the UN estimate that about 800,000 died, and the Bosnian War of 1992-5 when over 100,000 people died. Two ‘holy’ places, with their shrines and pilgrimages sited amid a landscape scarred by the sinfulness of humanity. 
..................

Today, there seems to be three views about Medjugorje in the Catholic community.

The first is “Medje-what? How do you pronounce it? Where is it?”

The second - and most prominent on the internet - is “A wonderful place, prayerful, I experienced something that has changed me forever...”

The last is “Work of the devil, Stay away.”
Learning how to pronounce the word ‘Medjugorje’ is easy now (Med-joo-gori-yeh or thereabouts!) thanks to the internet.

Also, thanks to the internet, those with negative views on Medjugorje can readily communicate their reservations or contrary opinions. These seem to fall under three main headings:

DIVISION & REBELLION

There is a history of confrontation between the local ordinary of Mostar and the Franciscans in Mostar (who promoted the apparitions). Indeed, the local Bishops of Mostar, Pavao Zanic, and his successor Ratko Peric, have both ruled against the apparitions, after investigating them. Under the principle of collegiality, religious at all levels should have honoured this decision, but, instead, quite a number have visited Medjugorje or allowed facilities to the alleged visionaries when visiting their areas, sowing the seeds of division and apparently promoting an illicit cultus.

Bishop Peric summarised the local church’s view (Bishop Peric's Statement):

The Church is competent to say this. In her name, 30 chosen priests and physicians, working together in three Commissions for 10 years, in more than 30 meetings, dutifully and expertly investigated the events of Medjugorje and brought forth their judgement. And not one, but twenty bishops responsibly declared that there exists no proof that the events in Medjugorje concern supernatural apparitions.

However...a final view on the question has now been subsumed by the Vatican. In March 2010, Pope Benedict XVI established a Commission of 17 experts under the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, headed by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, to report on the alleged apparitions. Until that commission reports and gives an opinion on the nature of the events  – and some sceptics say that will not occur during the lifetime of the alleged visionaries – we will not have a final authoritative decision on the apparitions.

DIVINE NATURE OF COMMUNICATIONS

Some commentators accuse the seers of receiving messages that are contrary to faith, for example, claiming Mary has said that all faiths are the same and equal before God. The visionaries are said to have given inconsistent reports in the early years, or lied. It also strains credibility that tens of thousands of messages have been received since 1981 (compared to a handful at Lourdes and relatively few at Fatima). The messages are also described as anodyne, banal, boring or even heretical.

However...there is a dispute as to the actual words said, reported, and translated. In many cases we are going back 30+ years to fallible recollections, while the few alleged messages of Mary that I have read seem consistent with Catholic doctrine, emphasising prayer, repentance, fasting, charity, etc

THE LIFESTYLE OF THE VISIONARIES AND THEIR PROMOTERS

None of the visionaries has opted for a religious life (as did the visionaries in Lourdes and Fatima). It has been said that they did not seem exceptionally devoted to the Eucharist, and several seem to have benefitted materially from their situation, owning nice houses and cars. Their main promoter and spiritual advisor, Father Tomislav Vlasic, was reportedly suspended by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, investigated for matters including sexual immorality and then allegedly defrocked.

However...it can be argued that participating in a Catholic marriage is also a worthy sacramental life. Some who have seen the seers’ houses regard these houses as unexceptional (although they have been enlarged to help house pilgrims) and many view the visionaries as exemplary Catholics.

....................

So, what are we to conclude?

For more than 30 years pilgrims have been making their way to a little town in western Bosnia and Herzegovina. Even in this largely secular, liberal, relativist world, two to three million pilgrims come each year, hoping to experience something of the divine.

The experience has transformed many of these pilgrims into fervent missionaries, promoting Medjugorje and its messages, and the good fruits of Medjugorje are everywhere: reformed addicts, converted agnostics and atheists; vocations; charitable works; healings; supernatural images; queues at confession; renewed prayer etc. If this is indeed a diabolical plot, there is a temptation to think that Old Nick – to use a football analogy – might have scored an ‘own goal.’

Further, for 32 years, despite many investigations and commissions, there has been no uncovering of the massive, organised and sustained fraud that would be necessary to support and explain the phenomena. To the contrary, the good fruits have multiplied enormously, and, because humans are fallible, there have been a few rotten ones as well.

Of course, as Catholics, we are free to discuss Medjugorje, to go there, to believe or not believe in the private revelations of the seers. Only when – or if – the Vatican pronounces on the subject, we will have a moral obligation to accept that pronouncement.

UPDATE: MEDJUGORJE VERSUS LOURDES

My friend Cathy visited Medjugorje for the first time one year ago. She returned ecstatic about her experience, so I asked her a few questions about her pilgrimage, focusing particularly on the differences between Lourdes – which she had visited several times - and Medjugorje. This is what she said: 

Where Lourdes is very outward looking, and is all about service to others, especially the sick or disabled, Medjugorje concentrates on prayer and reconciliation and is a lot more inward looking...It felt a very prayerful place, and the daily rosary, Mass and the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament were incredible. There were hundreds and hundreds of people, all in silent prayer. The feeling was very similar to being in Hyde Park for the Pope’s visit.

...Obviously they've not had as much time to make it as touristy as the people of Lourdes!..There certainly was no pressure to buy, and the selection was nowhere near as tacky as some of the things I’ve seen in Lourdes...Prices were incredibly cheap, even in the cafes and restaurants closest to the church...it felt much more ‘real’ than Lourdes. For example, every Sunday the locals have Mass in the Church, and visitors are asked to respect their privacy and not to intrude. Also, we were repeatedly told that we were not there as tourists, but as pilgrims. They asked people not to take photos in the religious areas, and to be respectful in their dress and behaviour.

 Well.... some areas were easier than others! In the town itself, and in the equivalent of the Domaine, it’s all flat and easy to get round. It’s not as big as Lourdes so everything is just a short walk away...but this is not a town designed for disabled access! There are two sites nearby that are a bit more challenging; the hill where the first apparitions took place and a mountain where the locals built a cross on top. Both are incredibly rocky and the hotel/B&B supply walking sticks to help. I did the hill, and that wasn’t too bad, but the mountain was a three hour round trip, starting off from the hotel at 5.45am!!! On the hill you stop as you go up to say the rosary, and on the mountain you stop for the Stations of the Cross, so although it’s a challenge, pretty much everyone managed it as you could rest at regular intervals. The hill was a 15 minute walk or a two minute taxi ride away. The mountain was a longer walk, a 5 euro taxi ride, or an organised coach trip away. I took advantage of the taxis as they were only 5 Euros for anywhere in the town/surrounding area, and there was always someone in the group who was happy to share.

(yes, dear reader, I know there's an awful lot of empty space after this post on Medjugorje. It wasn't planned...it just happened! I'm new to using Blogger software and sometimes strange things happen that I didn't plan and can't correct...so, kindly ignore my occasional screw ups! Thank you.)