Tung Lin Kok Yuen

In 1931, Lady Clara Cheung Lin Kok (wife of Sir Robert Ho Tung) received a sum of $100,000 from her husband as a gift for their 50th wedding anniversary. During that period, China faced civil war and social disputes, causing many tragedies and chaos in the society. Lady Clara Lin Kok, who was a faithful believer in Buddhism, decided to use the anniversary gift to establish a base for the propagation of Buddha's teaching. Her vision and goals are to promote social harmony and to build a school so as to allow children of poverty to receive education with Buddhism teachings. The location was selected to be in vibrant Happy Valley. The twelve thousand square feet plot of land where now the temple stands, was purchased from the Hong Kong Government by Lady Clara. She had also invited Ven. Aiting (), who had retired as the abbot of the Bamboo Grove Monastery, also called Zhulin Temple (), to supervise the construction project. Ven. Aiting at the same time was invited to give dharma talks to the community. The temple is named after Lady Clara and Sir Robert Ho Tung, in memory for her husband's support of her charity work and also his virtuous acts. Tung Lin Kok Yuen's construction was finally completed in 1935, comprising a Buddhist temple and Po Kok Free School, first free Buddhist school for girls in Hong Kong. As the number of students outgrew the spaces available in the temple building, a new school building was built next to Tung Lin Kok Yuen in 1951 which held the Po Kok Vocational Middle School. == Lady Clara Lin Kok ==

Lady Clara Lin-Kok (1875–1938) was the second of two wives of Sir Robert. She married him in 1895. She was the mother to ten children, 7 daughters and 3 sons. Lady Clara Lin-Kok, supported by Sir Robert, invested a considerable amount of time and energy in her life to the establishment of diverse charitable activities aimed at assisting and alleviating the sufferings of the infirmed, disadvantaged and underprivileged. Her charitable acts were largely inspired by her belief in, and devotion to, the Buddhist faith. Realization of Buddhism The suffering that Lady Clara experienced in her life has made her devotion to Buddhism stronger as she held on to her faith while going through the tough times. The early death of her eldest son, serious illness contracted by her immediate family, such as Sir Robert Ho Tung contracting a serious case of pneumonia, her parents' death and her throat condition had energised her faith greatly. She sought relief of suffering by continually reciting the name of Buddha and found herself in a state of peace, comprehending the realities of human suffering. All the events attracted many believers and the response was positive. Lady Clara travelled widely to visit esteemed monasteries to pursue her journey to truth. She visited in total twenty one famous mountains and other famous monasteries such as Mount Wutai and Mount Lao. She founded the Po Kok First Free school in Hong Kong in 1930 and soon after Po Kok Second Free school was started in Macau too. The primary purpose of these schools was to provide practical education to women in the society so as to promote greater independence. Lady Clara Lin-Kok wholly dedicated the latter part of her life to promoting Buddhist education at Tung Lin Kok Yuen. She worked diligently until the day of her death in 1938. To continue her mission in posterity she nominated successors to posts in Tung Lin Kok Yuen's board of directors in her will. == Construction and design ==

In 1935 the same year that Tung Lin Kok Yuen was completed, the Po Kok School and the Society for the Study of Buddhism were merged under the one roof and operated out of the temple premises. The building itself while not very old, is of special interest because many of the religious images, furniture and fittings survived the Japanese occupation when very little else in the colony did. Interior design and style Tung Lin Kok Yuen contains a dharma hall, lecture theatre, library, sutra hall, dining hall, ancestral hall and dormitories. One main feature of Tung Lin Kok Yuen is the amazing and valuable collection of calligraphy and Chinese-style couplets written by renowned personages. The fittings inside the building were mostly carried out by Shanghainese craftsmen who also worked on Sir Robert Hotung's house on the Peak. Conventional architectural features of imperial palaces such as curved ceramic tiled roofs are prominent and the mixture of different styles give Tung Lin Kok Yuen its own unique characteristics. The appearance of the entire temple is shaped like a boat, which matches with the symbolism that Buddha will guide the people in the sea of suffering to the way of light. Tung Lin Kok Yuen has been classified as a Grade I Historical building in Hong Kong. According to the guidelines issued by Antiquities Advisory Board and the Antiquities and Monuments Office, Grade I is defined as "Buildings of outstanding merit, which every effort should be made to preserve if possible." == Present uses ==

Tung Lin Kok Yuen is currently used to advance the cause of Buddhism and managing the respective schools under the Po Kok team. The temple is also concerned with the practical needs of the community and social projects which will benefit it. Examples of these projects include the publication of the Lin Kok Quarterly Journal and the "Lin Kok Collection" which uses both Chinese and non-Chinese scholars to discuss and reflect on the true meaning of life. The Yuen also contributes financial aid toward the Hong Kong Society for the Aged and the construction of an aged care facility and also the Mental Health Association of Hong Kong and its work on mental health rehabilitation. Regular classes in advanced studies of Buddhism, classes in Buddhist hymns, classes in meditation and so forth are also offered at the Yuen. == Po Kok Schools ==

Lady Clara Ho Tung officially established the Po Kok Free School for Girls in Causeway Bay in Hong Kong and Macau in 1931. In 1935 the school was moved to a temple also founded by Lady Clara in Happy Valley, next to its present site in Tung Lin Kok Yuen. The school facilities aimed to provide women with the opportunity to receive education and also promote Buddhism. In 2004 the Po Kok Primary School faced trouble and was ordered to cease operating its Primary One class due to lack of enrolment, however after an out-of-court settlement the school was allowed to continue the class with its own funding == Tung Lin Kok Yuen, Canada Society ==

Tung Lin Kok Yuen, Canada Society is a non-profit charitable organisation registered with the Government of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario. It was established in Vancouver, British Columbia by current chairman of the board of directors of Tung Lin Kok Yuen, Robert H. N. Ho. in 1994, aiming to promote Buddhist education internationally. Robert Hung-Ngai Ho established the foundation aiming to form a "global network" of Buddhist studies scholars and institutions, making maximum use of modern communication technologies. His goal is to establish Centres of Buddhist Studies at major universities in the globe which can share and exchange information according to each speciality in the school. Such centres have already been established in Hong Kong and Canada, and there has been plans to expand such network to universities in the U.S. and Europe. ==References==