To celebrate the 28th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China, the third Hong Kong Lotus Exhibition (2025) grandly opened at Po Lin Monastery. A rare and auspicious three-lobed lotus, hailed as a "one-in-a-hundred-million wonder of nature," blossomed spectacularly. With its three flowers on one stem, it presented a precious natural gift to commemorate Hong Kong's return.

According to horticultural experts, under natural growth conditions, the probability of a parallel-lobed lotus (two flowers on one stem) is only one in a hundred thousand, while the three-lobed lotus is a celestial blessing occurring once in a hundred million. Remarkably, this three-lobed lotus bloomed on July 1 — the very day of the handover anniversary. The lotus originated from Tinglin Garden in Kunshan, Suzhou. With the blessing of Venerable Qiufeng from Huazang Temple in Kunshan, nine Kunshan parallel-lobed lotuses traveled a great distance to settle at Po Lin Monastery in Hong Kong.

However, despite being named parallel-lobed lotuses, whether they would actually bloom as such remained uncertain. Delightfully, the nine Kunshan lotuses lived up to expectations, overcoming the challenges of relocation and days of wind and rain, eventually radiating their splendor by the fragrant harbor. On July 1, as the nation rejoiced, the Hong Kong Lotus Exhibition was bustling with visitors, filled with festive cheer. Miraculously, the three-lobed lotus seemed to bloom right on schedule. Its layered petals glowed like rosy clouds, with pink and white hues complementing each other, gracefully set against the lush green leaves. In front of the Grand Hall of Po Lin Monastery, crowds of lotus admirers gathered, raising their phones to capture this exceedingly rare natural marvel, witnessing a touching moment that blended natural wonder with celebratory grandeur.

The first Hong Kong Lotus Festival, jointly organised by Po Lin Monastery, Institute of Horticultural (Hong Kong), and Sing Tao News Corporation, is themed "Prosperous Lotus, Blessing Hong Kong." Held at Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island starting 23 June, the ten-day exhibition aims to transform Po Lin Monastery and Ngong Ping into an immersive traditional cultural experience centre, offering students and the public a humanities and aesthetic feast of traditional culture.
On 23 June, the opening ceremony of the "Hong Kong Lotus Festival 2023" took place as scheduled.
Representatives of the organizers included Venerable Jing Yin, Abbot of Po Lin Monastery; Dr. Choi Jin, Executive Director and CEO of Sing Tao News Corporation; Ms. Choy So-yuk, Honorary President of the Institute of Horticultural (Hong Kong); and Ms. Xu Hefen, President of the Institute of Horticultural (Hong Kong). Officiating guests at the opening ceremony included: Ms. Mak Mei-kuen, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs; Dr. Yiu Kai Pang, Chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board; Mr. Chaturont CHAIYAKAM, Consul General of Thailand in Hong Kong; Mr. Li Gongxun, Deputy Director of the New Territories Sub-office of the LOCPG; Dr. Leung Oi-sie, former Deputy Director of the Hong Kong Basic Law Committee of the National People's Congress Standing Committee; Dr. Fan Hsu Lai-tai, former member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress; Mr. Yeung Chun Fan, Vice Chairman and General Manager of Glorious Sun Enterprises Limited; Mr. Yao Maolong, President of the Hong Kong Jiangsu Community Association; Professor Lee Chack-fan, Director of the Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole at the University of Hong Kong; Professor Chen Zhi, President of Hong Kong Chu Hai College; and Mr. Yu Hon-kwan, Chairman of the Islands District Council. Together, they unveiled the lotus festival, posed for a group photo, and delivered speeches.

為配合荷花展的Theme，寶蓮禪寺舉行了「2023香港荷花展學童繪畫比賽」，參賽組別分為初小（小一至小三）組及高小（小四至小六）組，期望透過繪畫荷花，啟發學童以蓮為師，出淤泥而不染，養成君子之風。

各組別精選獲獎作品如下：
初小組
Winner
朱雅雯（香海正覺蓮社佛教正慧小學）

1st Runner-up
楊潁芯（香海正覺蓮社佛教正慧小學）

2nd Runner-up
呂浩翔（佛教林金殿紀念小學）


高小組
Winner
王睿熙（寶血會培靈學校）

1st Runner-up
李咏瞳（香海正覺蓮社佛教正慧小學）

2nd Runner-up
李承熹（彩雲聖若瑟小學）

After taking the cable car to Ngong Ping and walking through Ngong Ping Village, the first thing that catches your eye is the four large characters "Southern Sky Buddha Land" engraved on the New Mountain Gate.

In 2000, Mr. Zhao Puchu, then President of the Buddhist Association of China, proposed the concept of "Five Great Buddhas of the Five Directions in China" based on the nation as a whole: the Lingshan Great Buddha in the East, the Leshan Great Buddha in the West, the Tian Tan Buddha in the South, the Yungang Great Buddha in the North, and the Longmen Great Buddha in the Central Plains. Po Lin Monastery in Hong Kong, home to the "Tian Tan Buddha," earned the reputation of "Southern Sky Buddha Land."

When the New Mountain Gate was under construction, Professor Jao Tsung-i, a renowned master of Chinese culture, gladly accepted the invitation of the most Venerable Zhi Hui, the seventh abbot of Po Lin Monastery at the time, and personally inscribed the four characters "Southern Sky Buddha Land." These were engraved on the horizontal plaque at the front of the gateway, echoing the "Wisdom Path."

The couplets on both sides were also composed and inscribed by Professor Jao Tsung-i, praising the monastery's contributions to temple construction, Dharma propagation, charitable education, and social welfare:

Building temples, building monasteries, building schools, adorning the land;
Famous mountains, famous sights, famous monks, benefiting sentient beings.



Passing through the New Mountain Gate and looking back, on the horizontal plaque at the back of the gateway are four characters inscribed by Professor Jao Tsung-i: "Lantau Island Wonderland."

Hong Kong has over 260 outlying islands, with Lantau Island being the largest, located in the southwestern part of Hong Kong. Surrounded by lush green mountains, beautiful beaches, and a tranquil environment, it is a world-famous tourist destination. Ngong Ping alone boasts ten renowned scenic spots. Po Lin Monastery, one of the "Ten Sights of Ngong Ping," is situated on the Ngong Ping plain between Mount Phoenix and Maitreya Mountain. Embraced by mountains and undulating hills, it offers spectacular scenery and has long been known as the "Lantau Island Wonderland."

The couplets on the back of the gateway read:
Within the Tathagata's seat, the splendid cosmos unfolds;
Beneath the Bodhi tree, the tranquil gate of liberation stands.

Here, in the "Southern Sky Buddha Land" and "Lantau Island Wonderland," one can purify the mind, let afflictions fade away, and behold the Dharma realm right before their eyes.

In 2017, archaeologists excavating the ruins of the Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan) discovered 11 ancient lotus seeds from the Qing Dynasty, dating back over a hundred years. After more than two years of effort, specialists not only "awakened" these dormant ancient seeds but also made them bloom into beautiful lotus flowers. When the news broke, the world was astonished.

In fact, among the awakened ancient lotus seeds, this batch from the Qing Dynasty is relatively "young." As early as the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the historian Tan Qian recorded the blooming of ancient lotus seeds in his Northern Travels · Records of Hearings: "In Ningjin County, Zhaozhou, there are stone lotus seeds buried in the earth for an unknown number of years. When residents dig the soil, they often find several hu (ancient unit of volume) of them. They are like iron or stone in appearance, with fragrant and unfaded flesh. When thrown into water, they immediately grow into lotuses."

The most famous ancient lotus seeds in modern times are the thousand-year-old ancient lotus seeds from Pulandian, discovered in the 19th century. During the Republican era, Sun Yat-sen traveled to Japan and gave four Pulandian ancient lotus seeds to his Japanese friend Tanaka Takashi. Later, the Japanese paleontologist Ichiro Ohga used plant physiological methods to calculate that the lifespan of the Pulandian ancient lotus seeds exceeded a thousand years. Moreover, he successfully cultivated lotus sprouts from these thousand-year-old seeds.

When the news spread, the fame of the Pulandian ancient lotus seeds resonated throughout the world. Scholars from China, Japan, the United States, Russia, and other countries successively studied them and determined that the ancient lotus seeds are the oldest living seeds in the world. In 1951, American chemist Willard Libby used his invention, radiocarbon dating (carbon-14), to measure the age of the Pulandian ancient lotus seeds at 1,040 years. He recorded this result in his writings, which inaugurated a new era in archaeology. In 1955, Professor Xu Ren of the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, used five Pulandian ancient lotus seeds to cultivate lotus flowers, seed pods, and new seeds. Coincidentally, in recent years, ancient lotus seeds from the Song and Yuan dynasties unearthed in Nanjing, Kaifeng, and other places have also been cultivated into beautiful lotus flowers.

Thus, the lotus is not only one of the oldest existing flowers on Earth, having existed as early as 135 million years ago in the age of dinosaurs and ancient ferns, but its seeds also possess a uniquely strong vitality. After being buried in the soil for hundreds or thousands of years, the shells of these ancient seeds have petrified. To awaken them, botanists carefully grind away a part of the hard shell with tools to expose the inner kernel, then soak it in water so it can germinate and grow.


This inevitably brings to mind the Buddhist Lotus Sutra, which states that all sentient beings possess the wisdom and virtue of the Tathāgata, i.e., "Buddha-nature." Buddha-nature is like an ancient lotus seed: though buried deep in the mud, its shell hardened like stone by the sediments of time and habitual tendencies, the inner "Buddha-nature" remains "unborn, unceasing, undefiled, untainted, neither increasing nor decreasing," far removed from all defilement and impermanent decay. Even in the most depraved person, shrouded in layers of evil habits, the "Buddha-nature" at the deepest level is never damaged. As long as the conditions ripen and the right method is applied to break through the hard shell of habitual tendencies, one can likewise blossom into the most sacred and wondrous lotus flower.

This idea is not exclusive to Buddhism; similar thoughts appear in the Confucian tradition. For instance, the Warring States period Confucian sage Mencius believed that human nature is inherently good. The Three Character Classic, a children's primer in Confucian culture, says: "At birth, human nature is good. Natures are similar, habits make them distant." This resonates profoundly with the Buddhist concepts of "Buddha-nature" and "habitual tendencies."

Understanding this principle brings us the greatest confidence and courage, because even when we are completely lost and at the lowest point in our lives, we still possess this most precious "Buddha-nature." Nowadays, many young people, overwhelmed by various pressures, feel confused and lost, lacking self-confidence, feeling disheartened or even desperate about life, choosing to give up or even end their lives. This is all because they do not understand their own "Buddha-nature." As in the parable from the Lotus Sutra, they are like a beggar who holds a priceless pearl in his bosom but does not know it, thus wandering and begging in misery. If they could only slightly understand their "Buddha-nature," they would be like awakened thousand-year-old lotus seeds, blooming with fragrant flowers.

The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch says: "How wondrous that our self-nature is intrinsically pure! How wondrous that our self-nature is intrinsically unborn and unceasing! How wondrous that our self-nature is intrinsically complete! How wondrous that our self-nature is intrinsically unmoving! How wondrous that our self-nature can give rise to all phenomena!" Our Buddha-nature inherently possesses all that is good and beautiful. While we are busy making a living, we should also set aside some time to explore the wisdom and goodness inherent in our own minds, rather than spending all our leisure time on dazzling phones and the internet. In this way, everyone has the opportunity to experience the enlightenment of Chan master Yulin of Chaling in the Song Dynasty: "I have a single luminous pearl, long locked away by toil and dust; now that the dust has vanished, its light blazes forth, illuminating ten thousand mountains and rivers."