Sam Poh Tong can be translated as the Cave of Triple Gems. The Triple Gems is the most basic belief and doctrine of Buddhism and the core and foundation of the Buddhism. It refers to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.
In addition to the Buddhist cave temple, the temple's compound includes a crematorium and a columbarium. Sam Poh Tong's columbarium looks like a 4-storey blue coloured apartment block.
In front of the temple is a very attractively landscaped garden designed around a large fish pond.
Islands on the pond are embellished with artificial rock formations perhaps shaped to resemble the Huang Shan mountains of China.
Japanese stone lanterns and pagodas add to the beauty of the garden.
Inside the cave temple, the main altar area is smaller I expected and filled with statues of Buddha and deities.
A staircase leads up to an upper level where there are a few more statues in display cases.
Behind a padlocked gate are some steps leading up the hillside but the path seems abandoned and overgrown.
Beyond the altar is a passage way leading out to a secluded garden containing the 'tortoise pond' and an ornate pagoda building with red roof tiles.
The pond was a fenced-off pool of vivid dark green water surrounded by an assortment of turtles sitting on a drab brick pavement.
The water was changed irregularly and that the living conditions were rather poor.
There were tourists purchased bunches of kangkung from a vendor at the entrance and threw pieces over the fence in the direction of the turtles. They seemed lazy but eventually gobbled down the food.
The pagoda building is reminiscent of Buddhist temples in Japan but it was also fenced off and padlocked.
The whole area is completely encircled by towering cliffs and there is no exit other than the passageway back into the cave temple. It looks a bit run-down in maintenance compared to Ling Sen Tong Temple.
One more thing is that there are a lot of beggers sitting outside the temple, most of them are old men and women. It really surprised me!
Later we left for the Kuan Yin Temple just around the corner.
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