Poh Ern Shih Temple

Poh Ern Shih (zh-s|s=报恩寺, Hanyu Pinyin: bào'ēnsì, English: Temple of Thanksgiving) is located on a small hilltop at Chwee Chian Road, off Pasir Panjang Road in the southern coast of Singapore. The Buddhist temple was built as a remembrance of the ultimate sacrifice of the Allied and Japanese soldiers, as well as the innocent villagers who perished at the nearby Bukit Chandu, during the Battle of Pasir Panjang in 1942. Its first abbot, Venerable Sumangalo, an American Theravadin monk, was the first Westerner to be the abbot of a Buddhist temple in Singapore. After undergoing a major expansion project since 2003, Poh Ern Shih became the first religious instituition to incorporate both eco-friendly and elderly-friendly designs of a building in Singapore.

History

The hilltop where Poh Ern Shih stands today was a strategic and important location for the British colonial government before the onset of the Second World War. Facing the hilltop is Bukit Chandu, which means "Opium Hill” in Malay (known as Kent Ridge Park today), where the British had an opium factory that processed raw opium from the Golden Triangle for sale to China and South East Asia. The sale was through licensed retail outlets owned by citizens of the British Empire and the British East India Company since the 19th century.cite web | url = http://www.pohernshih.org/History(E).htm | title = History of Bukit Chandu | accessdate = 2007-06-05 | publisher = Poh Ern Shih ]

Behind Bukit Chandu was Normanton Park, an oil depot, where the British stored fuel for their military forces based in Singapore. Next to Normanton Park was a sprawling residential estate for the British officers and their families. Further down the road from Normanton Park was Alexandra Hospital, which was a military hospital for sick and injured British soldiers to recuperate. In order to protect its various strategic interests in the vicinity, the British placed heavy artillery guns on Chwee Chian Hill in anticipation of seaborne attacks by the Japanese off the coast of Pasir Panjang.

Japanese invasion

During the Battle of Pasir Panjang, Bukit Chandu was the last bastion of the 1st and 2nd Battalion Malay Regiment, together with the 2nd Loyals Regiment that defended the western and southern parts of Singapore from 8th to 14th February 1942. Despite running low on ammunition and food, the Malay Regiments put up strong resistance which resulted in heavy toll for the Japanese invaders. Unfortunately, they were finally outnumbered and massacred by reinforced Japanese forces. A famous Malay officer, Second Lieutenant Adnan Bin Saidi was captured alive, tortured and executed later by the Japanese. As a consequent of the heavy fighting, many innocent Chinese and Malay villagers living in the vicinity were killed during the crossfire. The regiments' heroism are now commemorated at a on-site war museum named Reflections at Bukit Chandu. [cite web | url = http://www.s1942.org.sg/s1942/bukit_chandu/homepage.htm | title = Reflections at Bukit Chandu | accessdate = 2007-06-05 | publisher = National Archives of Singapore ]

Founder Lee Choon Seng

Poh Ern Shih was established as a modest single storey temple by philanthropist Lee Choon Seng (1888—1966) in 1954 and is one of the few Chinese Mahayana temples in Singapore that is dedicated to the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. Based on the noble concept of liberating the spirits of the people who were sacrificed during the Japanese invasion in WWII, the temple was constructed at the site of the bloodshed on Chwee Chian Hill. [ Koh, "Renewing the Temple of Thanksgiving", p. 112. ]

Lee was born in Yong Choon county, Fujian province in China. He joined his father in Negri Sembilan in his youth and later moved to Singapore to set up his own property business. He was very successful in his business and assumed leadership positions in the local Chinese community. He was widely known as one of the founders, as Acting Chairman of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) during the Japanese Occupation. [cite web | url = http://www.ocbc.com.sg/global/aboutOCBC/Gco_Abt_History.shtm | title = OCBC History | accessdate = 2007-06-05 | publisher = Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation ] Being one of the early Buddhist pioneers in his time, Lee was also involved in the founding of the Buddhist Publications Circulation Centre in 1933 and the Singapore Buddhist Lodge ( _zh. 新加坡佛教居士林) in 1934. [ Ong, "Lee Choon Seng", pp. 48—49. ]

First Western abbot

Venerable Sumangalo (1903—1963) was born as Robert Stuart Clifton in Birmingham, Alabama in the United States in 1903. After receiving his Doctorate in Literature, he lectured on Buddhism in the United States before moving to Asia to further his study of Buddhism. In 1957, he joined the Theravada Order in Laos and received the monastic name Sumangalo meaning "very auspicious". He then left for Malaya and later visited Singapore on a Dharma tour in late 1959 with another American Buddhist monk, Venerable Susiddhi. Through his efforts, a number of Youth Circles and Sunday schools were set up locally. [ Piyasilo, 1992h: 1—3. ]

In January 1959, he was offered the honorary abbotship of Poh Ern Shih and became the first Westerner to be the abbot of a Buddhist temple in Singapore. [ Piyasilo, 1992: 17—19. ] While in Singapore, he assisted Pitt Chin Hui in her translation of the 'Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Sutra' from Chinese to English. He return to Malaya and spend his later years at Penang Buddhist Association where most of his Dharma lectures were held. His lectures were later compiled in English and Chinese and distribute freely to visitors to this day. Due to ill health, Venerable Sumangalo died on 6 February 1963 and was cremated in Penang. [ Venerable Sumangalo, p. 4. ]

Female Buddhist pioneer

Pitt Chin Hui (1906—1981) was born as the youngest child to a wealthy family in Guangzhou in China. She was brought to Penang by her mother to receive her early education there. In 1924, she sat for the Senior Cambridge Examination and while waiting for the examination results, she became an English teacher at the Fujian Girl’s School. In 1927, she left for further studies at the Zhongshan University in Guangzhou. However, she terminated her tertiary studies and returned to Penang when her mother became seriously ill. While in Penang, she attended Dharma lectures by Venerable Taixu and his disciple, Venerable Cihang, at the Kek Lok Si Temple and subsequently became a disciple of Venerable Cihang and studied under him. She was responsible for setting up the Maha Bodhi School in Penang and later in Singapore in 1946 to promote Buddhist education to the young. Besides her school duties, Pitt was also an active and hardworking Buddhist worker.Ong, "Miss Pitt Chin Hui", pp. 111—112. ]

In December 1959, she embarked on the task of translating the "Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Sutra" from Chinese to English at Poh Ern Shih so that it is accessible to the English-educated. Venerable Sumangalo helped in rendering Chinese and English nomenclature into Sanskrit and offered suggestions for improving the English version. In 1964, Pitt was awarded the prestigious Public Service Star - BBM (Bintang Bakti Masharakat) - by Encik Yusof bin Ishak, First President of the Republic of Singapore. In 1973, she was appointed as Justice of the Peace by Dr. Benjamin Henry Sheares, Second President of the Republic of Singapore. Pitt Chin Hui was also a Vice-President of the World Fellowship of Buddhists. She died in 1981 while on a trip in India.

Building design

To meet its expansion needs, Poh Ern Shih demolished its old premises and started rebuilding in 2003 with its office wing completed in April 2007 under its Phase 1 project. Designed by Lee Coo who is also the architect behind the Venerable Hong Choon Memorial Hall of the Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Temple, Koh, "Social Consciousness", pp. 113—114. ] the new Poh Ern Shih building is a architectural synthesis of classical features combined with modern eco-friendly technology.

Civic consciousness

Conscious that a large percentage of its loyal devotees are now in their 60s, the Honorary President/Director of Poh Ern Shih, Lee Boon Siong, a retired lawyer and grandson of its founder, and its chief architect, made every effort to ensure the accessibility of the palatial temple to the elderly and wheelchair-bound devotees, by constructing a gentle driveway that stretches from the gates to the upper levels of the temple. Details such as ensuring even flooring on every storey is also accounted for as any forms of humps can cause significant obstacles to those in wheelchairs. In the lavatory cubicles meant for the handicapped, 'call-for-help' buttons are placed within easy reach of any visitor who might require assistance. To that end, these cubicle doors are configured accordingly so that they can be unlocked from the outside in case of emergencies.

Eco-friendly features

With abundant sunlight's potential in Singapore, the temple attempts to tap into this vast resource by positioning three different kinds of solar energy cells on its rooftop. They are the poly-crystalline silicon solar array, mono-crystalline silicon solar array and amorphous silicon solar array. Poh Ern Shih thus heats its water using the sun's rays that fall on its solar panels and also converts solar energy into electricity for powering the temple's night lighting, thereby reducing its dependency on electricity derived from exhaustible fuel reserves. With its breezy location, wind generators have been raised to convert wind activity into electricity too. Koh, "Making Good Use of That Which is Abundant", pp. 114—115. ]

Another weather component being thoroughly recycled by Poh Ern Shih is rain. The rain water collected from surface run-offs and rain gutters not only maintains the temple grounds, it also generates electricity for charging the batteries of in-house motorized wheelchairs. This additional source of electricity is achieved when water from the highest floor of the temple is allowed to rush past hydro-generators which then produce electricity from the kinetic movement of the fluids. Furthermore, a purification system is being erected so that the collected rain water can be filtered to be potable.

In line with the aim to use renewable resources, the furniture in Poh Ern Shih for its resident Sangha is assembled from bamboo. At present, bamboo is considered as one of the most ecologically friendly substance for use in home furnishing and flooring. The reason being that bamboo can be harvested without felling the entire tree, eliminating the need for replanting and thereby allowing the bamboo to grow to full height again in 5 years time ready for another harvest. [ Koh, "Renewable Resources", p. 115. ]

The second phase of the temple is expected to be completed towards the end of 2007, featuring a new Main Ksitigarbha Prayer Hall as well as a Guanyin Meditation Hall with lapis lazuli statues and a 7-storey stupa. [ Koh, "What's in Store", p. 115. ]

The temple today

In order to rejuvenate itself with younger blood, Poh Ern Shih sought partnership with the Buddhist Fellowship, a non-sectarian Buddhist organisation known locally for its revolutionary projects and activities that strives to ensure that the Dharma is propagated in contemporary language and form. The story began two years ago when the Buddhist Fellowship—whose more than 2,000 members are mainly English-speaking professionals mostly under 45 of age rented a space at Eton House in Paya Lebar. Lee Boon Siong dropped in for a friendly visit and informed its President, Angie Monksfield, a Chinese Singaporean married to an English Catholic, that Poh Erh Shih was expanding, and that her fellowship was welcome to make use of its premises. In early 2007, Angie took up the offer after their Eton House's landlord had wanted to raise the rent by 57 per cent—a sum which was difficult for the fellowship to afford. The rent offered by the temple is the same that the fellowship was paying, before the increase demanded by its previous landlord.cite news | title = Two Buddhist groups share space | author = Lee Chee Keng | date = 30 May 2007 | publisher = The Straits Times]

On 29 May 2007, an opening ceremony attended by Khaw Boon Wan, Minister for Health, and its two spiritual patrons, Ajahn Brahm and Venerable Kwang Sheng, Abbot of Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Temple, marked her group moving into convert|4000|sqft|m2|abbr=on of space in Poh Ern Shih. The fellowship set up its office and conduct programmes such as Dharma talks, Sutta discussions and meditation courses by visiting Sangha and notable lay Buddhist teachers such as Piya Tan, Dr. Ang Beng Choo and Prof. Tan Hun Tong and many more. The temple is open to the public daily and admission is free.

ee also

*Mahayana Buddhism
*Jin Long Si Temple
*Burmese Buddhist Temple

References

Notes

Bibliography

*cite book | last = Koh| first = c-u Pinn | title = "Renewing the Temple of Thanksgiving"—Vaidurya (May/Jun 2007) | publisher = Singapore: Golden Pagoda Buddhist Temple | date = 2007
*cite book | last = Piyasilo | title = Charisma in Buddhism | publisher = Malaysia: Dharmafarers Enterprises | date = 1992h | isbn = 983-9030-10-8
*cite book | last = Piyasilo | title = New Directions in Buddhism Today | publisher = Malaysia: Dharmafarers Enterprises | date = 1992 | isbn = 983-9030-03-5
*cite book | last = Ong | first = Y.D. | title = Buddhism in Singapore—A Short Narrative History | publisher = Singapore: Skylark Publications | date = 2005 | isbn = 981-05-2740-3
*cite book | last = Venerable Sumangalo | title = Lectures by Venerable Sumangalo Bhikkhu (in Chinese) | publisher = Malaysia: Penang Buddhist Association (Free distribution) | date = 2006

External links

* [http://www.pohernshih.org/ Poh Ern Shih website]
* [http://www.buddhistfellowship.org/bf_new/pages/main/index.html Buddhist Fellowship website]