Poh Ern Shih Temple

Poh Ern Shih at 9 Chwee Chian Road, Singapore.

Poh Ern Shih (also: Bao'en Si) (Simplified Chinese: 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 Singapore. It was built as a remembrance of the ultimate sacrifice of the Allied and Japanese soldiers as well as the innocent villagers who perished during the Battle of Pasir Panjang during World War II. 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

Scenic view of Pasir Panjang from Chwee Chian Hill where the temple stands today, circa May 2007.

The hilltop where Poh Ern Shih stands today was a strategic and important location for the British colonial government before the onset of WWII. 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. This factory made major contributions to the coffers of the British Empire and was therefore a very valuable asset to them.

Behind Bukit Chandu was Normanton Park, an oil depot, where the British stored fuel for their war machinery. Beside Normanton Park was a luxurious estate consisting of lavish homes for the British officers and their families. Down the road from Normanton Park was Alexandra Hospital, which was a military hospital for sick and injured British soldiers. In order to protect its 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. (The regiments' heroism are now commemorated at a on-site war museum named Reflections at Bukit Chandu) As a consequent of the heavy fighting, many innocent Chinese and Malay villagers living in the vicinity were killed during the crossfire.

Founder Lee Choon Seng

Poh Ern Shih was established as a modest single storey temple by philanthropist Lee Choon Seng (李俊承) in 1954 and is one of the few Chinese Mahayana temples in Singapore that is dedicated to the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva (地藏菩薩). 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.

Lee (1888—1966) 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. 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 (新加坡佛教居士林) in 1934.

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.

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. 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.

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 (菩提学校) 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.

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 (Bintang Bakti Masharakat) BBM 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

Devotees celebrating Vesak at the Wall of the Golden Buddhas of Poh Ern Shih on 31 May 2007.

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, the new Poh Ern Shih building is a architectural synthesis of classical features combined with modern technology. From the outside, Poh Ern Shih appears to be a traditionally palatial temple, with yellow crystalline globes illuminating its white washed parapets and stairways. However, despite its magnificent exterior, the true 'essence' of the temple in actuality lies inconspicuously within the compounds itself:

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 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

Solar panels installed at the rooftops of the temple as part of its eco-friendly design, circa May 2007.

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.

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.

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-story stupa.

The temple today

Replica of the Sarnath Buddha, depicting the Buddha giving the First Discourse. Image was cast in Thailand and located at the Dharma Hall of the Buddhist Fellowship at Poh Ern Shih, circa June 2007.

In order to rejuvenate itself with younger blood, Poh Ern Shih sought partnership with the Buddhist Fellowship, a non-sectarian Buddhist organization 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 (BF)—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.

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 4,000 sq ft 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 leaders of both groups agreed that the coming together is a testimony of the Buddhist way of life—living in harmony and peace despite external differences.

See also

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

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

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

External links

• Poh Ern Shih website. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
• Mr. Yan Ming. Retrieved August 4, 2008.

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