Ges1005/Ssa1208: Everyday Life of Chinese Singaporeans: Past & Present

GES1005/SSA1208: EVERYDAY LIFE OF CHINESE SINGAPOREANS: PAST & PRESENT Temple Assignment Group Essay (Singapore Buddhist Lodge) Tutorial Group: D15 Group Number: 6 CHONG WEN-KANG PONG HUI SHI SITOH ZI EN PAMELA TAI HUI XUAN MELISSA Department of Chinese Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences National University of Singapore, Singapore CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction of temple i. What is the website of the temple? ii. What is the phone number of the temple? iii. What is the dialect of the temple? iv. What is the number of members? v. Is there a spirit medium in the temple? vi. How long is the lease of the temple? 2.0 Background and history of temple i. What is the founding date of the temple? ii. What is the temple’s original address? iii. What is the address after the first move? iv. What is the address after the second move? v. What is the address after the third move? 3.0 Interesting facts/stories about the temple 3.1 A charity organization 3.2 Other activities/establishments 3.3 Layout and facilities of the lodge 4.0 Gods of the temple i. Who is(are) the main god(s) of the temple? ii. Who are the secondary gods of the temple? iii. When are the god’s birthday rites? 5.0 Events and rites i. When are the dates of the other rites? ii. Any xitai to honor god(s)? iii. Is procession done in the temple? 6.0 Relationships i. Is there any mother temple (in china)? ii. Any connections with the mother temple? iii. Any links with other temples in Singapore or Southeast Asia? iv. Relationship with other religious places in Singapore 7.0 References 8.0 Appendix 9.0 Group members’ thoughts and opinions 1.0 Introduction of temple The Singapore Buddhist Lodge (新加坡佛教居士林) (SBL hereafter) is one of the oldest religious charitable organization in Singapore founded in 1934. The website of the temple is “http://www.sbl.org.sg/” and the phone number is 67372630. SBL does not subscribe to any dialects; with members and visitors speaking different languages and dialects. There are over 20,000 members at the SBL. Under the leadership of current President Tan Lee Huak (陈立发), there are 20 members in the executive committee, 11 members in the welfare fund council (福利基金理事会) and 9 members in the education fund council (教育基金理事会) (see Appendix A). SBL had bought its current land from the government, and is hence not under any lease. 2.0 Background and history of temple The SBL was formerly known as the “Singapore Buddhist Sutra Distribution Centre” set up for propagating Buddhism and making Buddhist doctrines and sutras available to the public. It was established on July 16, 1933 with an office located in Putuo Temple at Yan Kit Road. The actual centre was located at No. 26, Mulie Street, donated by founder and honorary president Li Jun Cheng (李俊承). SBL relocated to 120 River Valley Road in spring of 1939 to accommodate the increasing number of members and the expanded services that it offered. During the Japanese war in 1942, SBL moved to 13 Tiong Watt Road, where it helped citizens during the occupation. It liaised with various parties to collect gifts and food for distribution and provided relief services; offering donations, free consultations and prescriptions, funeral services and amenities. To promote Buddhism, the members of the chanting division gathered to chant on weekly. In 1946, SBL moved to its current location at 17 Kim Yam Road. Originally a rented property, then president Zhang Shuyuan formed a fund raising committee in 1950 to raise money to purchase the land, raising $60,000 to buy the current premise of 27,000 square feet. Since then, SBL was actively involved in the community, providing relief services, education sponsorships and the starting of Mee Toh School to promote education. Other charity involvements will be further discussed in the next section. Mr Lee Bock Guan (李木源) served as the president of SBL for more than 10 years. He was a great philanthropist that understood the needs of the less fortunate. This is especially evident when SBL donated $2 million to National Kidney Foundation for a new dialysis centre in Bukit Merah and transport subsidies of $60,000 every year for NKF beneficiaries. His charitable acts did not discriminate any race or religion. In 2009, Mr Lee was awarded the Public Service Star BBM, an award given to individuals who render valuable public service to the people of Singapore. When he passed away in 2015, more than 7,000 people showed up to pay their last respects to him, including current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. 3.0 Interesting facts/stories about the temple 3.1 A charity organization SBL is not considered a typical Buddhist temple unlike others, such as the Thian Hock Keng Temple (天福宫). It is primarily a charitable organization. They have different philanthropic activities ranging from monetary services to awards, events and so on. The SBL is renowned for its provision of free vegetarian meals four times daily all year round to the less fortunate, regardless of race, religion, poor or rich. On weekdays, the Lodge serves over 1,000 people and some 5,000 to 6,000 on weekends. Another activity that the Lodge is known for is their regular visits to homes for the aged since 1980s. The volunteers would feed the elderly, wash their clothes and even massage them, doing everything they can in their capability. They also bring along daily necessities for the visits and organize volunteers to send lunch boxed to lonely elders in identified housing areas. The following is a list of other charity activities done by the SBL; categorized as monetary services, education services, relief work and health services. 3.1.1 Monetary services Since 1949, SBL distributes Red Packets, ranging from S$10-20, to disadvantaged members of the society during the Lunar New Year. Set up in 1996, the welfare foundation saw a surge in the number of beneficiaries of the distribution of red packets to around 10,000 in 2004., as well as an increase in the amount in the red packet to $100. Over the years, an estimated 200,000 people have benefitted from the welfare services, amounting to a total distribution of $10 million. SBL and the Jamiyah Singapore jointly organized a Walkathon, fun fair and charity dinner to raise funds for Jamiyah’s operations of a nursing centre, children’s home, drug rehabilitation centre and home for the aged. SBL and the Jamiyah Singapore again jointly held a charity dinner to raise funds for 4000 needy elders and less fortunate children. 3.1.2 Education services Former president Chen Guangbiao demonstrated great leadership by setting up the SBL Library (elaborated more under section 3.2.2) and a bursary fund for financially handicapped but morally upright students in local primary and secondary schools, junior colleges and polytechnics, regardless of race and religion. The education foundation was set up in 1996 to increase educational donation and is officially a charity organization. Bursaries and recipients have steadily increased over the years, with some $7 million being donated to students. 3.1.3 Relief work SBL and the Singapore Buddhist Federation jointly provided relief services via raising funds for victims affected by the natural disasters in 1953 that struck areas like Aljunied, Potong Pasir, Bedok, Tai Seng, Hock Soon village and Tiong Bahru. Members of SBL donated $300,000 to the nine provinces in Southern China who were victims of heavy flooding in 1991. 3.1.4 Health services Opened in 1998, the Vision Family Service Centre offers services such as individual counselling, family counselling, consultancy & referral services, outreach programs and moral education. More recent services includes parent mutual help groups, youth outdoor training, youth camps, seminars on family moral education and counselling services. SBL opened its first clinic in 1999, specializing in acupuncture, massage, foot massage, internal medicine and physiotherapy. Two more clinics were opened in 2001 and 2003 in Geylang and Hougang respectively, offering low cost treatment to the public and those in need of financial assistance. 3.2 Layout and facilities of the lodge 3.2.1 Office Unlike most traditional temples, SBL has an area set aside for its administrative staff, who have the comfort of working in an air-conditioned office with individual cubicles for each staff and a central area for answering of phone calls and enquiries at the front of the office. 3.2.2 Library The library is one of the most interesting places in SBL. Unlike other traditional temples, SBL has a library to encourage further study of the Buddhist culture. This library was set up in 1985 and currently has more than 20,000 Chinese and English titles. In addition to offering free references and loan services, the library also organizes seminars, reference guides, book introductions and exhibitions. This is all part of the modernization of Buddhism, where followers are encouraged to gain a deeper understanding of the Buddhist culture through personal exploration of articles and materials provided by the library. 4.0 Gods of the temple The main god of SBL is Amitabha Buddha, who is also known as Sage of the Sakya. SBL houses the largest outdoor Amitabha figure in Singapore at 6.8m. A solemn consecration ceremony of the Amitabha’s statue was held on the birthday of Buddha Amitabha in 2001 (December 31, 2001; the seventeenth day of the eleventh lunar month), with more than 40 venerable masters from worldwide, as well as more than 200 devotees gathering at the SBL.

Load more