Foo Hai Ch'an Monastery (), is a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

monastery in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. The foundation was originally set up by Venerable Hong Zong of Taiwan. The present premises are located, adjacent to

Sri Sivan Temple Sri Sivan Temple ( ta, ஸ்ரீ சிவன் கோவில்) is a Hindu temple in Singapore for the god Shiva. The temple was originally located in Potong Pasir from where it was moved three more times before finally coming to the pres ...

, in front of

Paya Lebar MRT station Paya Lebar MRT station is a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) interchange station on the East West line (EWL) and Circle line (CCL) in Geylang, Singapore. Despite the name, this station is not located in Paya Lebar but rather along Paya Lebar Road, ne ...

, exit C at Geylang East Avenue 2, Singapore.

Overview

Foo Hai Ch'an Monastery was founded in 1935 by

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

-born

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

-ordained Venerable Hong Zong who came to popularise Buddhism in

. He was succeeded by Venerable Miao Shou in 1975. The monastery founded the present day

Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre Ren Ci Hospital (Simplified Chinese, Chinese: 仁慈医院) is one of the first few charity healthcare institutions in Singapore to provide affordable healthcare and rehabilitative services in Singapore. Established in 1994, Ren Ci Hospital curre ...

Novena A novena (from Latin: ''novem'', "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pen ...

Monastery

Built in

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

-style, the Monastery has several structures, statues, Bodhi tree and Buddha relics that are of religious importance and of interest to tourists.Foo hai Chan Monastery details
/ref>

Heng Ha Dharmapala Entrance

The main entrance of the Monastery has two vajra warriors, also known as Generals Heng and Ha. After the Chinese adoption of Buddhism, under the influence of Taoism and folk religions, where even numbers are considered sacred, two larger-than-life Dharampala protectors, Heng and Ha, made from metal, are traditionally installed on the main entrance of the monastery.

Bell and Drum Towers

Inside the boundary wall from the main entrance are two towers, one each on the north and south corners of the platform housing the main monastery building, a Bell gong tower to the north side and drum tower to the south side. In the morning, the gong is played 108 times, descending from louder to gentler sound, to announce the end of the night and to awaken from deep unconscious. In the evening, the gong is played 108 times, ascending from gentler to louder sound. The sounds are played to remind listeners of illusions.

Main Monastery Building

The multi-storey main monastery building has a large airy 15 m high prayer hall in the front, which houses a 4-storey high reception, office, administration, auditorium, meeting rooms and toilets at the back. The main hall houses a 3.3 meters statue of Buddha and a 9.9 meter tall statues of

Guanyin Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...

Foo Hai Ch'an Guanyin

Inside the main large prayer hall, there is a 9.9 m (32.5 feet) tall statue of the Thousand-armed manifestation of the

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

, who is the Chinese adaptation of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. There is a large altar in front of the deity, several ornate statues in the roof, and several rows for praying.

Buddha Relic Foo Hai Ch'an Pagoda

A five-story high pagoda, built in 2004 by the ''Siddhartha centre'' which donated Sg$6 million to Foo Hai Ch'an in 2004, lies in the central north direction. Each floor houses decorated statutes of Buddha in various styles; the top floor houses the sacred

Buddha relics Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

Guest House and Teaching Centre

Inside the main entrance, to the immediate right side, there is a five-storey above-ground teaching centre, library and guest house building with toilets.

Singapore Bodhi Tree

Singapore Bodhi Tree is a sacred Bodhi Tree, between the main monastery building and pagoda. It is a gift given to the monastery by the then visiting president of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. It comes from the cutting of

Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi ( Sinhala: ජය ශ්‍රී මහා බොධිය) is a historical sacred bo tree (''Ficus religiosa'') in the Mahamewna Garden in historical city of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. This is believed to be a tree grown f ...

tree (planted at

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...

in 288 BC, by king

Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...

's eldest daughter

Sangamitta Saṅghamittā (Saṅghamitrā in Sanskrit, nun's name Ayapali; 282 BC – 203 BC) was the eldest daughter of Emperor Ashoka (304 BC – 232 BC) and his first wife, Devi. Together with her brother Mahinda, she entered an order of Buddhist m ...

) after taking a sapling cutting from the original

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Bodhi Tree at

Bodh Gaya Bodh Gaya is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple Complex in Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is famous as it is the place where Gautama Buddha is said to have attained Enlightenment ( pi, ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

under which Buddha attained the enlightenment.

Foo Hai Ch'an Columbarium

Foo Hai Ch'an Columbarium, housing urns containing ashes of cremated deceased people, lies in the basement under the pagoda and guest house building.

Controversy

Venerable Ming Yi of Foo Hai Ch'an Monastery was imprisoned in a high-profile corruption scandal for misappropriating funds and giving false information in 2010. The Commissioner of Charities suspended him from decision-making positions in Foo Hai Ch'an Monastery and other related organisations.

References

External links

* {{Buddhism in Singapore Buddhist organizations Buddhist charities Buddhist temples in Singapore Chinese-Singaporean culture Geylang Taiwanese diaspora in Asia Religious organizations established in 1935