Sanggar Agung Temple or Hong San Tang (Chinese: 宏善堂) is a

Chinese temple Chinese temple architecture refer to a type of structures used as place of worship of Chinese Buddhism, Taoism or Chinese folk religion, where people revere ethnic Chinese gods and ancestors. They can be classified as: * '' miào'' () or ''di� ...

Surabaya Surabaya ( jv, ꦱꦸꦫꦧꦪ or jv, ꦯꦹꦫꦨꦪ; ; ) is the capital city of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of East Java and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. L ...

dedicated to Chinese deities and other Asian religious icons. It is located within the Pantai Ria amusement park and has become a tourist destination, even though it is originally a worship place for Tridharma followers. The name of ''Sanggar Agung'' is derived from

Indonesian language Indonesian ( ) is the official language, official and national language of Indonesia. It is a standard language, standardized variety (linguistics), variety of Malay language, Malay, an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that has be ...

which can be translated as ''Great Hall''. The main icon of this temple is a 20 meters tall statue of

Guan Yin 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 w ...

on the waterfront, as a symbol that this temple is dedicated to ''Nan Hai Guan Shi Yin Pu Sa'' or

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 ...

of the South Sea. The giant statue was built after one of its employees saw a woman dressed in white walking on the sea as she was about closing the temple at night, believed as the appearance of

herself. The other icon is the giant

Phra Phrom Phra Phrom ( th, พระพรหม; from Sanskrit: ''Brahmā'', ब्रह्मा) is the Thai representation of the Hindu creator god Brahma. In modern Thailand, Phra Phrom is often worshipped outside of Hindu contexts by regular Buddh ...

statue covered with gold.

History

Kwan Kong Bio

In the

Moon Festival The Mid-Autumn Festival (Chinese: / ), also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated in Chinese culture. Similar holidays are celebrated in Japan (), Korea (), Vietnam (), and other countries in Ea ...

of 1978, on the 15th day of the eighth month in the

Chinese Calendar The traditional Chinese calendar (also known as the Agricultural Calendar ��曆; 农历; ''Nónglì''; 'farming calendar' Former Calendar ��曆; 旧历; ''Jiùlì'' Traditional Calendar ��曆; 老历; ''Lǎolì'', is a lunisolar calendar ...

, a temple was built about 500 meters to the south of the current location of Sanggar Agung. The temple's name was Kwang Kong Bio (lit. Temple of

Guan Gong Guan Yu (; ), courtesy name Yunchang, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him on ...

). The location of this temple had been moved three times since, until Sanggar Agung was built in its current place.Quoted from Sanggar Agung's brochure. In 1999, the temple was officially moved to its present location as Sanggar Agung Temple. Some of the deities’ figurines at Sanggar Agung Temple was already placed in the older temple for some decades.

Construction of Sanggar Agung

Sanggar Agung Temple was built by the family of Soetiadji Yudho and was inaugurated by the time of

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Sinophone, Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly r ...

in 1999. In the beginning, Mr. Yudho intended to uplift the spiritual fervor of Tridharma followers and also hoped that the temple would become an icon of

Surabaya City Surabaya ( jv, ꦱꦸꦫꦧꦪ or jv, ꦯꦹꦫꦨꦪ; ; ) is the capital city of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of East Java and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. L ...

. The giant statue of

was built two years later.

Architecture

The uniqueness of Sanggar Agung Temple is that this temple is built over the sea and shaped like a bay which is surrounded by

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

s. This temple occupies an area of approximately 4000 square meters with Bali-style building design combined with Javanese culture. Freddy H. Istanto, the Dean of the Faculty of Technology and Design of

Ciputra Ciputra or Tjiputra (born Tjie Tjin Hoan, ; 24 August 1931 – 27 November 2019) was an Indonesian businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He founded Ciputra Group, one of Indonesia's largest real estate companies, with three subsidiaries, inc ...

University, said that the worship complex of Sanggar Agung is very interesting to be studied because its exterior design has unique multi-cultural charges. The roof of Sanggar Agung uses a strong blend of Javanese style despite the general character of the building is Balinese style. According to him, there is an impression that Sanggar Agung is deliberately brought the image of Indonesian traditional buildings so as not to get stuck with the common style of

or Buddhist Vihara, moreover the architecture style of traditional Chinese. Nevertheless, the tradition of Chinese temple still visible at Sanggar Agung, the example is the round holes in the wall. Mr. Istanto stressed that Sanggar Agung can be regarded as "the representation of psychological and cultural harmony conditions of indigenous communities with Tri Dharma peoples".

Giant Guan Yin statue

Guan She Yin statue of Sanggar Agung Temple, Surabaya-Indonesia

Officially, Sanggar Agung claims that the

statue that just stand on the east side of the temple has a height of 18 meters. It is accompanied with 2 bodyguards Shan Nan and Tong Nu and the Four God Kings who guards the 4 corners of the world. A heaven gate under Guan Yin's feet is guarded by a pair of Heavenly Dragons. Most sources claims that the height of

statue at Sanggar Agung is about 20 meters, while the length of dragon statues each 6 meters. One can see

Suramadu Bridge The Suramadu Bridge ( id, Jembatan Suramadu), also known as the ''Surabaya–Madura Bridge'', is a cable-stayed bridge between Surabaya on the island of Java and the town of Bangkalan on the island of Madura in Indonesia. Opened in June 2009, t ...

just North East from this ocean gate, and

Madura Island Madura Island is an Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java. The island comprises an area of approximately (administratively 5,379.33 km2 including various smaller islands to the east, southeast and north that are administrati ...

on the horizon.

Phra Phrom Stupa

The giant

statue is located on an area across the street from the main building of Sanggar Agung Temple. It is located in the backyard of Sanggar Agung, because the front side of the temple is overlooking the sea. Phra Phrom or ''She Mien Fo'' in

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

(lit. ''Four Face Buddha'') is commonly called ''Maha Brahma'' by Indonesian people. This statue is registered by MURI (''Museum Rekor Indonesia'') or the Museum of Indonesian Records as the biggest Four Face Buddha statue in Indonesia. Construction of

Stupa began in July 2003 and was inaugurated on November 9, 2004. The inauguration was attended by some important persons, included some prelates like ''Viriyanadi Mahatera'' from Buddhayana Indonesia, ''Phrarajkhru Sivacharaya'' from Thailand, and ''Gede Anom Jala Karana Manuaba'' of

Indonesian Hinduism Hinduism in Indonesia, as of the 2018 census, is practised by about 1.74% of the total population, and almost 87% of the population in Bali. Hinduism is one of the six official religions of Indonesia. Hinduism came to Indonesia in the 1st-cent ...

. The land size is about 1.5 acres, while the main stupa building in the centre is 81 square meters. The construction of the stupa mostly used number nine, for it has its own meaning and to adjust the reference from the similar statue in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. The Maha Brahma Stupa is surrounded by park with trees and four white elephant statues of four meters high in every corner of its yard. The roof of the stupa is supported by four pillars of golden green color. In general, the stupa of Maha Brahma is divided into 3 parts: the stupa or the roof, Maha Brahma statue, and the throne. The height of the stupa is 18 meters, while the Maha Brahma statue and the throne are 9 meters each. The statue is full covered with 22 karat ''kampoh'' ("gold paper") imported from

amounting to 1.5 billion rupiahs. Although this monument is the biggest in Indonesia, '' Four-Faced Buddha'' statue in

is still the biggest in the world. Totally, the height of this Maha Brahma statue, from the throne to the roof, is 36 meters.

Social function

Place of worship

Sanggar Agung Temple is a place of worship for Tridharma followers, i.e. the Confucianists,

Buddhists 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 gra ...

(

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...

), and

Taoists Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...

.Miftah Faridl. Editor: Rudy Hartono. January 21st, 2013. Access= April 14th, 2013
Sanggar Agung Rumah Berbagai Umat
Because Sanggar Agung is located on the sea front, this temple also become a favorite place for

Chinese people The Chinese people or simply Chinese, are people or ethnic groups identified with China, usually through ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, or other affiliation. Chinese people are known as Zhongguoren () or as Huaren () by speakers of s ...

pray Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified an ...

for their

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

family members. Even though Sanggar Agung is a place of worship for the Tridharma religion, many of its employees and trustees are came from any other religions such as

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

and

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. The one who saw

walked over the sea at night is a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

Tourist destination

The visitor of Sanggar Agung Temple are come from many religious background, especially people who want to see its icons or photographers and travelers. This temple is becoming the main attraction of Pantai Ria, Kenjeran Amusement Park of

. As an iconic temple, on September 21, 2010, Sanggar Agung held Full Moon Festival (

Zhongqiujie The Mid-Autumn Festival (Chinese: / ), also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated in Chinese culture. Similar holidays are celebrated in Japan (), Korea (), Vietnam (), and other countries in Ea ...

) and invited many artist groups from other cities and other islands such as

Minahasa The Minahasans (alternative spelling: Minahassa) are an ethnic group native to the North Sulawesi province of Indonesia, formerly known as North Celebes. The Minahasa people sometimes refer to themselves as Manado people. Although the Minahasan p ...

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

Solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

Ponorogo Ponorogo Regency ( id, Kabupaten Ponorogo; jv, ꦑꦧꦸꦥꦠꦺꦤ꧀ꦦꦤꦫꦒ, translit=Kabupatèn Pånårågå) is a regency (''kabupaten'') of East Java, Indonesia. It is considered the birthplace of Reog Ponorogo, a traditional Indone ...

, and so on. The drum band groups from

Muhammadiyah Muhammadiyah ( ar, محمدية; 'followers of Muhammad'); also known as the Muhammadiyah Society ( id, Persyarikatan Muhammadiyah) is a major Islamic non-governmental organization in Indonesia.A. Jalil HamidTackle the rising cost of living longer ...

School and AAL were also enliven the festival.

Natural conservation efforts

Sanggar Agung Temple surrounded by mangrove, Surabaya-Indonesia

The

surround the temple is a natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

for many wild life, such as

stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons an ...

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

, sparrow, and

mudskipper Mudskippers are any of the 23 extant species of amphibious fish from the subfamily Oxudercinae of the goby family Oxudercidae. They are known for their unusual body shapes, preferences for semiaquatic habitats, limited terrestrial locomotion and ...

. As such, the temple has come under conservation efforts for these fauna.

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 ...

practitioners will often perform the ''fangshen'' ritual, a rite in which these animals are released into this habitat.

Record of MURI

The Museum of Indonesian Records (MURI) was awarded several times for the activities held at Sanggar Agung. In September 2002, the award was given to ''Soetiadji Yudho'' for holding the festival of 2000 lampion. In November 9, 2004, Sanggar Agung received an award from MURI for the largest Maha Brahma (

) statue in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. In 2007, Bintang Toedjoe, Inc. held a convoy of 108

barongsai F Lion dance () is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture and other Asian countries in which performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume to bring good luck and fortune. The lion dance is usually performed during the Chinese New Y ...

from ''Kya Kya'' (old Chinese Town of Surabaya) to Sanggar Agung, Kenjeran. This was recorded as ''the longest Barongsai convoy'' by MURI and recorded by Jawa Pos Media Televisi, Inc.MURI. 11 October 2008. Access= April 15th, 2013
Konvoi Kepala Barongsai Terbanyak

List of altars

Ganesha statue at Sanggar Agung Temple, Surabaya-Indonesia

Altars inside the temple

The numbering of the altars is based on the order of praying at Sanggar Agung, starts from the front side of the temple which is overlooking the sea. :0. Dragon God (originally only an ornament, but devotees also pray to the deity) #

Tian ''Tiān'' () is one of the oldest Chinese terms for heaven and a key concept in Chinese mythology, Chinese philosophy, philosophy, and Chinese folk religion, religion. During the Shang dynasty (17th―11th century BCE), the Chinese referred to ...

Mahayana Buddhism ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...

Pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone St ...

Sakyamuni 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 ...

Bhaisajyaguru Bhaiṣajyaguru ( sa, भैषज्यगुरु, zh, t= , ja, 薬師仏, ko, 약사불, bo, སངས་རྒྱས་སྨན་བླ), or ''Bhaishajyaguru'', formally Bhaiṣajya-guru-vaiḍūrya-prabhā-rāja ("Medicine Master ...

, Amitabha, ( Nan Hai Guan Shi Yin Pu Sa, Ksitigarbha,

Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit: ) or Metteyya (Pali: ), also Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha, is regarded as the future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. As the 5th and final Buddha of the current kalpa, Maitreya's teachings will be aimed at ...

), and 18

Arhats In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...

Theravada Buddhism ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

Altar:

Gautama Buddha 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 ...

# Tai Shang Lao Jun # Tian Shang Sheng Mu # Xuan Tian Shang Di # Guan Sheng Di Jun # Fu De Zheng Shen # Cai Shen Ye &

Ba Xian The Eight Immortals () are a group of legendary '' xian'' ("immortals") in Chinese mythology. Each immortal's power can be transferred to a vessel () that can bestow life or destroy evil. Together, these eight vessels are called the "Covert Eight ...

Kong Fuzi Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Co ...

Altars on Phra Phrom yard

Ganesha Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu d ...

#Front side of

#Right side of

#Back side of

#Left side of

References

{{reflist

External links

Foto's van de tempelHighest Se Mien Fo - Face Buddha Statue in Indonesia
the photographs of giant Phra Phrom statue
Sanggar Agung, Tri Darma Temple Surabaya
YouTube by Eastjava Temples in Indonesia Religious buildings and structures completed in 1999 Buildings and structures in Surabaya Buildings and structures in East Java Surabaya East Java 1999 establishments in Indonesia