zh, 香林寺 , image = Melaka C - Xiang Lin Si temple 2016.jpg , caption = , location =

Malacca City Malacca City ( ms, Bandaraya Melaka or ') is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Malacca. As of 2019 it has a population of 579,000.https://www.dosm.gov.my/v1/uploads/files/6_Newsletter/Newsletter%202020/DOSM_DOSM_MELAKA_1_2020_Siri-81. ...

, coordinates = , religious_affiliation =

Buddhism 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 ...

, district = , state =

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...

, country =

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, established = 1985 , architecture_type =

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� ...

Xiang Lin Si Temple () is a

located opposite of

Cheng Hoon Teng Temple The Cheng Hoon Teng Temple () (also called as the Temple of Green Cloud) is a Chinese temple practising the Three Doctrinal Systems of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism located at No. 25 Jalan Tokong, Malacca City, Malaysia. It is the oldest f ...

in Jalan Tokong,

. This double-storey temple follows the

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 ...

branch of

Mahāyāna 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 ...

History

The temple is named after a

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, started as a ''

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

''-style wooden house in 1958 before being rebuilt in a modern architecture as a double-storey brick building in 1985.

Features

The two-storey temple has a three

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...

doorways on each level. In the first doorway which is the Buddha Hall, there is a small smiling statue of Mi-lo Fwo (

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 ...

) in a short altar facing the door. The Eighteen Luohan are lined up on both sides of the Buddha Hall, nine on each side, leading to a smaller statue of

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 ...

in the centre. Behind the Buddha statues is the statue of

Goddess of Mercy 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 ...

(Guan Yin). The temple also kept a complete collection of the

Pāli Canon The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school. During th ...

, a religious scripture of Buddhism. The second floor of the temple is a convenient spot for capturing scenic photos of its neighbouring temple of Cheng Hoon Teng and the rest of the "Harmony Street" because of its proximity to the Kampung Kling Mosque and Sri Poyatha Moorthi Temple, which symbolises religious tolerance existed long before the founding of the modern state of Malaysia. File:Complete Buddhist scripture in Malacca.jpg, Complete set of

found in the temple. File:Photo of Harmony Street taken on Buddhist temple.jpg, Photo of Harmony Street taken from the second floor of the temple.

References

External links

* {{Buddhist temples in Malaysia Religious buildings and structures completed in 1985 Chinese-Malaysian culture Buddhist temples in Malaysia Buildings and structures in Malacca City Tourist attractions in Malacca 20th-century Buddhist temples 1985 establishments in Malaysia 20th-century architecture in Malaysia