Seng Guan Ssu () is a prominent Buddhist edifice on Narra Street, near Divisoria, in
Tondo,
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. It contains a
stupa, a huge repository for urns of human ashes, several meditation rooms, and various shrines. It is a major cultural center for the
Chinese Filipino
Chinese Filipinos; tl, Tsinoy, / Tsinong Pilipino, ; Hokkien in the Philippines, Philippine Hokkien , Mandarin Chinese in the Philippines, Mandarin (also known as Filipino Chinese in the Philippines) are Filipinos of Chinese descent, mo ...
community. It is a
Chan Buddhist
Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning "meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and So ...
temple built by the father of Buddhism in the Philippines, Master Xing Yuan from the
South Putuo Temple
South Putuo or Nanputuo () is a famous Buddhist temple founded in the Tang dynasty in the Chinese city of Xiamen. It is so named because it is south of the Buddhist holy site Mount Putuo in Zhejiang Province.
Location
The South Putuo Temple i ...
in
Xiamen
Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an ...
, Fujian Province.
Seng Guan Ssu was established by Wu Jianglu, Wang Zhenwen, and members of their Chinese Buddhist Society in the Philippines. It is regarded as the first Buddhist temple in the Philippines, being the first temple with a resident monk, Venerable Seng Guan (1889-1962), after whom the temple was named. Seng Guan from Fu Kien (
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...
), China, was active in teaching and organizing work in Southern China, Manila, and
Rizal. His work laid the foundations for several institutions, including the Samantabhadra Institute in Santa Cruz, Manila, and the Hwa Chong Buddhist Temple complex in Tugatog,
Malabon
Malabon, officially the City of Malabon ( fil, Lungsod ng Malabon), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 380,522 people.
Located just nort ...
, Rizal (now Malabon,
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the seat of government and one of three defined metropolitan areas in ...
), where his ashes are enshrined in a stupa.
In 1960, the Seng Guan Ssu set up th
Philippine Academy of Sakya[Philippine Academy of Sakya / 菲律賓佛教能仁中學] Manila. Over the years, Seng Guan Ssu also conducted many charity works for the poor, orphans, elderly, refugees, and government welfare projects.
References
{{Manila attractions
Buddhist temples in Metro Manila
Buildings and structures in Tondo, Manila
Chinese-Filipino culture
20th-century Buddhist temples