Foo Hai Ch'an Monastery (), is a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

monastery in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. The monastery was set up by Venerable Hong Zong of Taiwan and the current abbot is Venerable Shi Ming Yi. The present premises are located at Geylang East Avenue 2, Singapore.

History

Foo Hai Ch'an Monastery was founded in 1935 by

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

-born

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

-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 at

Novena A novena (from , "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 Pentecost, when the ...

. In September 1998, the hospital established its affiliate, Ren Ci Day Care Centre for the Elderly. In 1999, Foo Hai Ch'an Monastery took over the management of 270 beds in 11 single-storey wards which were formerly part of

Tan Tock Seng Hospital Tan Tock Seng Hospital (abbreviation: TTSH) is a tertiary referral hospital in Singapore, located in Novena. Named after Tan Tock Seng, the hospital has 45 clinical and allied health departments, 16 specialist centres and is powered by more ...

. It organised fund raising activities such as concerts given by

Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah ( zh, order=t,j, t=劉德華, j=Lau4 Dak1 Waa4; born Lau Fook-wing; 27 September 1961), is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He was named the "Fourth Tiger" among the Five Tiger Generals of TVB in the 1 ...

Liza Wang Elizabeth "Liza" Wang Ming-chun Gold Bauhinia Star, GBS Silver Bauhinia Star, SBS (born 28 August 1947), is a Hong Kong diva, actress and Master of Ceremonies, MC. She is a personality in Chinese-speaking communities. She has been nicknamed "The ...

Adam Cheng Adam Cheng Siu-chau (born 24 February 1947; formerly known as Cheng Chong-sai and Wong Ho-chung) is a Hong Kong Television Broadcasts Limited, TVB actor and Cantopop singer. Career Cheng started his career in the 1970s, where he gained a reput ...

Roman Tam Roman Tam Pak-sin (; 12 February 1945 – 18 October 2002), known professionally by his stage name Law Man (), was a Hong Kong singer. He is regarded as the "Grand Godfather of Cantopop". Career Born in Baise, Guangxi, China, with family ro ...

, and

Frances Yip Frances Yip Lai-yee (born 22 October 1947) is a Hong Kong singer. She is best known for performing many of the theme songs for television series produced by TVB in the 1980s and early 1990s. Biography Born on 22 October 1947, Yip is of Hakka ...

who performed for free. After its abbot Shi Ming Yi was released from prison, he resumed his abbotship at the monastery and instituted a system of checks evaluating requests for financial assistance. He was however no longer the temple's charity trustee and president.

Monastery

Built in

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

-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
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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 Dharmapala 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 common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...

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 is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...

, 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.

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, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. It comes from the cutting of

Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi '' Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi Tree is a Ficus religiosa, sacred bo tree (''Ficus religiosa'') in Mahamewuna Garden in the historical city of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. It is believed to be a tree grown from a cutting of the southern branch from the his ...

tree (planted at

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura (, ; , ) is a major city located in the north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central Province, Sri Lanka, North Central Province and the capital of Anuradhapura District. The city lies north of the cur ...

in 288 BC, by king

Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...

's eldest daughter

Sangamitta Saṅghamittā (Saṅghamitrā in Sanskrit, nun's name Ayapali; 282 BC – 203 BC) was an Indian Buddhist nun and believed to be the eldest daughter (Sri Lankan Tradition) of Emperor Ashoka (304 BC – 232 BC) from his first wife Queen Devi ( ...

) after taking a sapling cutting from the original

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Bodhi Tree at

Bodh Gaya Bodh Gayā is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple complex, situated in the Gaya district in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Bihar. It is famous for being the place where Gautam ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

under which Buddha attained the

enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

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.

Incident

In 2007, the abbot, Shi Ming Yi, was investigated for misappropriating funds and giving false information. He was subsequently convicted in 2009 and imprisoned in 2010 after his appeal failed. 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