洞 , image = The temple entrance.png , caption = Entrance to the temple , location =

Ipoh Ipoh (, ) is the capital city of the Malaysian States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Perak. Located on the Kinta River, it is nearly north of Kuala Lumpur and southeast of George Town, Penang, George Town in neighbouring Penang ...

, coordinates = , religious_affiliation =

Buddhism 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 ...

, district = , state =

Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...

, country =

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, established = 1950 , architecture_type =

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

The Sam Poh Tong Temple ( zh, 三寶洞 'three treasures cave') (also known as the Three Buddhas Cave) is a

built within a

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

cave and is the oldest and the main cave temple in

. The temple was built in a raw limestone cave in the mountains located about 5 km from the city centre and follows

Mahāyāna Buddhism Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism, the others being Thera ...

History

The cave which now became the temple gateway was founded by a

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in 1890 who walked through the area from Ipoh. The monk then decided to make the cave his home and a place for meditation where he remained until the end of his life. This was then continued by other monks and nuns. A temple was then constructed in the 1950s. In Malaysia's Sam Poh Cave, a striking collection of multicultural cave paintings has been discovered, reflecting the history of the three major

ethnic groups An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, rel ...

. Located in the state of Perak, Sam Poh Cave is a Buddhist temple and a historically significant site. Within the cave, various rock paintings have been found, depicting images from different cultural and religious backgrounds. These paintings illustrate elements of

Taoism Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...

, and

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

, showcasing the exchange and fusion of diverse cultures and religions in this location. Specifically, some rock paintings depict deities from Hinduism, such as

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

and

Parvati Parvati (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, pɑɾʋət̪iː/), also known as Uma (, , IPA: Sanskrit phonology, /ʊmɑː/) and Gauri (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, gə͡ʊɾiː/), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the Devi, ...

. This suggests that in ancient times, Malaysia's

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

community engaged in cultural and religious exchanges with other ethnic and religious groups. This intriguing discovery emphasizes that the cave paintings at Sam Poh Cave serve as a site reflecting the history of

multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...

. It proves that in this region, there exists a

historical narrative Narrative history is the practice of writing history in a story-based form. It tends to entail history-writing based on reconstructing series of short-term events, and ever since the influential work of Leopold von Ranke on professionalising hist ...

of interaction and coexistence among different ethnicities and religious communities.

Features

From a steep climb of 246 steps to the cave opening, visitors can view the city of Ipoh and its surroundings. It is the largest cave temple in Malaysia and contains art work such as a

reclining Buddha A reclining Buddha is an image that represents Buddha lying down and is a major iconographic theme in Buddhist art. It represents the historical Buddha during his last illness, about to enter the parinirvana. He is lying on his right side, his h ...

figure. The temple also offers visitors the opportunity to feed fish and feed or release turtles into its turtle pond as a means of balancing one's

karma Karma (, from , ; ) is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called ...

. File:KITLV - 79990 - Kleingrothe, C.J. - Medan - Chinese temples in Ipoh, Malaysia - circa 1910.tif, The temple in 1910, photograph taken by Charles J. Kleingrothe. File:Sam Poh Tong Temple,Ipoh.jpg,

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 legends, he was ...

statue. File:In the cave temple 1.png,

Chinese dragon The Chinese dragon or loong is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture generally. Chinese dragons have many animal-like forms, such as Bixi (mythology), turtles and Chiwen, fish, but are most commonly ...

inside the cave temple File:Sleeping Buddha outside the temple.png,

Reclining Buddha A reclining Buddha is an image that represents Buddha lying down and is a major iconographic theme in Buddhist art. It represents the historical Buddha during his last illness, about to enter the parinirvana. He is lying on his right side, his h ...

outside the temple compound. File:SAM POH TONG LOKE 399.jpg, The temple garden. File:Sam Poh Temple 5.jpg, The temple wall.

References

External links

* {{Malaysian historical architectures and sites Religious buildings and structures completed in 1950 Chinese-Malaysian culture Buddhist temples in Malaysia Buildings and structures in Ipoh Religious buildings and structures in Perak Tourist attractions in Perak Limestone caves 20th-century Buddhist temples 20th-century architecture in Malaysia