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

Malacca City Malacca City ( or ') is the List of capitals in Malaysia, capital city of the Malaysian state of Malacca, in Melaka Tengah District. It is List of cities by time of continuous habitation, the oldest Malaysian city on the Straits of Malacca, hav ...

, 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 =

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

, 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 = 1985 , 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� ...

Xiang Lin Si Temple () is a

located opposite of Cheng Hoon Teng Temple in Jalan Tokong,

. This double-storey temple follows the

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 ...

branch of

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 temple is named after 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 ...

, started as a ''

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

''-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 curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

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), is a bodhisattva who is regarded as the future Buddhahood, Buddha of this world in all schools of Buddhism, prophesied to become Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha.Williams, Paul. ''Mahayana Buddhism: Th ...

) 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 śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

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

Goddess of Mercy 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 ...

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

Pāli Canon The Pāḷi Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism, Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant Early Buddhist texts, early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from t ...

, 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