Kek Lok Si

The Kek Lok Temple ( Hokkien: Kek Lok Si, code :极乐寺, traditional characters :极乐寺) is a Chinese Buddhist place of worship in Air Itam, a suburb of Georgetown on Penang Island. He is one of the largest temple of its kind in Southeast Asia and is considered the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia. His name can be translated as " Temple of Supreme Bliss ".

Both architecture and the activities of the faithful the same time free with Daoist rituals and divination a fusion of Buddhist beliefs.

History

The construction of the temple began in 1890, he was consecrated after more than twenty years of construction. In 1930, the Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas was completed, which remained the defining structure of the plant over several decades. Extensive donations, particularly from the entrepreneurially successful Chinese population of Malaysia, however, allowed for a further expansion of the system, which is even to this day is not complete.

In this sense, the Kek Lok Si is a temple, whose construction is still going on. In 2002, a 30 -meter-high bronze statue was inaugurated, the long-term characterizes the appearance of the temple, together with the pagoda. From 2005 to 2009, a pavilion was built to protect the statue. The complex design rests on 16 decorated with reliefs so-called dragon pillars and consists of three concentric octagonal roofs. The festive inauguration of the new building took place on 6 December 2009.

The Kek Lok Si today

In general, the visitor approaches the temple by elongated corridors that provide numerous shops ( often with a very worldly offer) space. It happens in the process is also a so-called Liberation Pond, a pond where turtles in a (albeit bounded ) Freedom were released in order to supplement your own karma.

Here are several great devotion halls which serve to worship Buddha, Bodhisattvas and popular Chinese deities. In addition to the partially gilded statues, there are bas-reliefs, strings of paper lanterns and elaborate wooden structures that are decorated with pictures and abstract paintings.

The Pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas is a seven-storey, 30 m high building, combines the architectural styles of various Buddhist countries in itself: the base is regarded as Chinese, the central building of the Thai and borrowed the top of the Burmese architecture.

An elevator takes visitors for a small fee to a raised platform where there is a pond with several koi fish and finally the statue of Kuan Yin. This can be interpreted as the goddess of mercy, but also as a bodhisattva of compassion.

Special celebrations

The temple is the center of many celebrations of the Chinese population in Penang. Particularly impressive are the celebration of the Chinese New Year: for a period of 30 days remains the temple until late in the evening opened and is thereby transformed from thousands of lamps in a unique sea of ​​lights.

Swell

• Lonely Planet Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei. 9th Edition. January 2004, ISBN 1 - 74059-357 -X.
• Http://www.virtualmalaysia.com/destination/kek % 20lok % 20Si % 20temple.html
• Http://www.asiaexplorers.com/malaysia/kekloksi_temple.htm