DIVINE SCENE AT FENG LAI TEMPLE 18TH MAY 2019
The Eight Immortals with the Buddha looking on
"Feng Lai" is a Taoist term with the connation of "the mystical" or "the divine". At the pivillion of the temple are the Chinese words "Feng Lai Xian Jing" which means "The Divine Scenes of the Feng Lai Temple".
Indeed, the scenes are divine. Not only there are Taoist deities, but also there are Buddhist divinites. The Chinese are spiritual, but not religious. They believe in spiritual matters but do not rigidly classify religions. It is commonly known that a typical Chinese can be a Buddhiust, Taoist and Confucian at the same time.
There was a nine-tier pagoda. In Chinese numerology, nice symbolizes eternity. There were some divine creatures -- three elephants, a camel, a golila and a horse.
There were many halls of worship, like one dedicated to "Ju Lai Fo" or the Eternal Buddha. Up some stairs was a big squre where many tourists gathered, with a huge statue of Guan Yin Bodh Satt, or the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion, looking over them.
There was a special hall for the donor of the temple, Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong. "Tan Sri" is a very high ranking title, bestowed by the Agong or King of Malaysia.
There were also the 18 Lohans. "Lohan" is the Chinese word for the Sanskrit "Arahan", who was a direct disciple of the Buddha of our era. Nearby was Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, or "Ti Zang Wang Bodh Satt" in Chinese. This Bodhisattva is really great; he volunteered to enter hell to help beings in hell.
There were flying birds and fairies. There was also a Taoist Goddess in a charlot. There there were the Three Gods of Luck, Posperity and Longevity.
The Monkey God was placed in a prominent position. Behind him was Flower-Fruit Mountain with a beautiful waterfall, where he led countless monkeys.
Wong Kiew Kit
7th June 2019, Sungai Petani
The Monkey God
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