ARTICLE ON PING SIEN SI (TUA PEK KONG) TEMPLE IN PASIR PANJANG

Some of you might have remembered reading my post about my visit to the Tua Pek Kong Temple or Ping Sien si Temple in Pasir Panjang last month.  Well, I found a recent article in the Star newspaper on the temple a couple of days ago and am posting it here to share with you here.

Ping Sien Si Temple rich in culture

By EDMUND NGO
edmundngo@thestar.com.my 
Photos By RONNIE CHIN

THE light sea breeze along with the green natural mangrove forest nearby provides a calm and relaxing atmosphere as the setting for the 30-year-old Ping Sien Si Temple in Pasir Panjang, Manjung.

A place of worship for over 1,000 Buddhist devotees from all over Manjung, the temple houses some of the most intricate statues of deities.

Large stone statues of the eight main deities such as Kuan Yin (Goddess of Mercy) and Tua Pek Kong, which were handcrafted in China, are set facing the open sea with three stone ceremonial altars in front of them.

The temple originally accorded worship to Tua Pek Kong but it was said that one day in the 1980s, a small statue of Kuan Yin was washed ashore.

Drawing in the crowd: The magnificent view of Ping Sien Si temple comprising various stone figurines which drew a large crowd during the opening ceremony of the temple at Pasir Panjang, Sitiawan.

Seeing it as a sign that the deity had found favour with the temple, the temple decided to accord worship to Kuan Yin as well.

It was also around the same time that the temple moved away from its original location further inland to its current site into a larger and more beautiful premise.

Admiring the towering large stone statues, some even higher than a two-storey building, one can see the intricate workmanship by master craftsmen including a mural with dragon carvings on the stand beneath the statues.

Surrounding the eight deities are 24 life-sized stone statues symbolising filial piety - an important culture among the Chinese community.

Known as the 24 filial exemplars, the statues are illustrations for a well-known text written by a scholar during the Yuan dynasty, emphasising filial piety as expounded by Confucius.

The text is a compilation of 24 stories on filial piety by children towards their parents in ancient China.

Looking out for monkeys: The Monkey Garden at the Ping Sien Si temple.

One story tells of how a son strangled a tiger with his bare hands when the creature dragged his father into the forest.

Another speaks of how one son fan the pillows and bed during summer while warming the quilt by laying on it during winter so that his aged father can rest comfortably.

Some stories may seem far-fetched, like the son who wept at a bamboo grove and later bamboo shoots miraculously appeared so that he could prepare soup for his ill mother.

Yet, these tales provide an important reminder of honouring one’s elders.

Nearby, is the Monkey Garden, which is aptly named after the monkeys that inhabit the mangrove forest in the area and also in reference to Sun Wu Kong (Monkey King).

Huge: A Tua Pek Kung and other buddhist deities figurine at Ping Sien Si temple.

As visitors walk through the mangrove forest and enjoy the beautiful landscape, they are able to hear the mischievous monkeys playing in the forest.

Other attractions at the temple include statues of the 12 Chinese zodiac characters and statues of the 18 principal disciples of Shaolin.

The temple offers a valuable calm setting for Buddhist devotees to meditate on the cultural, historical and most importantly, spiritual education to become a better person.

The new additions and attractions of the temple got a befitting but simple official launching ceremony headed by Lumut MP Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha.

Kong, who is also Transport Minister, donated RM300,000 to the temple committee.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/8/25/metroperak/9357114&sec=metroperak