on the day we visited the award winning temple at mohamed sultan road, we also visited another temple in the vicinity. its name does not suggest that it is a temple but the structure does. it is called the nanyang sacred union. i took photographs of this temple from across the road some two years ago when i was at hotdog, a place which provides dog grooming services. until then i had not stepped into this temple because the gate appears to be perpetually shut.
i know there are chinese temples started by the different dialect groups, especially the major ones, in singapore, like the hokkien, teochew, cantonese and hainanese but i did not know that the foochows also have a temple. although, we had intruded into the temple compound, we were not chased away. actually, the two persons around at that time extended a cordial welcome to us. we were told that we were free to move around and to take pictures.
i am quite surprised to find out that admission to this temple is exclusive to members. the only time, the door is open to members of the public is on the day they celebrate confucius' birthday which usually falls between late september and october. the main deities in this temple are confucius, lao tse and the goddess of mercy, kuan yin.
most temples in singapore welcome visitors because it is from them that they get the extra donations and revenue to maintain the place.
No comments:
Post a Comment