Kuan Yin
THE GODDESS OF MERCY
If you have visited the
Pagoda and the Main Prayer Hall of the Kek Lok Si, then you must go back
to the souvenir stands and turn right for a visit to the bronze the
statue of the Kuan Yin (Goddess of Mercy).
Now you will come to the "inclined lift". It's more a kind of
cable car. They are building a second right beside the first one. For a
one way ticket you'll pay RM2.- and for a return ticket RM4.-
 |
You could walk up the hill, but the best way is to do, is to take
the "Inclined Lift".
A signboard tells us, that the fare (RM4.-) is a contribution
towards the temple maintenance and development fund.
The "incline lift" is air conditioned and you have press the buttons
for going "up" or "down" by yourself.
When your have arrived upstairs,
you'll see several building, where they are still working on.
They are still working on this project, because they want to give
the "Goddess of Mercy" a roof above her head with many yellow roof
tiles.
The complex exits of:
1."Greatly Compassionate & Sagely Kuan Yin
Bodhisattva" (the bronze statue),
2. the Guan Tong Great Hall,
3. the Arhat Hall,
4. hostel blocks for residents of Dhamma
assemblies |
Kuan Yin, the Buddhist
Goddess of Mercy, is a fixture of the Chinese Buddhist tradition. There
are two stories to tell about her:
|
1. |
The story suggest that the most
commonly recognized Buddha, Sidhartha Gauthama, transformed himself
into the female form of Kuan Yin. |
|
2. |
According to the Chinese legend, she forgo her privilege to enter
eternal bliss after having attained Nirvana and chose instead to
stay back and help lost souls in the world of suffering. Her
sacrifice was worshipped to this very day... |
The bronze statue is 30,2
meter tall. The statue was ready in 1999, when I visited the complex for
the first time. It's open to the public since 2002. The statue
stands all day long in the burning sun, and if it ours, the rain will
drop heavily on her. So they made a proposition to build a roof above
her head. To finance this roof you can donate a roof tile. If you donate
one roof tile they will paint your name on it. The prices of the roof
tile are: RM30 - RM200 You can donate the down at the souvenir
stand at the Kek Lok Si.
Your name will be written in Chinese.
Nowadays the statue is bronze. some years ago they had another statue of Kuan Yin,
but it feel down many times, when there was a heavy storm. You can see a
part of the old above the building, where you arrived with the "inclined
lift".
The old Statue of Kuan Yin.
Before the temple are two
ugly figures, who are looking to Georgetown. They are the guards. When
you have a close look at the temple you'll see all kind of beautiful
ornament.
These ornaments were not made in Malaysia. They are coming from China.
They were shipped in wooden boxes. I have seen this the first time and
admired thecraftmanship.
