Effective Public CommunicationFinal project – Individual

Foundation In Nature and Built Environment (2015 March Intake)

Name : Lee Fei Syen

Student ID : 0323008

Topic : Religious Building

Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery 光明三普觉禅寺 Located along Bright Hill Road, Singapore

Opposite Kallang River

75,470 sq. metres

KMSPKS is the largest monastery in Singapore.

Cost : Over SGD50 millions

Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery 光明三普觉禅寺 It was meant to be a place for practice, to propagate the Dharma.

To provide lodging for monks, as many who came to Singapore did not have lodging at that time. (early 20th century)

Historical Background

Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery (KMSPKS) is the largest Mahayana Buddhist temple in Singapore.

Was founded in 1921 by Venerable Sik Zhuan Dao as the Phor Kark See Temple.

It was built in the midst of a rubber plantation situated at Kong Meng San, thus came the name of Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery (KMSPKS)

First traditional Chinese forest monastery in Singapore.

This 1960s photo shows a stupa, probably at Bright Hill Temple, also known as Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery.

Historical Background(Timeline)

1920 : Phor Kark See Monastery was founded by Venerable Zhuan Dao.1943 : Venerable Zhuan Dao passes away at 72.1947 : Venerable Seck Hong Choon becomes the new Chief Abbot.1980 : Work begins on the Evergreen Bright Hill Home.November 1986 : Piling works for the Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas begin.25 December 1990 : Venerable Seck Hong Choon passes away.1991 : Venerable Yen Pei appointed as Chief Abbot.December 1993 : Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas is completed.27 March 1994 : Opening ceremony for the Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas is held.15 January 2002 : Compassion Fund with higher income ceiling is announced.5 June 2004: Venerable Kwang Sheng takes on the role of Chief Abbot.13 September 2006 : Buddhist College of Singapore is opened.October 2007 : Temple is one of seven religious groups ordered by the Commissioner of Charities to open their books to auditors.21 June 2008 : Temple raised over $1 million for the victims of the May 12 Sichuan earthquake.April 2009 : ‘Gum’, an English-language magazine, is launched.September 2009 : “Little Note”, a Mandarin short film, premieres, the result of a collaboration between the temple and Chuan Pictures, a new production house set up by filmmaker Royston Tan.

Structure & Layout

Southern Chinese style of architecture

An interesting and unique combination of Chinese art aesthetics, and Southeast Asian architectural styles.

Structure & Layout

Prayer halls

Crematoriums and columbariums

Library

Outdoor statue of Buddhist deity Guanyin Bodhisattva

Bell and drum towers

Four-storey Venerable Hong Choon Memorial Hall with an exterior that resembles a ship

Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas

Integrates the various aspects of Mahayana and Theravada building architecture

Five-storeys high and has a bell-shaped stupa that is covered with gold-coloured mosaic tiles on

A large Medicine Buddha on the second level, and 9,999 small Buddha images on the inner circumference of the building’s main stupa.

Venerable Hong Choon Memorial Hall Four-storeys

1st floor : houses offices

2nd floor : kitchen and the dining hall

3rd floor : meditation hall

4th floor : Hall of No Form

Hall of No Form

Giant Buddha that stands at 13.8 metres from the lotus base

The hall, which measures 3,290 square metres can accommodate up to 2,000 persons.

Hall of No Form

Despite its size, there are absolutely no inner pillars in the hall

The Giant Buddha statue is made of bronze and weighs a hefty 55 tons.

Ornamentation & Decorations

Loong (Dragon) Fish Pond

Ornamentation & Decorations

Guan Yin statue Gautam Buddha Thousand Arm Avalokitesvara

Ornamentation & Decorations

Buddhist Monk statue Incense Burner Wall Art

Material Used

Wood Metal

Material Used

Tiles Stone

Material Used

Marble

Human activities

Prayers Fortune Telling

Human activities

School of Buddhism

School of Buddhism

– The Teachings realised by the Buddha are called the Dharma, literally meaning “the truth nature of all things”.

– The basic teachings of Buddhism are the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, Dependent Origination and the Three Characteristics of Existence.

– The two major schools are Theravada and Mahayana

Human activities

Donation Traditional Events

Human activities

Volunteer Alms Offering

References & Citations

http://www.kmspks.org/

http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1643_2010-02-10.html