Singapore Celebrates
Centennial of its Oldest Theravada Temple
BD Dipananda Buddhistdoor
Global | 2018-05-18 |
Wat Ananda Metyarama in
Singapore celebrated its 100th anniversary, on Sunday. The wat is
the oldest Theravada Buddhist temple in Singapore and the first
Thai temple established outside the Southeast Asian kingdom and
formally recognized by Thailand’s royal family.
“The temple is older than
[the Republic] of Singapore,” said the temple’s honorary secretary.
“So it is a big milestone for us to celebrate this occasion. I’m
very proud.”
The anniversary
celebrations began with a one-minute silent prayer led by
representatives from 10 religions from the Inter-Religious
Organization of Singapore. The ceremony was attended by some 1,500
participants, including Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong,
Indranee Rajah, minister to the prime minister’s office and second
minister for finance, education, and law, and 634 Buddhist monks
from Asia, Europe, and North America who had gathered in Singapore
for the anniversary celebration and a Buddhist
conference.
In a Facebook post, Prime
Minister Lee commented: “We may come from different faiths, but the
desire to help others and live in harmony with all Singaporeans is
the common belief that binds us together.” (The Straits
Times)
The temple was founded in
1918 by Venerable Luang Phor Hong Dhammaratano (Phra Dhammaratano
Bandi), and construction was completed in 1923. Since its founding,
the temple has undergone several renovations and new buildings have
been added. Most notably, the addition of a new five-story building
in 2014.
The new building houses the
temple’s cultural centre and shrine, and features a Dhamma hall, a
mediation hall, a conference room, s dining hall, a rest area, a
Sunday classroom, and monastic residences. The modern V-shaped
design of the building, designed by Czarl Architects, is intended
to appeal to younger followers, and has been shortlisted for
several architectural awards. To commemorate the centennial, the
temple also added a 100-year anniversary pavilion, which features a
rose quartz statue of the bodhisattva Guan Yin.
“When I started going to
the temple, it was a simple place surrounded by attap huts. It is
now very modern and impressive,” said Lim Keng Boon, who has spent
54 years volunteering and organising events for the temple. During
the centennial ceremony, Lim received an award for his service from
Prime Minister Lee. (The Straits Times)
In 1966, the temple started
a youth group named the Wat Ananda Youth (WAY), formerly known as
the Ananda Metyarama Buddhist Youth Circle, and the first
registered Buddhist youth circle in Singapore. WAY has undertaken
many initiatives with Singaporean youth for the propagation of
Theravada Buddhism. Some of the temple’s other regular activities
at the temple include a novice ordination program, Sunday Buddhist
classes for children, Thai language classes for children, and yoga
classes.
Asked whether the temple
had succeeded in reaching out to young Singaporeans, Lim noted that
the majority of the 200 volunteers were young, while he is the
eldest of the group.
Even during the anniversary
proceedings, the temple made an effort to help the youth in
Singapore. It donated S$100,000 (US$75,000) in scholarship funding
to 10 primary and secondary schools, and donated 20 wheelchairs to
Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital.
On Monday, Wat Ananda
Metyarama also celebrated the 90th birthday of the temple’s abbot,
Ven. Siddhivides.