Multi-religious temple to open in Sengkang West next month
The non-profit voluntary welfare organisation (VWO) Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society will be operating a temple with a multi-religious focus in Sengkang West.
Set to open to the public on May 20, the new temple will house a library with books on various religions and host talks and dialogues involving different religious leaders and groups, said the society's chairman, Mr Lee Kim Siang, yesterday.
The Thye Hua Kwan temple sits on a 2,000 sq m plot in Fernvale Link, near several Housing Board Build-To-Order blocks.
The charitable group operates more than 90 centres and services, which include the Ang Mo Kio-Thye Hua Kwan Hospital and welfare homes.
The new temple in Sengkang has four storeys and a basement carpark, Mr Lee said on the sidelines of the VWO's charity event.
It will also house Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian deities for worship, as well as lecture halls where multi-religious dialogues will be held to promote inter-racial and inter-religious understanding.
"Our teachings have always been multi-religious... We should walk the talk," said Mr Lee.
"To have a religion doesn't mean you cannot have a wide world view."
He added that people of various faiths may use pews in the temple, where there will be digital tablets displaying different religious texts.
It will have a "hall of filial piety" as well, for ancestral tablets usually inscribed with names of the dead.
Those applying for the ancestral tablets will be encouraged to provide a video remembering the life of the deceased. The aim, he said, is for people to have a space where they can look back on the stories of their loved ones.
Yesterday, the VWO launched its 14th Charity Buddha donation drive at Waterloo Street.
The event was officiated by Education Minister Ong Ye Kung.
Among other things, proceeds will be used by the society to provide free food and medical services to the needy through its meal centres and free clinics.
The VWO said it raises about $200,000 a year through its annual donation drive.
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