Trip To Poh Ern Shih

In the afternoon, I went down to the Poh Ern Shih (The Temple Of Thanksgiving) with my friend Huang Nam to check out the Vesak Day celebration there. Poh Ern Shih is one of the few temples in Singapore that are dedicated to Dizang Bodhisattva. And even though it first started out as a Chinese Mahayana temple, it recently began sharing facilities with the Buddhist Fellowship, which seems to have a broadly Theravada outlook. The ability of two vastly different groups to peacefully co-exist in the same building illustrates the tolerant spirit of Buddhism.

We had a tasty vegetarian lunch in the temple's canteen and made a brief attendance at a talk given by a monk invited by the Buddhist Fellowship. I think I might want to visit the temple again someday. Apart from offering talks and activities that are relevant to English speaking professionals like myself, the temple also retains a traditional Chinese Mahayana flavour, which I like. So it offers one the best of both worlds!