Showing posts with label Malaysia : Penang. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Malaysia : Penang. Show all posts

Monday, August 18, 2025

Malaysia - Penang - Kek Lok Si Temple


Georgetown's Kek Lok Si consists of temples, pagodas, monasteries, prayer halls, and stunning landscaped gardens.

Sent by Angie from Penang.

The Kek Lok Si Temple (simplified Chinese: 极乐寺; traditional Chinese: 極樂寺; pinyin: jílè sì) is a Buddhist temple in George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. Located at Ayer Itam, it is the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia and an important pilgrimage centre for Buddhists from Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore and other parts of Southeast Asia. The entire complex of temples was built over a period from 1890 to 1930, an inspirational initiative of Beow Lean, the abbot. The main feature of the complex is the seven-story Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda commissioned by the late Thai king Rama VI, featuring 10,000 alabaster and bronze statues of Buddha and the 36.57-metre-tall (120 ft) bronze statue of Guanyin (Kuan Yin), the Goddess of Mercy. The 10,000 Buddhas concept belongs to the Chinese Mahāyāna school of Buddhism while Rama VI was king over a Theravāda country and Buddhist tradition.

Mahayana Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism, and traditional Chinese rituals blend into a harmonious whole, both in the temple architecture and artwork as well as in the daily activities of worshippers.

Kek Lok Si means "Sukhāvatī temple". In Hokkien (a southern Chinese language), kek-lok literally means "supreme joy", itself a translation of the Sanskrit Sukhāvatī, a Pure Land. si means "temple".

Kek Lok Si has also been translated as "heavenly temple", "Pure Land Temple", "temple of supreme bliss", and "temple of paradise" (read more).


Thursday, April 4, 2013

Malaysia - Penang - George Town Street Art



Clockwise from top :
1. Narrowest Five Foot Way Sculpture, Stewart Lane.
2. Ting Ting Thong Sculpture,Sek Chuan Lane.
3. Tok Tok Mee Sculpture, China Street.
4. One Leg Kicks All Sculpture, Muntri Street

The murals were created by Ernest Zacharevic for the George Town Festival 2012.
The iron sculptures were commissioned by the Municipal Council of Penang Island (MPPP), GTWHI and the state government and placed around the heritage areas to depict the street history of George Town.

Sent by SL Liew from Penang, Malaysia.