Live to Love

For the first month of 2010, we have chosen the activity of heritage preservation and environment protection. We chose to help Poh Ern Shih temple with the pre-Chinese New Year spring cleaning. In Sep 09, it was at this temple that H.E. Khamtrul Rinpoche conducted his first teaching in Singapore that was open to public. It was also then that His Holiness gave instructions for the formation of Drukpa Singapore.

Poh Ern Shih was built out of compassion, right after the Second World War. It is located near to Kent Ridge hill, the site where the second Malay regiment made their last sacrificial stand against the Japanese soldiers during WW II . In the fierce battle, the entire regiment as well as many Malay and Chinese villagers were killed. This temple was built to by Lee Choon Seng, the first Chairman of OCBC Bank, to create positive energy for the benefit of all, including those that had suffered greatly in the war. It is thus a symbol of compassion and love and a reminder of the horrors of war.

Today, the temple has been rebuilt by the current President Mr Lee Boon Siong, the grandson of the founder. In addition to its significance as a precious reminder of peace, the temple has many old age and environmentally-friendly features (solar panels, airy architecture to avoid use of air conditioners, and natural light features) to encourage us to love our environment. On the temple grounds there remains a concrete piece of history – a gun base on which the British cannons were secured.

Because of the size of the temple, we only help to clean a part of the temple in the afternoon. We hope that through our effort we have played a small part in heritage preservation for future Singaporeans. We have attached two photos, a group photo of the volunteers and a photo of the temple taken by Khamtrul Rinpoche’s attendant in Sep 09.