Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Temple

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Sight Address : 88 Bright Hill Road, Singapore 574117, Singapore.Edit

Detail InformationEdit

The Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery (also the Bright Hill Pujue Ch’an Monastery) (simplified Chinese: 光明山普觉禅寺; traditional Chinese: 光明山普覺禪寺; pinyin: Guāngmíng Shān Pǔjué Chán Sì; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Kong-bîng-san-phóo-kak-sī), is located at 88 Bright Hill Road at Bishan. It is the largest Buddhist temple in Singapore.

Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Temple

HistoryEdit

In 1920, Venerable Zhuan Dao built the temple as a place of practice to propagate the Dharma and to provide lodging for monks, as there were many Buddhist monks who came to Singapore without lodging. In 1921, the building of Phor Kark See Monastery was the first traditional Chinese forest monastery in Singapore. Since Phor Kark See Monastery is situated at Kong Meng San (“Bright Hill”, formerly “Hai Nan Mountain”), it has come to be known as Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery. The Monastery grew steadily and Dharma propagation began in Singapore. In 1943, Venerable Zhuan Dao died at Putuo Monastery at the age of 72.In 1947, Venerable Hong Choon became the monastery’s abbot. With great perseverance, he progressively developed and expanded the monastery with his followers into the largest and most majestic place of practice in Singapore. Venerable Hong Choon also initiated the monthly Great Compassion Prayer and taught the Dharma to benefit many.In 1980, the temple began to build Evergreen Bright Hill Home with the donation of S$5.3 million from Venerable Hong Choon’s followers, He Hui Zhong’s family’s company. In 1994, the then President of Singapore, Ong Teng Cheong visited the Home and praised its cleanliness, good service and well-equipped facilities.Venerable Yan Pei took up abbotship in 1991, followed by Venerable Long Gen in 1994. The fifth Abbot of the Monastery was Venerable Sui Kim, the abbot of Xing Yuan Temple and Hwa Zhang Temple in the Philippines. On 5 June 2004, Venerable Kwang Sheng became the monastery’s abbot.Under Venerable Kwang Sheng’s leadership, the Dharma Propagation Division was set up for Singaporeans to learn Buddhism and practice the Dharma in relevant ways. One of its department, kmsYM, the Youth Ministry was set up 6 years ago to serve as a platform for Singaporean youths who want to know about Buddhism, learn Buddhism and serve the society via Buddhist teachings. Appreciating the universal truth that all phenomena are impermanent, unsatisfactory and lack of inherent reality, kmsYM youths are taught to live life with wisdom, compassion and courage.

Must SeeEdit

Must see

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Best Season to VisitEdit

June to July and November to December.

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How to ReachEdit

Taxi : Taxis are generally very hard to get during peak hours (Mon-Fri 7:00am – 9:30am and Mon-Sat 5:00pm – 8:00pm) and on rainy days. If you are at a hotel, have conceirge call you a taxi. If you are out about town and have access to a cell phone- calling for a taxi will cut your wait time by 20 to 30 minutes. All taxis are fitted with meters; all are air conditioned; the majority of the taxis are 5-seaters; about 90% of taxis have radiophones; call booking is done via GPS or digital voice dispatch. All passengers must fasten their seat belts by law.
For taxi Booking fee is SGD $2.3. Minimum fare for taxi is SGD $3 for first 1Km. Fare above minimum fare until 10Km is SGD $0.55 per Km. Fare above 10Km is charge SGD $0.628 per Km. Taxi Waiting charges per hour is SGD $17.6. Peak Hours charges is diffrent.

Bus : Public buses run daily from 5.30am to midnight. Extended night services cost slightly more (a flat rate ranging from $1.50-$3.00). Otherwise, most fares depend on distance travelled and range from 67 cents to $1.58 for air-conditioned comfort (almost all public buses in Singapore have air-conditioning today). There are also “feeder” bus services that charge a flat rate of 67 cents. Each bus should not take more than 15 to 20 minutes to arrive at the bus stop.

Train : Singapore MRT system is very well connected to different parts of Singapore and very clean! If you have the time and plan to explore around little Sunny island, get the the Singapore Tourist Pass!
It runs 6am-12mn, fares start at S$1 (70cents in EZ link). Tickets can be purchased in all MRT stations. You just have to insert your money through the ticket machine. Rush hour’s usually 7am-9am, 11am-2pm and 4pm-7pm.

Air : Changi Airport is the country’s main airport. From the airport there are a number of ways to get into the city:
Taxi is easiest – simply follow the signs after clearing customs. Meters are always used in Singapore and prices are reasonable. A trip to the city during the day will be between $20-$30 including $3-5 airport surcharge. An additional 50% surcharge applies between midnight and 06:00.
Limousines charge a flat $50 to anywhere in the city and are a pretty good deal after midnight, as you can skip the queue and avoid the surcharge. The same pricing applies to chartering van-sized MaxiCabs, which are good for large families or if you have lots of baggage.
Shuttle – Shared six-seater MaxiCab shuttle service to designated areas/hotels costs $7 and can be booked in advance or in the arrivals hall. 6AM-2AM, every 15-30 min.
Subway – MRT trains run from a station between T2 and T3, but you’ll need to change trains at Tanah Merah to a city-bound train: just exit through the left hand side door and cross the platform. The 30 min ride to City Hall station costs $1.90 plus a refundable $1 deposit, and trains run 05:31-23:18.
Bus – Bus terminals can be found in the basements of T1, T2 and T3. 06:00-23:59 only. Fares are less than $2.00, exact fare required (no change given) if you pay cash.

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