Founding of Buddha Mandala Monastery on the Purple Crystal Hill of Chittering
Reverence to the Lord Buddha
for His Light Illuminates the Entire Universe
Not Movable by the Eight Worldly Desires and Hatred
He sits with Dignity on the Purple Crystal Lotus.
Buddhism originates from India and its founder is Sakyamuni Buddha. It spreads throughout Asia over different periods of time. It can be broadly classified into Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana, the three major systems; they are distributed throughout Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma); China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan; Tibet, Sikkim, Bhutan and other places. In recent years, it has spread to Europe and the rest of the world.
The founding of Buddha Mandala Monastery began from Singapore Venerable Shi Yuan Fan being invited to Perth, Western Australia for a visit. He discovered that the hill of Chittering is beautiful and deeply filled with spiritual energy that is beneficial for the cultivation of body and mind; he also felt deeply that Singapore is just a city country with no place conducive for practice. After the research, study, hearing and contemplation of dharma, the next step is to practice. Thus he decided to build a quiet place for practice there. After several setbacks, the local government finally agreed to support the building of the monastery, to allow Buddha’s teachings to benefit sentient beings of the southern hemisphere’s western world.
Though Buddhism is an ancient religion, in today’s era of developed transportation system and high-speed information system, diversification is an inevitable trend. This is the impetus for Singapore to venture abroad. Buddha Mandala Monastery not only benefits Australian practitioners, it is also opened to practitioners from all over the world.
We pray that in the globalization process, the world is peaceful, countries are stable and their citizens are safe and happy, and human spirits are given the freedom to develop, to accumulate wisdom and compassion, to benefit oneself and others.
Donations were from the ten directions; donors will definitely have greater fortune and longer lives – this is said to highlight the beauty of donation.
This story told carefully from beginning to end is put on record to proclaim to people who will come in the future.
Three Main Characteristics of Buddha Mandala Monastery
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The towering grand Buddha sitting in Chittering’s Buddha Mandala Monastery is nine meter tall, weighs 50 ton, sculptured from a whole piece of Burmese jade stone and named ‘Southern Hemisphere’s Largest Sitting Jade Buddha’ by the Australian government.
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The stone carvings on the interior and exterior of the main hall are sculptured using Indonesia’s lava stone . These stone carvings provide platforms for sharing information on Buddhism. Their contents include stories of Buddha’s life, Ten Ox Pictures and several Buddhist tantric images.
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It inherits lineages of multicultural wisdom and integrates features of Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism.
Heritage of Multicultural Wisdom
Whether it is the guidance of inner practice or the outer sensory impression Buddha Mandala Monastery at Chittering gives, both have the spirit of Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism integrated in them. The Buddha and bodhisattva statues of various traditions placed in the Dhvaja Hall and other halls, present the diverse characteristic of Buddhist culture; and in the midst of faithfully praying, believers can subtly feel the varying tastes of Dharma from the three traditions as well.
