Historical
Rumah Berhala Tow Boo Kong Butterworth, or Tow Boo Kong Temple for short,
is one of the most distinctive Nine Emperor Gods Temple in Malaysia.
Located in Jalan Raja Uda, Butterworth, Penang, this majestic temple stands on 2 plots of land with
a total area of 40, 000 square feet.
Myth has it that one of the senior Master was entrusted to diligently spread and
expand the Nine Emperor Gods beliefs and preaching. To begin this task,
he was asked to set out to the beach with an urn to welcome back the Nine Emperor Gods
to the temple during the deities’ birthday celebration.
After receiving this message, the senior Master embarked on his mission.
History
Back then, the followers of the Nine Emperor Gods were not many and there were also no proper
praying procedures. During the Nine Emperor Gods celebration, it was mainly the urn trustees,
the managers and other volunteers who would handle and manage the festival affairs.
1970 - Established in 1970, the original attap shed temple was housed near to the present temple’s location.
Although sparsely furnished, Tow Boo Kong Temple received a lot of support from the devotees.
1971 - The 1st Temple Committee together with the newly elected Building Committee was
formed and the fund raising project for the new temple began.
1974 - This project continued till 1974 where a newly plot of land, Lot 896,
was acquired and the ground breaking ceremony was held to start on the new temple.
An elaborate celebration was subsequently conducted upon the completion of the temple and since then,
commemorative celebrations were held annually on the 18th day of the 8th lunar month.
1978 - With generous support from the devotees, the 2nd Building Committee was formed in
this year to work on the second phase expansion by adding the Sacred Prayer Room (Shen Te Dian Hall).
1979 - In the following year, the temple established a medical centre to provide free medical services to the residents in the area, regardless of race, color or religion. From then on, the temple began to expand and engaged actively in community services.
Until 1986, most of the EXCO members felt the need to purchase the adjacent plot of land, Lot 894, in order to further expand the temple. Into the 90s, the existing prayer halls began to show signs of deterioration. As the temple was exceptionally packed during the festive celebrations, the EXCO members decided that it was time to rebuild the temple. The intention was firstly, to provide more space for the devotees, secondly, to preserve the temple’s building and thirdly, to spread the teachings of the Nine Emperor Gods, the roots of the Chinese religion and its rich culture.
1994 - The 3rd Building Committee was finally formed in this year and plans to rebuild the temple with the 3 halls began. The ground breaking ceremony was officially conducted on 14 December 1994 by 178 devotees.
1996 - With the Building Committee’s endeavor, a series of charity activities like the “Each Person a Tile”, “Together We Rebuild The New Temple”, “Introduction to Stone Carving”, “Sale of Souvenirs” were launched. It received wide support from the devotees and with the funds from the government and various fund raising activities, the rebuilding project took off smoothly.
2000 - On 26th April 2000, the temple held an elaborate religious celebration to commemorate the official moving. The temple was finally completed and this newly place of worship boasts intricate carvings, with dragon and phoenix motives, depicting scenes from famous Chinese literature and legends.
2005 - As to perfectly assimilate the interior and exterior of Tow Boo Kong Temple, the Building Committee decided to erect an archway and the perimeter walls for the temple. The ground breaking ceremony was conducted on 23rd June 2005.
2010 - According to religion and customs, whenever there’s a completion of a temple, a ceremony known as Ching Jiao is to be held. The significance of this ceremony is to inform the Heaven, Earth and the 3 Realms on the achievement of this building mission. This ceremony is also invoked to thank the Heaven for the peace and blessings obtained during the construction.
As the whole completion of Tow Boo Kong Temple was in 2009, the temple celebrated its Ching Jiao Ceremony on the 22nd September to the 24th September by holding a Grand Ritual Praying Ceremony. High ranking Taoist priests from China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan were invited to preside and perform the blessing prayers for three days. At the same time, a grand float procession was held on the 25th September to honor this special occasion. Besides these four countries, participants from Thailand and Malaysia also took part in the float procession.
The temple also held a joint celebration for its 40th Anniversary and the Sanctification Ceremony for the arch on the 26th September. A vegetarian dinner was held at the temple’s grounds with Tow Boo Kong Temple playing host to 4500 guests from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.
Copied from http://www.towbookong.org.my/option/mod_content_article/mid/163/cid/48/lang/ENG
1979 - In the following year, the temple established a medical centre to provide free medical services to the residents in the area, regardless of race, color or religion. From then on, the temple began to expand and engaged actively in community services.
Until 1986, most of the EXCO members felt the need to purchase the adjacent plot of land, Lot 894, in order to further expand the temple. Into the 90s, the existing prayer halls began to show signs of deterioration. As the temple was exceptionally packed during the festive celebrations, the EXCO members decided that it was time to rebuild the temple. The intention was firstly, to provide more space for the devotees, secondly, to preserve the temple’s building and thirdly, to spread the teachings of the Nine Emperor Gods, the roots of the Chinese religion and its rich culture.
1994 - The 3rd Building Committee was finally formed in this year and plans to rebuild the temple with the 3 halls began. The ground breaking ceremony was officially conducted on 14 December 1994 by 178 devotees.
1996 - With the Building Committee’s endeavor, a series of charity activities like the “Each Person a Tile”, “Together We Rebuild The New Temple”, “Introduction to Stone Carving”, “Sale of Souvenirs” were launched. It received wide support from the devotees and with the funds from the government and various fund raising activities, the rebuilding project took off smoothly.
2000 - On 26th April 2000, the temple held an elaborate religious celebration to commemorate the official moving. The temple was finally completed and this newly place of worship boasts intricate carvings, with dragon and phoenix motives, depicting scenes from famous Chinese literature and legends.
2005 - As to perfectly assimilate the interior and exterior of Tow Boo Kong Temple, the Building Committee decided to erect an archway and the perimeter walls for the temple. The ground breaking ceremony was conducted on 23rd June 2005.
2010 - According to religion and customs, whenever there’s a completion of a temple, a ceremony known as Ching Jiao is to be held. The significance of this ceremony is to inform the Heaven, Earth and the 3 Realms on the achievement of this building mission. This ceremony is also invoked to thank the Heaven for the peace and blessings obtained during the construction.
As the whole completion of Tow Boo Kong Temple was in 2009, the temple celebrated its Ching Jiao Ceremony on the 22nd September to the 24th September by holding a Grand Ritual Praying Ceremony. High ranking Taoist priests from China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan were invited to preside and perform the blessing prayers for three days. At the same time, a grand float procession was held on the 25th September to honor this special occasion. Besides these four countries, participants from Thailand and Malaysia also took part in the float procession.
The temple also held a joint celebration for its 40th Anniversary and the Sanctification Ceremony for the arch on the 26th September. A vegetarian dinner was held at the temple’s grounds with Tow Boo Kong Temple playing host to 4500 guests from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.
Copied from http://www.towbookong.org.my/option/mod_content_article/mid/163/cid/48/lang/ENG
No comments:
Post a Comment