Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall (Wan Fo Tien Temple) @ Pahang Buddhist Association

The Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall (Wan Fo Tien Temple) is part of the Pahang Buddhist Association in Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia.

This temple is a beautiful place with cool breezes wafting through the hall, and peaceful serenity within the compound. Visitors are welcome to enjoy the quietness of the place, as long as they are respectful and mindful that this is a holy place and should be treated as such.

Removing one's shoes and refraining from loud speech are a couple of the regulations.

The reason this temple is named "The Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall" is because the inner walls of the temple are covered with 15,743 little tiles with the image of Buddha intricately carved into each piece, from top to bottom.

A fat Buddha awaits at the front entrance of The Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall, almost as if he is guarding the temple. Beyond him, inside the hall itself, sits a giant white jade Buddha statue.

Time spent inside The Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall is peaceful because of it's silence. You can't help but feel in awe, just because of the quiet atmosphere. Occasionally a person came in, bowed himself to the floor for a few moments, and then left, satisfied with his devotional prayers.

A panorama of The Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall

One cannot appreciate The Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall in Kuantan without noticing the beautiful gardens which lie beside it. Trees, plants and flowers adorn the area, along with a green lake where you can feed the fish, with a stunning cliff face backdrop.

I was fortunate enough to be accompanied by the most beautiful weather during my visit to The Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall. Blistering sunshine, deep blue skies, the occasional white fluffy cloud, and a gentle breeze. The sunlight really brought the pictures to life.

I love the deep blue of the sky as it contrasts with the orange roof and the white cloud

KUANTAN BLOG TOUR: Fancy a trip to the beach? Come on then!

Need to cut the tour short? Return to My Journey to Kuantan - Part 5 here

Sri Sithi Vinayagar Temple, Kuantan

The Sri Sithi Vinayagar Temple in the heart of Kuantan draws people in for its colours and numberless statues on its roofs. Situated near the fire station a stone's throw from the Darulmakmur Stadium, it is a sight to behold.

Every major religion under the Sun can be found in Malaysia. While we must admit that there are gently simmering hostilities between the religions, it is relatively peaceful and harmonious when compared with other plural society countries. It is not uncommon to find mosques, hindu temples, chinese temples and churches on the same street in Malaysia, and sometimes even lined up beside each other.

My visit to the Sri Sithi Vinayagar Temple was a different experience to my previous visits to the PAHANG STATE MOSQUE AND PAHANG BUDDHIST ASSOCIATION and to the SIKH TEMPLE. The Pahang State Mosque is intricately designed with beautiful symmetrical patterns and graceful Arabic calligraphy adorning the walls. The Pahang Buddhist Association combines a temple containing a huge statue of Buddha with beautiful gardens and a lake. The Sikh temple was stunningly simple in design, with lovely carved wooden doors and glittering chandeliers. However, the one thing all these places had in common was reverent silence.

Here is the Sri Sithi Vinayagar Temple in Kuantan. Here there were bright colours in abundance. I even engaged in a conversation with an Indian woman who was there to clean the temple. We spoke at length about how I came to be in Kuantan and I was able to share with her my appreciation of the lovely temple we were in, my beliefs about God, a living prophet, and other Christian doctrines, which she received with humility. It was easy to share these things with her. Since we were in a hindu temple I related to her about our Christian temples and a little about the work that goes on there. From the Book of Mormon we read of former Christian missionaries: "and we have also entered into their temples and their synagogues and taught them."

These curious little black stone statues were the most intriguing part of my visit to the Sri Sithi Vinayagar Temple. Unfortunately I didn't get the opportunity to ask a few questions I had in mind to the Indian lady there.

'Sikh' and ye shall find

Sikhism is a relatively small religion in the world compared to the major faiths of Islam, Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism, especially in Malaysia. However, after a little 'sikhing' I came across the "Gurdwara Sahib Kuantan", which translates as "the house of God" in Punjabi. All Sikhs are well-versed in Punjabi from childhood so that they will be able to read and study the holy scriptures of Sikhism, called the "Guru Granth Sahib."

I entered this Sikh temple and didn't really feel out of place. It was clean and tidy and basic in its layout. It looked rather the same as the Sikh temple I had previously visited in Kuching, over on the island of Borneo. I was first met by these large wooden doors:

Upon entering I saw the familiar sight of the 'langgar' hall where meals are prepared and served.

I searched for any sign of human life, and eventually I poked my nose around a side door and saw a man with a long beard, watching the television with dazzling sunglasses attached to his face! He immediately stopped what he was doing and came to assist me. His English was very limited and my Punjabi is non-existent, so we struggled along with basic English and sign language throughout my brief tour of the Gurdwara Sahib Kuantan.

The prayer room was beautifully simple with nice chandeliers, and it was all bathed in the warm sunlight dashing through the windows. This room is situated on the first floor and I then went to the veranda to gaze at the view.

I found it interesting that the view from the balcony was a direct visualization of the Pahang State Mosque.

I took this lovely picture with the Indian man who was in charge of the Gurdwara Sahib Kuantan. I really can't remember his name; I didn't quite catch it when he first uttered it!

Here are a few views of the Sikh's beautiful Gurdwara Sahib Kuantan: