AVALOK

ITESVAR A
Rituals . Memories . PRAYER

by Jack Muliadi

THE DOORSTEP TO THE

TEMPLE OF WISDOM IS
A KNOWLEDGE OF OUR
OWN IGNORANCE.
Benjamin Franklin

THIS IS MY SIMPLE
RELIGION. THERE
IS NO NEED FOR
TEMPLES; NO NEED
FOR COMPLICATED
PHILOSOPHY. OUR
OWN BRAIN, OUR OWN
HEART IS OUR TEMPLE;
THE PHILOSOPHY IS
KINDNESS.
Dalai Lama

IN PRAYER IT IS BETTER
TO HAVE A HEART
WITHOUT WORDS THAN
WORDS WITHOUT A
HEART
Mahatma Gandhi

THE FEAR OF DEATH

FOLLOWS FROM THE
FEAR OF LIFE. A MAN
WHO LIVES FULLY IS
PREPARED TO DIE AT
ANY TIME
Mark Twain

GUAN YIN
TEMPLE
THE OLDEST TEMPLE IN PENANG

by Jack Muliadi

uan Yin Temple is doubt as

one of the oldest Chinese
temple in Penang. With
history dated back to 1800,
Kuan Yin temple is the symbol of
pride, compassion and love to all her
loyal devotees.

Goddess of Mercy

In Chinese Buddhism, Guan Yim/ Guan

Yin/Kuan Yim/ Kuan Yin is synonymous
with the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara,
the pinnacle of mercy, compassion,
kindness and love. (Bodhisattva- being
of bodhi or enlightenment, one who has
earned to leave the world of suffering
and is destined to become a buddha,
but has forgone the bliss of nirvana
with a vow to save all children of god.
Avalojkitesvara: The word avalokita
means seeing or gazing down and
vara means lord in Sanskrit).

Due to the devotional popularity of Guanyin

in East Asia, she is known by many names

- Japanese
- Korean
KUAN IM - Thai

KANNON

GWAN EUM

Quan m - Vietnamese
DEWI KWAM IM - Indonesian

THERE IS NOTHING
BETTER THAT YOU CAN
GIVE TO A PERSON
THAT TO BE PRESENT
WITH THEM. WHEN YOU
ARE FULLY PRESENT,
YOU BECOME LOVE,
AND YOU SHARE THAT
BECOMING WITH
OTHERS
Guan Yin

Af terthought
In my opinion, there are good and
bad sides of a religion. On the good
side, it acts as a medium to connect
human beings with the Gods. The basic
teachings and ru les o f r e l i gi o n s o ft e n
i n clu d e t o do kindne s s t o t h e ot h e r,
strengthen re la t ionsh i p s , and to make
friends with your enemies and so on.
On the ugly side, religion was and still being
used as a powerful vehicle for political and
war agenda, often led to the death of many
innocent human beings.
Sadly the bad things often over-shadowed
the good things, hence more and more
people are leaving religion, even stop
believing theres a God.
AVA L O K I T E S VA R A
project
isnt
about convincing people to come back to
God, leaving their religion, or showing
off that one religion is superior than
the rest. The project is simply about
celebration of artifacts related to
religion: The breathtaking architectural

wonders that stand the test of time

; The mystical and surreal interior
ornaments, enchanting worship rituals,
the carefully handcrafted statues made
of natural stones and woods, and many
more.
Thankfully, all of these visual treats
are opened and easily accessible for
public. What you need is simply an
open mind and be respectful to the
people of different beliefs.

Goddess of Mercy