Wat Buppharam, Penang
Thai Buddhist temple in Penang, Malaysia
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Through Hinduism
History
The temple was built during the Japanese occupation of British Malaya in 1942 by Phra Phothan Srikheaw, a Thai monk who became the temple's first abbot.
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Features
The temple is renowned for a century-old Buddha statue nicknamed the "Lifting Buddha". Urban legend has it that the statue contains the ability to predict whether a devotee's wishes can be fulfilled. If the statue can be lifted the first time the devotee concentrates on his or her wishes, and subsequently becomes too heavy to lift the second time, then the devotee's wish is indeed attainable. Although founded as a Theravāda Buddhist temple with the layout of Thai tradition, the temple are decorated with various mythical religious creatures of Nāgas with the mixture of Hindu and Taoist deities such as the statue of Ganesha which is placed at the main entrance while in the left located a shrine specifically for Guan Yin. On the far side leading to the burial grounds, there is a small shrine to Tudigong (Goddess of Land). In spite of the temple complex modest size, it has arguably one of the largest arches in the state.