One could easily have driven passed this huge building in Taman Sutera in the past, not realising what it was. The Education Centre has 5 acres of land and was originally intended as a place of worship for local Buddhists. However, plans had to change and now it is just an Education Centre, and an impressive one at that! It was rather quite on the day we visited because it was Master Hsing Yun’s birthday and everyone was away (in Taiwan?) celebrating. But, because it was his birthday, my bowl of noodles for lunch was special. It looked like nothing I had eaten before, and incuded fermented glutinous rice (for flavour) and beetroot (for the redness).
The Centre is open to the public, and because we were with Soon Hwa, we had a special guide escorting us on this occasion. This was Mr. Yong Peng Kong, a senior officer at the centre. Master Hsing Yun is famous for his One-Stroke Caligraphy which is on display on the outer wall of the main entrance and in a lovely little museum.
Just outside the museum was a Zen Garden but I didn't get that sense of serenity from it!
Everywhere inside this building are examples of fine craftsmanship, although the cuteness of the stone figures seemed a little out of place.
You may be able to get a better idea of the scale of this building from the following photos.
Inside the main hall, designed to hold 2,000 people, workers were making a huge screen composed of jade figures.
This jade screen was truly stunning, even in its unfinished state. In the ceiling was an elegant lotus flower with stained glass petals illuminated from the sun outside. I think this room will be extraordinary when completed so I must return later to see the completed version.
On the left is Lawrence, Mr. Yong Peng Kong (middle), and Soon Hwa Chian (right).
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