Religious acceptance or tolerance?

Yours Sincerely ( y s) and better half attended a wedding in Kelantan and following that took a short tour of two new temples, Wat Phothikyan at Kg Balai, Perupok in Bachok area, and a shrine to the Goddess of Mercy. Btw, they are not actually brand new temples but have been added on with unending new statues, extensions and wings. Our visit coincided with the opening ceremony of the giant statue of Standing Buddha, five storey high. Awesome, as it looms from the tree tops in an Islamic State!!! There were many bus loads of devotees from outstations. Y s even met friends from Alor Star. A small world, indeed.

This has been the way temples grow in Kelantan. No federal or state fundings but continuous donations, "offerings" and contributions from the devotees, near and far. To imagine that these happen in a so called Islamic state is interesting. Does it signify religious acceptance or tolerance? The answer was partly observed by y s when he noticed numerous Malay RELA members helping to oversee traffic flow and parking in the temple compound. Hope for a " Malaysian Malaysia" surged inside y s. Unity is not lost. We can still give it a try. According to a Ethiopian proverb, when spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion!!!

Anyway, whatever it is, there are several temples with giant statues in this part of Kelantan which also has a predominant Siamese demography.

This is the entrance to the temple. The fence is girded by a whole length of two dragons which meet face to face at the main entrance. Good idea.

This gigantic statue looms above the trees and is five storey high. Pretty amazing as it watches over the surrounding with keen eyes. The body glitters and sparkles as it reflects the blazing noon sun. The white body and robe reflects purity and hopefulness.

This is right infront of the prayer hall, an extension to the old temple and is supposed to be another statue of the Godddess of Mercy. How Siamese Buddhism co-exists with the Chinese popular deities is a good area for academic research. The co-existence is so harmonious that they overlapped and dissolved their differences, while clinging on to their similarities - care, concern, benevolence, selflessness, charity and a host of other lofty human kind moral values. Religion which emphasizes differences, exclusiveness and segregation is questionable. It seperates and divides, and this does not reflect the characteristics of the Almighty.

This is a shrine to the Goddess of Mercy and she is facing the South China Sea, looking out for the sea farers and fisher folks and supposedly bring sublime peace to the area.

What they say about RELIGION :-

"This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosohpy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness. " - Dalai Lama

"Religion is a candle inside a multicoloured lantern. Everyine looks through a particular colour, but the candel is always there." - Mohammed Neguid

" The main object of religion is not to get a man into heaven but to get heaven to him." - Thomas Hardy.

"My understanding of Christianity is God in search of lost men, not men in search of lost God." - Ronald R. Hatch.

" When a religion is so enshroulded in complete darkness, a little light sheds on it would seem so threatening." - Thomas C B Chua.

Live on. " It is better to live rich than to die rich" Samuel Johnson.