Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple; Singapore

The Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple is dedicated to Kuan Yin (觀音菩薩; also known as: Avalokiteśvara Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर, Chenrézik/Chenrézig Tibetan: སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས), the Goddess/Bodhisattva of Compassion and Mercy. The temple was built in 1884, and is one od the oldest Buddhist temples in Singapore. Its structure follows the traditional concept and design of Chinese architecture.

As time passed other deities/gods were added to the temple's altars.

• Hua Tuo (華佗)
• a physician during the Han Dynasty; the first doctor in China to use anaesthesia, using an herbal mixture he called máfèisàn (麻沸散; literally: "cannabis boil powder"); he also developed the Wuqinxi (五禽戲; literally: "Exercise of the Five Animals"); he is considered the patron saint of medicine

• Da Mu Tuo Shi
• the chief of the six Buddhist patriarchs 

• Sakyamuni Buddha 
• the most recent Buddha

During the Japanese occupation the Kwan Im Tong Hood Cho Temple was a place of refuge for those trying to escape the war. In the late 1930s, the Japanese army dropped a bomb in Waterloo Street, the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple was the only building took minimal damage. Upon seeing this, people took it as a miracle, devotees believed that it was becase of the temple's main deity, Kuan Yin and her blessings and protection that made such a miracle happen.

Today the temple continues it's compassionate philanthropic ways. The temple regularly helps the sick and the needy, and partners and donates to the National Kidney Foundation. The temple also donated a sum of money to NUS (National University of Singapore) to develop a professorship programme in computing. The temple also gives scholarships to students who are in need of financial support, known simply as the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple Scholarship.

The temple is a patron of the arts in Singapore as well.

Outside the temple there are plenty of vendors selling flowers and aunties and uncles who can read your fortune and tell you your fate.

The outer walls of the temple are decorated with apsaras (Sanskrit: अप्सरा; Chinese: 天女)  and dragons, while standing guard at the temple's main entrance are a pair of qilin. In the inside, is a grand hall with Kuan Yin at the centre of everything, with countless people coming in and out seeking her guidance and blessings. You'll see people offering flowers they bought from outside the temple, praying and holding incense and bowing 3 times in all directions, then offering the incense infused with their prayers. There's a red matt at the centre of the grand hall, where people meditate. The temple also echoes of the sound of the shaking of the I Ching sticks, as people wait for one to drop from the container.

*Something Important to take Note of When Inside the Temple: Photography isn't allowed inside the temple. I guess it's a way to keep everything sacred and not to disturb those who have come to the temple to meditate, pray and seek enlightenment.

The Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple is located at:

#178 Waterloo Street, Singapore 187964

Operating Hours: 8:00am-6:00pm

From Bras Basah MRT Station:

Walk straight up on Waterloo Street

*5 minute walk

From Bugis MRT Station:

Exit to Victoria Street
Turn right at Rocher Road
Turn left at Queen Street
Turn right at Bencoolen Link
Make a left at the first intersection

*6 minute walk

From Rochor MRT Station:

Exit to Rochor Canal Road (Prinsep Street)
Turn right at Bencoolen Street
Turn left at Bencoolen Link

*7 minute walk