Nimmala temple, more than a place of worship

Nimmala temple, more than a place of worship

Multa Firdaus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang, Banten

At first glance, Vihara Nimmala, or Boen San Bio, simply looks
like a small, brightly colored Chinese shrine with a unique roof
adorned with a couple of dragons.

But upon second glance, the 314-year-old temple on Jl. Pasar
Baru, Tangerang municipality, is actually a large and glorious
Buddhist temple decorated with a total of 5,800 red-colored paper
lanterns suspended from its vast ceiling.

Right inside the main gate, visitors to the temple are greeted
by the replicas of two lions brought by traders from Tiongkok in
the late 16th century. The lions, flanking the temple proper, are
believed to be the eternal guardians of the temple.

"The temple's main building was burned down in 1998 and we
managed to renovate it after collecting funds from members of our
congregation," Sukyatno Nugroho, the Vihara Nimmala promotion
consultant, told The Jakarta Post.

Despite the destruction, several sacred legacies, like the
grave of Mbah Raden Suryakentjana -- a prince of Banten Kingdom,
-- the dragon canoe figureheads of Pendopo Peh Cun hall, the
Dhamasala building where the Buddha statue is worshiped, and an
ever-flowing old well that is believed to be the source of life,
were not touched by fire.

A three-meter-high statue of Dewi Kwan Im -- believed to be
the reincarnation of Avolakitesvara or Bodhisattva among the
Chinese -- which is ready to help anyone who worships and calls
her name, stands along the outside wall of the Dhamasala building
facing a beautiful park.

In conjunction with the temple's renovation, Nugroho also
initiated the construction of a five-ton Thian Sin Lo, a massive
bowl made out of onyx into which worshipers place their joss
sticks. Since the Thian Sin Lo is the heaviest of those found in
Buddhist temples throughout the country, Vihara Nimmala was
inducted into the Indonesian Museum of Records (MURI) in 2000.

When visitors step onto the veranda of the main building,
they will face the main altar upon which stands Sinbeng Khong-co
Hok Tek Ceng Sin, the highest deity in Buddhism. The main
building has 10 rooms of worship with a total of 17 statues of
deities.

Tagara Wijaya, a senior advisor of the Vihara Nimmala
Foundation, said that congregation members mainly worshiped God,
Buddha, prophet Khon Tze and prophet Lao Tze in addition to the
17 gods, including eight gods that represent the good aspects of
human nature.

"However, this complex is not only for Buddhists or
congregation members -- all visitors are welcome here. The doors
to this temple is always open, and it never sleeps," he said.

He explained that the daily activities at the Dhamasala
building included the storage of a three-meter-tall Buddha Rupang
statue and religious activities. Every Sunday, worshipers of all
ages come to the temple, and new brides and grooms come to
receive their blessings from the priests.

"Many people also come to the temple just to visit Mbah
Raden's grave," he said. He said the grave was first found on the
riverbank of the Cisadane, but was later removed to the temple
complex to save it from erosion and development projects.

A small building with a dome was built over the grave to honor
the Banten Kingdom, because Raden Suryakentjana was a member of
royalty. Even today, many people pay their respects by visiting
the grave.

The Pendopo Peh Cun is small shrine displaying a couple of
preserved figureheads of two dragon canoes painted in red and
yellow. Close to midnight on the fifth day of the fifth month in
the Chinese lunar calendar, hundreds of Buddhists will flock to
the hall with the same intention: to wish for prosperity and
happiness in the year ahead, after taking part in a Chinese
traditional ceremony called Peh Cun.

The round well located behind the temple hall of the main
building, is another favorite spot among visitors. Visiting
Japanese, Korean and Chinese tourists will not leave this temple
without drinking its water, said Tagara, who spends most of his
time at the temple.

The temple, he said, was first constructed in 1689 with bamboo
pillars and bamboo walls by Lim Tau Koen, a merchant who hailed
from Tiongkok. Back then, the simple temple, located about 100
meters from the riverbank, had only a roof made of palm leaves.

These days, with houses and other buildings sprouting up in
the area, the 5,000-square-meter temple can no longer be seen
from the river.

"At first, only Chinese residents who lived around this temple
regularly came to worship. But now, many people from Greater
Jakarta regularly visit the temple for similar purposes," said
Tagara.

Sukyatno and Tagara said the Vihara Nimmala Foundation
founders hoped that the municipality's largest temple, which has
been declared by the administration as an historical building,
could be further preserved and developed into a large religious
recreational site with various facilities.

"We have opened a medical clinic for people next to the
temple. In the future, we plan to set up schools and open a
public cemetery," Tagara said.