LORD BUDDHA TEMPLE

Lord Buddha Temple began as a home altar located at Jalan Asakaff, established by the late Mr. Lim Ah Keng, father of lay devotee Mr. Lim Chiew Hock. It was originally named “Buddhist Triple Gem Altar (佛教三宝坛）.” Due to government land acquisition, Mr. Lim Chiew Hock relocated the temple in 1950 to 111B Lorong H, Telok Kurau, and officially registered it as “Lord Buddha Temple.” As the premises later became inadequate, the temple was relocated once more in 1989 to its current location at 24 Arumugam Road, where it continues to serve the community.

FOUNDER
Lay Buddhist, Lim Chew Hock was born in Thailand in 1932, and became acquainted with Thai Buddhism at a young age. He has frequently visited various temples in Thailand, tirelessly studied Buddhism, and made donations to temples and the underprivileged. In recognition of his contributions, he was conferred the Thailand Order of the Fifth Class White Elephant by the late King Rama IX, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in 1986.

Layman Lim Chew Hock has made significant contributions to the development of the Lord Buddha Temple.

During the Telok Kurau period, Mr. Lim invited the renowned Four-Faced Buddha from Thailand to be enshrined as the principal deity of the Lord Buddha Temple. The connection between the temple and this sacred image is considered especially significant.

According to historical accounts, the Four-Faced Buddha was bestowed by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the ninth King of Thailand (Rama IX). At the time, two Four-Faced Buddha statues were cast: one was enshrined at the famous Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, while the other was presented to Lord Buddha Temple.

Upon its arrival in Singapore, the Four-Faced Buddha attracted considerable attention. As word spread among devotees, more and more people came to the temple to pray and seek blessings. The original temple site in Telok Kurau could no longer accommodate the growing number of devotees, and the temple eventually moved again to its present location on Arumugam Road.

Yet the temple we see today was not built overnight. To fund the construction of the new temple, Mr. Lim mortgaged his bungalow in Telok Kurau and took out a bank loan. Together with donations from devotees, these efforts gradually brought the new temple into being. After the temple was completed, Mr. Lim went even further, selling his own home to help cover the temple’s ongoing daily expenses.

Until 2019, as the elderly Lay Lim could no longer manage the daily operations of the temple, he decided to sell it and retire. In June 2023, Layman Buddhist Lim Chew Hock passed away at the age of 91.

The Lord Buddha Temple has been officially taken over by the Lorong Koo Chye Sheng Hong Temple Association since November 9, 2019. Since then, a management committee has been established to oversee all temple affairs.

To better serve the devotees and manage the temple, the committee initiated a refurbishment program on January 9 2020.

On 9th January , 2020 (December 15th of the lunar calendar), the 30th Anniversary Celebration of Lord Buddha Temple and the Reconstruction and Completion Ceremony of the Temple were held successfully.