Elderly given lunch, red packets, groceries on ‘Tian Chuan Ri’
A TEMPLE in Bukit Mewah, Kajang, distributed aid to the elderly to mark Tian Chuan Ri or Sky Mending Day which is the 20th day of Chinese New Year (CNY).
Leng Tien Keong Temple is one of the few in the country dedicated to deities like the goddesses Jiutian Xuannu, Xiwangmu and Nuwa.
Temple management committee acting chairman Tee Kim Chan said Nuwa was venerated as the creator of humanity.
“She is known for her role in mending the heavens, which is the event celebrated today,” he explained.
“Besides offering prayers, it has become a tradition for the temple to provide assistance to the underprivileged,” he added.
The event saw some 70 elderly people treated to lunch and given groceries as well as ang pow.
Also present were Seri Kembangan assemblyman Wong Siew Ki and Balakong assemblyman Ong Chun Wei, who gave out the aid.
Tee said the temple attracted local and international devotees, particularly from Hong Kong and Taiwan.
“We received about 2,000 visitors on the first day of Chinese New Year.”
Although the temple is about four decades old, Tee said it went back much further, beginning as a small wooden shrine in Sungai Chua, also in Kajang, in the late 1950s.
He said the present building was completed in 1986 with the help of a spirit medium, Saw Hiap Sing, who is now 84.
“Saw told me that he dreamt of Goddess Jiutian Xuannu when he was 15, asking him to build the temple.”
Jiutian Xuannu is goddess of war as well as goddess of feng shui.
“Some years later, Saw went into a trance and got the deity’s help to design the temple,” said Tee.
“With support from donors, a piece of land in Bukit Mewah was acquired and the temple was built.”
He said more devotees began visiting the temple over the years after believing their prayers had been answered, whether for health, finances or spiritual matters.
“The temple has been renovated over the years to what it is today,” he said.
“One of the temple’s key attractions is a terrace offering sweeping views of the surrounding landscape and overlooking distant hills.
“The terrace floor is decorated with symbols representing the five elements,” he added.
Tee said the temple’s next major celebration would be from April 3 to 5 to mark one of two birthdays for the main deity, Jiutian Xuannu.
