Seng Guan Temple

Seng Guan Temple

Seng Guan Temple is a prominent Buddhist edifice on Narra Street, near Divisoria, in Tondo, Manila, Philippines. It contains a stupa, a huge repository for urns of human ashes, several meditation rooms, and various shrines. It is a major cultural center for the Chinese Filipino community.^[1]

The temple was named after Venerable Seng Guan (1889-1962), a monk from Fu Kien (Fujian), China, who was active in teaching and organizing work in Southern China, Manila, and Rizal. His work laid the foundations for several institutions, including the Samantabhadra Institute in Santa Cruz, Manila, and the Hwa Chong Buddhist Temple complex in Tugatog, Malabon, Rizal (now Malabon, Metro Manila), where his ashes are enshrined in a stupa.^[2]

In 1960, the Seng Guan Ssu set up the Philippine Academy of Sakya, Manila. Over the years, Seng Guan Ssu also conducted many charity works for the poor, orphans, elderly, refugees, and government welfare projects.

References

1. Seng Guan
2. Divisoria, Tondo, and Malabon are traditional Chinese enclaves, and still have large ethnic Chinese populations. The great majority of Chinese Filipinos are of Fukienese ethnicity.