A PENANG SCOTSMAN’S LEGACY

For some inexplicable reason, David Brown’s fever breaks that very night itself. By the following morning, the wealthiest landowner in Penang is able to feebly sit up and consume some light broth. The strength that had forsaken him for more than a week seems to be slowly returning. He is told about the monks who have saved his life; Brown immediately summons them to his chamber. He thanks them profusely for their assistance and asks if he can do anything for them in return.

The three holy men don’t take credit for themselves but instead explain that it was the Patriarch of Clear Water who had made Brown’s miraculous recovery possible. Their subsequent revelation about the difficulties in acquiring a permanent place for people to pay homage to the deity leads Brown to immediately offer a piece of land where the monks would be able to construct a temple.

This incident was said to have happened several years before Brown met an untimely death on Sept 25, 1825 while sailing on H.C.S. Windsor Castle en route to Melaka. He was only 47. The monks who took up his offer for the land only managed to build a simple hut when they first moved in. A fundraising drive began soon after and the richly decorated temple complex we know today was only completed 25 years after Brown‘s death.

Standing in the main prayer hall thick with the smoke of incense burning, I watch in amazement as man and beast coexist harmoniously. The devotees who are here to pay homage to Chor Soo Kong completely ignore the poisonous pit vipers which are virtually right next to them. They believe that the snakes are “officers” of the temple and would not harm anyone. Some even believe that the smoke has a paralysing effect on the reptiles, rendering them harmless.

Chor is said to be the head monk who played a pivotal role in Brown’s remarkable recovery. Legend has it that the former was serious about seeking spiritual attainment and was ordained at an early age. A skilled healer, Chor was also said to have a soft spot