Sabah Wei Ling Gong establishes ties with Taiwan temple

PENAMPANG: Sabah Wei Ling Gong recently had an auspicious boost to its establishment when it brought back the sacred incense ash of the Bei Gang Wude Temple in Taiwan, and deposited it in its main incense burner.

The incense ash was obtained from the world-famous God of Wealth temple located in Yunlin County, during a recent study tour there last month, to establish ties with the temple.

The visit by a 16-member delegation of Sabah Wei Ling Gong was led by Ben Lee, the founder cum medium of the temple.

It was also part of the Taiwan Food Travel program organized by Kota-Kinabalu based travel organizer, Let Fun Management Sdn Bhd.

The four-day-three-night’s tour was facilitated by Let Fun’s director Liew Shin Khen who is also a founding-member of Sabah Wei Ling Gong.

The delegation was cordiallyreceived by Allen Lin, the chairman of Beigang Wude Temple. They were also given a good briefing by Lin on the history and management of the temple.

“We are very delighted that after one-and-half year of establishing our temple, we finally succeeded in bringing back some incense ash of the Beigang Wude Temple.

“This certainly augurs well for the development of our temple, as we have now established ties with the Beigang Wude Temple, which is the leading, well-established, world-renowned temple of General Zhao Gong Ming, the ‘Martial God of Fortune’,” the same deity housed and worshiped by Sabah Wei Ling Gong.

“Hence, we wish to share this joyous and auspicious occasion with our followers and supporters,” said Ben in a press release issued yesterday.

He further noted that the Committee of Sabah Wei Ling Gong had acquired some great knowledge from the visit which gave them good guidance and ideas on how to properly manage a temple of General Zhao lineage.

“This is especially very helpful to our wish and ongoing plan of establishing our permanent temple. We are currently in the midst of looking for a suitable piece of land for our temple, as the landowner of our present site has informed us of his intention to take back the temple land for commercial development,” said Ben.

He hoped that its followers and supporters could assist in looking out for a suitable plot of land for its eventual relocation, preferably within Penampang District.

Located along the Jalan Bundusan here (adjacent to the now-closed Dowish Seafood Restaurant), Sabah Wei Ling Gong is the first Taoist temple of General Zhao Gong Ming lineage.

While General Zhao is not tasked directly in overseeing the disbursement of wealth, he is nonetheless in charge of four deities who bestow people with different forms of good fortune and wealth.

His four assistants are Chen Jiu Gong, the God of Attracting Wealth; Xiao Sheng, the God of Collecting Treasures; Cao Bao, the God of Collecting Valuables; and Yao Shao Si, the God of Profitability.

Together with Zhao Gong Ming, they are popularly known as “Wu Luk Chai Shen” which means God of Wealth of the Five Directions i.e. east, west, north, south and centre.

Meanwhile, Ben reiterated that the establishment of the temple was inspired by the legend and spirit of General Zhao who is well known for his immeasurable compassion towards the poor and the needy, especially those who are always kind to others despite their own condition.

“Through this temple, we aspire to instill in the people the spirit of Zhao Gong Ming towards promoting a caring society, especially in this trying time of economic downturn.

“With his (Zhao) blessing and guidance, we shall strive to conduct charitable programs and activities from time to time, to assist those who are really in need,” he said.

Since it was opened to the public on January 6, 2017, the makeshift temple has successfully attracted a sizable number of followers, including those from Labuan and Sarawak.

The temple also provides free ‘spiritual consultation’ to the public on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, usually from 8pm onwards.

The temple also houses other popular Taoist deities like the Guan Yin Goddess of Mercy, Taishang Laojun, Jigong, and General Guan Di.