Sasanarakkha: A Meditation Space For Practising Buddhism

"there is a continuing need for the creation of festal places on the dwellings, places where individuals come together and affirm themselves as members of community, as they join in public enactments of the essential:celebrations of those central aspects of our life that maintain and give meaning to existence"

-- Karsten Harries, architectural critic

A week had passed. It was 6.30 am last Sunday morning at the end of a three-day holiday cum working weekend. It had been raining cats and dogs for the past two days in Taiping, a town that had lived up to its reputation as the wettest town in Peninsular Malaysia. The sun was barely above the hills when the rays of sunlight broke the dawn of the misty morning. I put on my jogging sneakers and headed on to the valley of Maxwells Hill. From there, it would take me approximately 45 minutes of uphill walk before reaching my destination - Sasanarakkha, a Buddhist sanctuary nestled in the tropical foliage of once a durian plantation.

Mini Kutis (Photo source: Author)

Not much had been written on this spiritual sanctum and hardly people outside the inner circle of the Buddhist community knew of its existence. Nevertheless, its history dates back to January 2000 when its founder Ven. Aggacitta - once a pupil at the school of architecture of Universiti Sains Malaysia – and a Kuala Lumpur based, Q Jade Saw Architect, laid the first foundation for the construction work to begin; not until a year later did the sanctuary receive its first in-take of monks.

Photo source: Author

I was plain exhausted after a strenuous climb to the sanctuary although still bearing the scent of the morning dew; a huge log inscribed with Chinese characters greeted me as I walked through the open gate. Moment later, a pick-up truck came from behind and stopped at the porch of a building that houses a reception and an administrative office. I walked towards a lady and introduced myself; while she briefly mentioned her name as Ms.Chua and welcomed me with a firm handshake. Ms. Chua and the rest are staunch volunteer workers that help build and maintain the sanctuary. As of today, construction works are still in progress and new phases will be added on as and when there are funds for it.

Photo courtesy sbsnet

I left Ms. Chua to stroll the undulating terrain and watched in anticipation of those unsung heroes who toiled their sweat and breath to leave a serendipitous legacy to the sanctuary that will create an impetus to the spiritual development of monks and lay devotees alike.

Little did they know that they have created an experiential ground for architecture and philosophy, particularly the Buddhist philosophy, to meet each other explicitly - an expression (not a style nor movement) in which the unseen attributes of architecture become apparent. It turns out to be a place where the notion of iconoclastic architecture that is conducive to social narration comes to play; an exercise in serial labour and a product of viewers, users, subjects and makers of all kinds.

On the other hand, it is an artistic endeavor that is best seen not as an iconic object production, but as an attempt of establishing a community of liberating interdependence. As such, the end product, which is the “object”, becomes less important than the process of making it. In other words, it is a choreographic process in the making, where the sanctuary manifests itself less as an object and more as an event that is brought together by streams of narrative movement.

I found a place to sit still with my eyes half-closed; I momentarily halted my wondering thought and logical reasoning, and enjoyed the presence of oneness with nature. And at this moment in time, I realized that true art was never lost; only man has forgotten the role of art in its highest vocation. How I wish if only Hegel and Nietzsche were alive. - Ed Chew