Hall of Solace

A monument of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva (大愿地藏菩萨) serves as the focal point of the Hall of Solace. He’s depicted in full regalia, including his khakkhara staff - an ancient symbol of spiritual authority and the power to dissolve obstacles, the cintamani - a wish-fulfilling jewel that provides salvation from harm and the five-Buddha crown - a supreme emblem of the connection between him and the cosmos.

Gilded to highlight their omnipotence, they are key to his vow to liberate all souls in each realm of existence from even their deepest pain and suffering and light up their path to enlightenment.

For them, the ancestral tablets here offer solace under his aegis. Each features a base with a crystalline core that allows the purity of each free soul to be witnessed. The base’s elegant, rounded form is modelled after the bottom half of a hulu (or Chinese gourd), whose symbolism as a vessel for elixirs of longevity accentuates the timeless legacy of the departed.