The monastery opened the Buddhist College of Singapore on 13 September 2006. As the country's first Buddhist college, it offers a four-year bachelor's degree in Buddhism. Lessons were held within the temple until a new $35 million five-storey building is completed.
On 21 June 2008, the temple raised over $1 million for the reconstruction of schools destroyed in the 12 May Sichuan earthquake, by organising the Great Compassion; Great Aspiration Charity Show.
The modern day monastery premises consist of prayer halls, crematorium and columbarium which contains over 200,000 niches, bell and drum towers, and an outdoor statue of Avalokitesvara stands between the Dharma Hall and the Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas. The Hong Choon Memorial Hall of the temple was built in 2004. Another notable feature of the monastery is a Bodhi Tree which was brought from the sacred Bodhi tree at Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. The tree in Sri Lanka was brought from Bodh Gaya, India where Shakyamuni Buddha was said to have attained enlightenment.
The large bronze Buddha statue, located in the temple's Hall of No Form, is one of Asia's largest Buddha statue. It has a height of and it weighs .
The monastery celebrates Vesak Day every year with a variety of ceremonies such as "Bathing the Buddha", and "Three-Steps-One-Bow". Other major events include the Qingming Festival. As the East Asian traditional practice of burning incense and joss materials remain despite repeated pleas and discouragement, costlier alternatives appeared which include the installation of a new four-storey, $1 million eco-friendly burner in 2014.
When Singapore's founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew died in 2015, the monastery conducted the primary Buddhist prayer service on 26 March 2015 together with the Singapore Buddhist Federation,
Ozark (TV series)
Ozark is an American crime drama web television series. The show was created by Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams for Netflix and produced by Media Rights Capital. Jason Bateman stars as the lead character in the series, as well as directing a number of episodes. Laura Linney, Sofia Hublitz, Skylar Gaertner, Julia Garner, Jordana Spiro, Jason Butler Harner, Esai Morales, Peter Mullan, Lisa Emery, Charlie Tahan, Harris Yulin, Janet McTeer, Tom Pelphrey, Michael Mosley, Trevor Long, Marc Menchaca and McKinley Belcher III also star. The series has earned two Primetime Emmy Awards.
The series is about financial advisor Marty Byrde (Bateman) and his wife Wendy (Linney) moving their family from Chicago to the Ozarks to start a money laundering operation for a Mexican drug cartel. When the Byrdes arrive in Missouri, they become mixed up with local criminals including the Langmores and Snells.
Each "Ozark" season has ten episodes. The first season of was released on July 21, 2017. The second season was released on August 31, 2018. The third season was released on March 27, 2020.
Sofia Hublitz
Sofia Hublitz (born June 1, 1999) is an American actress. She currently stars as Charlotte Byrde in the Netflix series "Ozark" (2017–present). She has also appeared in "MasterChef Junior", "Louie" and "Horace and Pete". She will star in the upcoming movie "What Breaks the Ice".
Hublitz was born in Richmond, Virginia. She lives in New York City.
Julia Garner
Julia Garner (born February 1, 1994) is an American actress. She is best known for her starring role as Ruth Langmore in the Netflix crime drama series "Ozark" (2017–present). This role earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2019.
Garner has also had roles in the FX spy-drama series "The Americans" (2015–18), the Netflix miniseries "Maniac" (2018) and the Bravo true crime series "Dirty John" (2018–19).
Garner's movie credits include "Martha Marcy May Marlene" (2011), "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" (2012), "Electrick Children" (2012), "We Are What We Are" (2013), "" (2014), "Grandma" (2015), "Tomato Red" (2017) and "The Assistant" (2019).
Garner was born in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, New York. She is Jewish. She married Mark Foster, lead singer of Foster the People, in 2019.
Jordana Spiro
Jordana Ariel Spiro (born April 12, 1977) is an American actress, director and writer. She has had roles in television shows such as "The Huntress", "JAG", "My Boys", "The Mob Doctor", "The Good Wife", "Blindspot" and "Ozark". She also directed and co-wrote the drama movie "Night Comes On" (2018).
Spiro was born in Manhattan, New York. She is Jewish. She is married to Matthew Spitzer. The couple have one daughter.
Jason Butler Harner
Jason Thomas Butler Harner (born October 9, 1970) is an American actor. He appears on stage and screen. He starred as FBI special agent Roy Petty in the Netflix series "Ozark" (2017–2018). His other TV work includes "Homeland", "Betrayal", "The Blacklist", "Ray Donovan" and "neXt". He has also appeared in movies such as "Changeling" (2008), "The Taking of Pelham 123" (2009), "Kill the Irishman" (2011) and "Non-Stop" (2014).
Harner was born in Elmira, New York. He grew up in northern Virginia.
Macon County, Missouri
Macon County is a county in Missouri, United States. The county seat is Macon. In 2010, 15,566 people lived there.
St. Charles County, Missouri
St. Charles County is a county in Missouri, United States. The county seat is St. Charles. In 2010, 360,485 people lived there, making it the third-most populous county in Missouri.
St. Charles County is part of the St. Louis, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area and has many of the city's northwestern suburbs.
Gentry County, Missouri
Gentry County is a county in northwestern Missouri, United States. The county seat is Albany. In 2010, 6,738 people lived there.
Stone County, Missouri
Stone County is a county in southwestern Missouri, United States. The county seat is Galena. In 2010, 32,202 people lived there.
Iron County, Missouri
Iron County is a county in Missouri, United States. The county seat is Ironton. In 2010, 10,630 people lived there. It was organized on February 17, 1857.
Roger Kahn
Roger Kahn (October 31, 1927 – February 6, 2020) was an American author. He was born in New York City. Kahn was best known for his 1972 baseball book "The Boys of Summer".
Kahn died on February 6, 2020 in Mamaroneck, New York at the age of 92.
Mamaroneck, New York
Mamaroneck ( ) is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 29,156 at the 2010 census.
Gasconade County, Missouri
Gasconade County is a county in Missouri, United States. The county seat is Hermann. In 2010, 15,222 people lived there.
Wayne County, Missouri
Wayne County is a county in Missouri, United States. The county seat is Greenville. In 2010, 13,521 people lived there. It is in the Ozark foothills.
Brian Glennie
Brian "Blunt" Glennie (August 29, 1946 – February 7, 2020) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. He was born in Toronto. Glennie played in the NHL from 1969 until 1979. Glennie was a master of the hip-check. He played for Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings, Rochester Americans, and Tulsa Oilers. Glennie won a bronze medal at the 1968 Winter Olympics.
Glennie died on February 7, 2020 at the age of 73.
Harrison County, Missouri
Harrison County is a county in Missouri, United States. The county seat is Bethany. In 2010, 8,957 people lived there. The county was organized on February 14, 1845 and named for U.S. Representative Albert G. Harrison of Missouri.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water.
As of the 2010 census, there were 8,957 people, 3,669 households and 2,461 families living in Harrison County.
Kevin Conway (actor)
Kevin John Conway (May 29, 1942 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and film director. He was born in New York City. Conway was known for his roles in "Gettysburg", "Thirteen Days" and "Invincible".
Conway died on February 5, 2020, of a heart attack in New York City, aged 77.
Pike County, Missouri