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Spectre over Shuang Lin
烽火双林 之 卫法捐躯
Venerable Pu Liang (普亮法师)
Venerable Pu Liang was the 10th
Abbot of shuang Lin Monastery from 1917 to 1942 when
he was executed by the Japanese during the Sook Ching.
Venerable Pu Liang’s family name was Xiao
（萧）,
and lived in Hui An
（惠安）
in Southern China. He entered monkhood in
Xichan Si
（西禅寺）,
Fuzhou （福州）,
China. In 1912, he arrived in Singapore and lived in the Shuang Lin Monastery
and was appointed as the Abbot in 1917.
The Venerable served as the Abbot for 25 years
making him one of the longest serving Abbot in the history of Shuang Lin
Monastery.
From 1937 till 1942, Venerable Pu Liang served as the chairperson of
Chinese Buddhist Association (星洲中华佛教会),
a Buddhist charity and social association.
Venerable Pu Liang was described as “very
pleasant and jovial person”, effective in temple management with everything in
“apple-pie order” and able to answer
questions “very quickly and very satisfactory”. He had two Venerable disciples
who served as an accountant and a clerk. Both Venerables were very devoted to
him and assisted in all aspects of monastery management.
Veneable Pu Liang was active in the Buddhist
circle and had frequent contact with Venerable Tai Xu (太虚大师)
who hoped to promote compassion as a means to achieve world peace. During
Venerable Tai Xu’s visit to Singapore, Venerable Pu Liang was often with him and
was mentioned frequently in memoirs of Venerable Tai Xu.
In 1918, Venerable Pu Liang initiated a
restoration of Shuang Lin Monastery. A pair of steles erected in 1920 to
commemorate the restoration can still be seen in the front hall of the monastery
(天王殿Tian
Wang Dian).
A second restoration was planned in 1935 but
put on hold because of the Sino Japanese War that broke out in 7 July 1937.
Sino Japanese War and Shuang Lin
Monastery
The “July 7 incident” (七七事变),
also known as the “Marco Polo Bridge Incident” (卢沟桥事变),
in 1937 marked the beginning of Sino-Japanese War between China and Japan.
Overseas Chinese in South East Asia responded
in support of China and by 1938, the “Nanyang Federation of China Relief Fund” (南洋华侨筹赈祖国难民总会)
was formed as a regional body to co ordinate relief efforts.
China Relief Fund sent material and financial
resources to China and educated the public about the Sino Japanese War.
The Sino Japanese War had resulted in death of
soldiers and civilians. To address the psychological needs of the public,
Venerable Pu Liang organized prayer sessions for the war victims. The prayer
session were conducted on the anniversaries of “July 7 incident” in 1938 to
1940. Veneable Pu Liang also worked with different organization to sell fund
raising flowers.
On the Vesak Day of 1939, he worked with China
Relief Fund to host the “Shuang Lin Monastery Vesak Day Vegetarian Meal Fund
Raising Event” (双林寺释迦佛祖诞辰斋筵助赈会).
The event raised about 10 000 dollars for China Relief Fund.
Explaining his support for this event,
Venerable Pu Liang said that in times of crisis, every citizen, regardless of
age, sex or religion, has a duty to serve the country. As a Venerable, he has
limited resources but he could serve by holding memorial services for war
victims. At the same time, he was willing to contribute Vesak Day vegetarian
meal contributions to the China Relief Fund.
Venerable described by the Nanyang newspaper (南洋商报)
as ”very active in relief work “.
Burma Road
 As
the Sino Japanese War developed, the Japanese advanced southwards capturing the
Chinese seacoast and establishing control over Chinese seaports. It was an
attempt to hasten Chinese surrender by cutting off China’s foreign aid through
the ports.
The Chinese government responded by developing
various land supply routes. One of the supply routes was The Burma Road
（滇缅公路）built from 1937 to 1938. China Relief Fund was asked by the Chinese
government to recruit drivers to serve on the Burma Road.
After sending a few batches of volunteers,
China Relief Fund decided to establish a Driving Institute to train less
experience drivers. They approached Venerable Pu Liang for help and the
Venerable gave them permission to use the land behind the monastery to set up
the Driving Institute. It was probably based on the strong relationship and
trust that the China Relief Fund approached Venerable Pu Liang for permission to
set up the Driving Institution.
Singapore volunteers who had little or no
driving experience were trained in the Driving Institute the left for China. One
of these volunteers was Mr. Wu Hui Min.
Japanese Occupation
On 15 Feb 1942, the Japanese occupied Singapore
and Singapore became Syonan (昭南岛).
On 21 February 1942, the Japanese
launched the “Sook Ching” (肃清,
大检证),
(Purification by Extermination), to eradicate anti Japanese elements in
Singapore.
A group of Japanese soldiers arrived at the
Shuang Lin Monastery to arrest Venerable Pu Liang. They also searched the
monastery and believed to have found China Relief Fund posters and some
mechanical parts belonging to the volunteers.
Venerable Pu Liang and his two disciples were
taken to the Jalan Besar stadium inspection point and executed at Changi Beach.
During the time of the Sook Ching, execution
sites were very close to the Prisoner of war (POW) camp. A British POW, Mr. John Hamilton Wadge, was a
Corporal with the 18th Division who was taken as a prisoner of war
after the British surrender. One day, he witnessed the execution of 3 Chinese
monks at the beach.
Conclusion
The
Japanese surrendered on 15 August 1945. Two years later (1947), the Singapore
Buddhist Association (新加坡中华佛教会)
held a memorial service for Venerable Pu Liang. The commemorative banner paid
tribute to Venerable Pu Liang’s sacrifice. (卫法捐生，是能无畏施，证真断感，不入有余依)
By putting on hold the 1935 restoration and his
efforts to support China Relief Fund, the Venerable placed priority on the
urgent social concerns of the day.
Venerable Pu Liang’s history fills a vacuum in
the Burma Road research showing the consequences of people who supported the
Burma Road and China Relief Fund. In serving the society, Venerable Pu Liang
made the ultimate sacrifice.
It is a reminder that war, conflict and
violence affects everyone and an inspiration to hope for world peace as the
Venerable had aspired during a prayer ceremony in 1940.
The execution of Venerable Pu Liang has been
transmitted orally amongst people familiar with the Monastery’s history but
remain largely unknown among the general public. With new research findings, hopefully the
history of Venerable Pu Liang can be officially recorded so that this history
will not disappear with the passage of time or be forgotten by later
generations.
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