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Miss
Pitt Chin Hui (1906 ~ 1981)
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This charming lady was born to a wealthy family in Guangzhou
in China. Being the youngest child in the family, she was
pampered and spoilt. Her original name was Pitt Xiuying, but
she wished she was not a girl, so later she changed her name
to Pitt Chin Hui which sounded more masculine.
Her mother brought her to Penang to receive an education
there. In 1924, she sat for the Senior Cambridge Examination
and while waiting for the examination results, she became an
English teacher at the Fujian Girl’s School. In 1927, she
left for further studies at the Zhongshan University in
Guangzhou. However, she terminated her tertiary studies and
returned to Penang when her mother became seriously ill.
The Maha Bodhi School
Back in Penang, she attended lectures by Venerable Taixu and
his disciple, Venerable Cihang, at the Khek Lok Si Temple.
She realized that Buddhism was not superstitious but a
doctrine which appealed to those who sought freedom from
suffering. She became a disciple of Venerable Cihang and
studied under him. At this time, she helped to found the
Maha Bodhi School in Penang. |
In 1944
when Venerable Cihang came to Singapore to teach the Dharma, she
accompanied him. When the Japanese surrendered, she went back to
Penang to teach English and Buddhism at the Maha Bodhi School.
However in 1946, she returned to Singapore at the request of
Venerable Cihang who suggested that she set up a Maha Bodhi School
in Singapore to promote Buddhist education.
She
faced two problems in her task – finance and a place for a school.
She rented a shophouse at 743 Geylang Road, started a school which
had an enrolment of only three classes of about forty pupils and a
staff of four including herself. The school was officially opened on
12 January 1948 with Sister Wong Loon Soo as the first school
principal. Miss Pitt Chin Hui herself taught in the morning and went
around collecting the monthly or yearly sponsorships in the
afternoon. She also set up a night school and the fees collected
were used to help pay for the school’s expenses. In 1950, the
management of the school was transferred to the Singapore Buddhist
Federation.
A piece
of land in Lorong 34 Geylang was then bought for a new school
building. A one-storey school was constructed with financial help
from Mr. Aw Boon Haw, a philanthropist. As school enrolment
increased, she suggested that a new five-storey building be built.
Her suggestion was accepted and a new building constructed and
completed in 1969. Except for the first few months, Miss Pitt Chin
Hui served as the primary school principal until she retired in
1971.
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In 1964, school
students doing morning exercise at Maha Bodhi School located
at Lorong 34, Geylang. |
The
Singapore Regional Centre of the World Fellowship of Buddhists
The
Singapore Regional Centre of the World Fellowship of Buddhists had
its beginnings in 1950 when Venerable Kong Hiap and Miss. Pitt Chin
Hui represented the Singapore Buddhist Federation at the World
Fellowship of Buddhists inaugural meeting in Colombo. On their
return, Miss Pitt Chin Hui suggested to the Singapore Buddhist
Federation that an English Section be set up in the Singapore
Buddhist Federation incorporating a Singapore World Fellowship of
Buddhists Regional Centre. However, this suggestion was not taken
up.
In 1952,
the Regional Centre of the World Fellowship of Buddhists was set up
as an independent unit. Miss Pitt Chin Hui was the Honorable
President while Mr. H.G. Abeyratne was the Honorable Secretary. The
Centre has its office at 387 Guillemard Road and it was active in
promoting international Buddhist activities and charity work in
Singapore.
In 1956,
the Regional Centre organized a lighted procession of floats to
celebrate Vesak Day. It also made an effort to build a Buddhist
temple on the grounds of the Government Leprosy Settlement in Yio
Chu Kang. In 1956, of the nearly 1000 patients in this Settlement,
about one-third of them were Buddhists. On May 22nd 1959, the
Singapore Regional Centre sponsored a Vesak Mass Meeting at the
Victoria Theatre.
On Vesak
Day, the Regional Centre would raise funds for distribution to
various charities and welfare organizations such as Association for
the Deaf, Singapore Anti-Tuberculosis Association, Kwang Sui
Hospital, Thong Chai Hospital, Chung Hwa Hospital, St. Andrew’s
Children Hospital, children and old folks homes under the Social
Welfare Department.
The
driving force behind the Regional Centre was Miss Pitt Chin Hui.
Although frail-looking, she was a warm and determined lady.
Vesak
Day
On 15th
June 1955, Vesak Day was declared a public holiday. In a letter to
the Straits Times, Miss Pitt Chin Hui commented that Buddhists in
Singapore were grateful to the government’s considerate and generous
gesture in declaring Vesak Day a public holiday.
Miracle encounter in Poh Ern Shih (click
here)
Besides
her school duties, Miss Pitt Chin Hui was also an active and
hardworking Buddhist worker. In December 1959, she embarked on the
task of translating the ‘Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Sutra’ from Chinese
to English to make this sutra accessible to the English-educated.
Venerable Sumanagalo helped in rendering Chinese and English
nomenclature into Sanskrit and offered suggestions for improving the
English version.
Honour Awards
In 1964,
Miss Pitt Chin Hui was awarded the prestigious Public Service Star (Bintang
Bakti Masharakat) BBM by Encik Yusof bin Ishak, First President of
the Republic of Singapore. In 1973, she was appointed as Justice of
the Peace by Dr Benjamin Henry Sheares, Second President of the
Republic of Singapore. Miss Pitt Chin Hui was also a Vice-President
of the World Fellowship of Buddhists. She passed away in 1981 while
on a trip in India.
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