But, did you know that in the early 1900s, long before Kek Lok Si was filled with budding photographers and eager tourists, rumours of secret underground sex tunnels and explicit orgy gatherings circled within the temple’s religious walls and spread like wildfire throughout the village of Air Itam?

Yes, underneath all that serenity lies a history stained with bloodshed and sacrifice by the temple’s founder and head monk, Abbot Beow Lean.

What’s even more interesting is that its gory past involves the N95 mask inventor Dr Wu Lien Teh.

Let’s go back to the year 1885, when Abbot Beow Lean was a new monk who had just arrived in Penang.

He had come from Foochow, China, but didn’t have any plans of staying permanently in Penang.

After being appointed as the new resident priest of a local temple, however, Beow Lean humbly accepted and continued residing there – especially since he had seen with his own eyes how devoted the Penang Chinese were towards Buddhism.

But of course, this was before he was embroiled in rumours and scandals.

As Beow Lean spent more time in Penang, he noticed that the island had a large population of wealthy elder women who were interested in religion.

And after finding a hill on Air Itam that came with good Feng Shui, the monk proposed the idea of building a temple high atop greenery and had plans of collecting donations from devoted Buddhists.

The hill that the temple would soon rise from is called Crane Hill in English – or “Huock-san” in Hokkien as coined by Beow Lean – as its shape resembles a majestic crane spreading its wings.

And so, Beow Lean’s followers set out to collect donations, who were met with overwhelming support from the pious.

Once the donations hit half of its targeted amount of 500,000 Straits dollars, the construction of Kek Lok Si promptly began.

Slowly but surely, as the temple’s structure started to form over the five-year construction period, Kek Lok Si’s magnificence grew larger with every passing day and captivated the eyes of avid admirers.

Unfortunately, Beow Lean’s temple also attracted the green gazes of envious monks.

These jealous owners from less sought-out places of worship observed Kek Lok Si’s success from afar, with much bitterness and jealousy.

They began spreading nasty allegations about Beow Lean and his temple to ruin the latter’s glorious reputation.

Not only did they accuse the monk of indulging in a sex-filled life, but also claimed that Beow Lean hosted fervent orgy parties in the alleged secret tunnels beneath Kek Lok Si’s holy grounds.

Sex-filled conspiracies mounted as high as Kek Lok Si’s newly constructed walls, even after it was finally completed in 1905. The vile rumours did not stop, however, and continued to spread.

Determined to put an end to the mud-slinging through action and not words, Beow Lean, the selfless monk, sacrificed a piece of himself to restore the temple’s dignity and prove his innocence.

How did he do this exactly?

Well, first by procuring a sharp cleaver, and second, by chopping off his nether regions with a single powerful swing of said cleaver.

After the deed was done, a profusely-bleeding Beow Lean laid in excruciating pain as he watched his genitalia lay limp in front of him. Detached and severed.

In another household, Wu Lien Teh was roused awake in the middle of the night to frantic door knocks.

A fear-stricken young monk was pleading for his master’s life to be saved, and explained that Beow Lean was bleeding at an alarming rate within Kek Lok Si’s walls.

The doctor wasted not another minute, and chased the young monk up Kek Lok Si’s steep steps to finally meet his patient.

What the doctor witnessed proved to be an unforgettable sight, as years later, Wu painted and penned a vivid image of the monk’s self-mutilation in his autobiography.

In his book, Wu recalled treating Beow Lean’s wound and imagined the defining moment when the monk cut off not only his genitals but also the rumours that had been plaguing him and his temple.

Through Wu’s detailed care and expert knowledge, the bleeding soon stopped.

And although the entire medical procedure lasted from midnight till the early hours of daylight, the doctor didn’t ask for a single cent in return.

So, the next time you’re on Kek Lok Si’s stone steps and admiring its ethereal display of lanterns and lights, you’ll remember two things.

One, the selfless act that the legendary Dr Wu Lien Teh carried out to save a man’s life without asking for anything in return.

Two, the story of a devoted monk who sacrificed a piece of himself, quite literally, to prove his innocence and ensure that the Kek Lok Si temple continues to stand until today.