The 10,000 Buddhas concept belongs to the Chinese Mahāyāna school of Buddhism while Rama VI was king over a Theravāda country and Buddhist tradition.

In Hokkien (a southern Chinese language), kek-lok literally means "supreme joy", itself a translation of the Sanskrit Sukhāvatī, a Pure Land.

It was inspired by Beow Lean, the chief Chan Buddhist monk of the Goddess of Mercy Temple at Pitt Street in 1887; he had served earlier in the Kushan Abbey in Fujian in China.

The buildings of the temple complex were sponsored by five leading Chinese business people of Penang known as "Hakka tycoons": Cheong Fatt Tze, his cousin Chang Yu Nan, Cheah Choon Seng, Tye Kee Yoon, and Chung Keng Kooi.

There are also many other shrine chambers, which have stately statues, all gilded, of the Buddhas, bodhisattvas, saintly lohans, guardian spirits, and Heavenly (or Diamond) Kings of Pure Land Buddhism.

[3][4] On the abbot's return to Penang, a royal procession, carrying the edict in a rattan chair and the scriptures in pony-driven carts, was organised leading to the temple complex.

This pagoda combines a Chinese octagonal base with a middle tier of Thai design, and a Burmese crown (spiral dome); reflecting the temple's amalgam of both Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism.

In front of each deity there is a cushion, impressive scrolls, and candles set in very attractive suspended lamps, and with a large number of priests in attendance.

[14] Kek Lok Si Temple is located at the foot of the Air Itam mountain in George Town on Penang Island.

[2][6] Most visitors approach the temple as they ascend a stairway, roofs of which provide shelter to a multitude of shops selling souvenirs and other - mostly secular - commodities.

The architectural features include carved pillars, fine woodwork, mostly painted in bright colours, and a plethora of lanterns add to the visual impression.

On the elevated platform, there is a fish pond, and the towering statue of Kuan Yin, Goddess of Mercy, beseeched by women hoping to have children.

Such worship could be in the form of counting prayer beads or by burning incense or by cash offerings or just by bowing and clapping to make one's presence known to the deity.

The goods on sale comprise ornaments, books, pictures, collection of sayings and strings of a sacred orange colour and mementos such as T-shirts and CDs.