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Brief Introduction of LHM Leong Hwa Monastery has more than a hundred years' of history. This was established from land title records dated on 21 March 1901. These records also contained information on the role of the various venerables towards the development of the Monastery. Some of the prominent past venerables include Venerable Sek Hock Siew, Venerable Sek Sok Wah, Venerable Sek Leong Choon, Venerable Sek Cheng San, Venerable Sek Cheng Kong and Venerable Sek Whay Kuan. The names of the Monastery was changed a few times and the present name, LEONG HWA MONASTERY was adopted at a recent general meeting held on 20 April 2003. The new name better reflects the kind of activities of this Buddhist temple following the redevelopment of the building in May 2002. A person in meditation: Strengthening one’s conscious MIND Bringing you peace and harmony Leong Hwa Monastery aims to expound the teachings of Sakyamuni Buddha and to cultivate compassion, loving kindness and wisdom for the benefit of all humanity.
Our Honorary Religious Advisor
Venerable Tsang Hui was born in Taiwan and at age 17, he took his vows and became a monk. Venerable Tsang Hui first attended the San Zang Buddhist College conducted by Venerable Bai Sheng and upon completion, courses he went to Fu Yuan Vihara (Monastery) in Xin Zhu province, to study under Venerable Yin Shun. After his mandatory national service, he completed his senior secondary school in order to study education and mathematics at the Taiwan National Normal University. He was one of the first monks to receive a modern university education amongst the Buddhist communities in Taiwan. Venerable Tsang Hui left Taiwan in 1977 to plant the Bodhi seed in Australia. He was initially appointed abbot of the Prajna Hall, in Dixon Street, Sydney. While studying English, he found time to help the many war refugees who arrived in Australia from Indochina to overcome their spiritual and financial difficulties, including starting a tuition class programme. He founded the Buddhist Society at the University of New South Wales (UNIBUDS) and remains as a Patron of UNIBUDS. In May 1985, he founded the Hwa Tsang Monastery, Sydney. Then in 2014, he continued his mission and established Yan San Shu Monastery in Fuzhou, China. The Venerable is very knowledgeable on Buddhist scripts and his audience finds his talks lively and humorous and yet relate to our daily lives. He believes that knowledge of the dharma must be the foundation of anyone's Buddhist practice; especially for the youth, it is imperative that this foundation be laid early. It is when one is young that there is time for Buddhist study, and it is with this knowledge that "faith, confidence and interest" in Buddhism can be cultivated. Without the foundation that was built earlier, he will have no basis to live a Buddhist life. Venerable Tsang Hui believes that Buddhism is useful and relevant to modern living. The greatest challenge of Buddhism today is to adapt to the times and focus on education. Without access to education about what Buddhism is, it is difficult for the public to truly appreciate its value - the development of wisdom, an insight into the purpose of living, the access to the tools that help us deal with the confusion and hectic reality in which we all live. However, this cannot be manifested or experienced without sufficient Dharma knowledge, and to ensure that the religion continues to thrive, it is essential that the Sangha and the lay people come together to share their experience, vision, and passion. Venerable Tsang Hui is the Vice President of the World Sangha Organisation.?This organisation provides a forum for Sangha representatives from all countries, as well as trying to support and encourage the promotion of the Buddha's Teachings.
Venerable Sek Meow
Ee is our Immediate Past President and now Our Special Advisor. He took over the Monastery in 1989. When he arrived in 1989, there were only 2 elderlys adopted from the Ministry of Community Development & Sports.
Venerable Gu Ru was appointed Abbot of Leong Hwa Monastery on 8 May 2022 during the 27 th Annual General Meeting of the Monastery. In December 2015, he was in Singapore as one of the key venerables leading in the 16-day Avatamsaka Sutra prayer service organised by the Monastery. The Avatamsaka Sutra is one of the longest sutras in Mahayana Buddhism and the first sutra spoken by Buddha after his Enlightenment. He returned to Singapore in March 2016 as the Monastery's resident monk and has since then, been leading the devotees in the regular prayers as well as in our special prayers including leading in Emperor Liang Repentance Service, The Compassionate Samadhi Water Repentance Service, Ksitigarbha Repentance Service and The Yogacara Ulka-mukha (Puja) Dharma Service. He was ordained at Qingliang Temple, Changzhou,Jiangsu Province on 8 April 2002. He received his full Bhikkhu Precepts at Qixia Monastery, Nanjing on 1 April 2004. Venerable Gu Ru held various positions at Qingliang Temple, including Lead Dharma Teacher (維那) for all religious prayers, Prefect (僧值) and Superintendent (监院)
Chia Ti Yu is an accountant by training and has extensive industry experience in finance and accounting in both the public and private sectors as well as charitable organisations. He is active in community work and some past appointments included Deputy Registrar of Marriages/Licence Solemniser, Member of the Finance Committee of Pasir Ris - Punggol Town Council and Chairman - MCST4561. His current appointments include Chairman - School Advisory Committee Casuarina Primary School, Chairman - Audit Committee of Singapore Buddhist Free Clinic, Vice-Chairman - Pasir Ris East IRCC and Committee Member - Pasir Ris East Citizen Consultative Committee Our Management Committee Members President : CHIA TI YU: Finance Director, Singapore Food Agency Vice President : YONG HON GUI, FREDDIE SEA/SG Customer Service Lead, 3M Singapore Pte Ltd Secretary : CHONG JIAJUN, TIMOTHY: Tax Associate, KPMG Treasurer : LI LE: Assistant Finance Manager, ISPA Corporate Services Pte Ltd Committee Members : CHEN HUIHUI: Project Engineer, Alfa Tech VestAsia Pte Ltd LEE YIN HAO NICO: Lawyer, Emerald Law LIM KIAT SENG: Asst Property Manager, Swee Cheng Management Pte Ltd NG LAI HOONG: Managing Director, H & D Construction Engineering Pte Ltd TOH LAI SOON DAVID: Manager, Lexbuild Wheels & Rail Pte Ltd
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(A Self-relating Story of Our Special Advisor, Venerable Sek Meow Ee)
