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The Venerable Guan Cheng has been Abbot of our temple and President of the Society’s Board of Directors since 1999. Born in Hong Kong, the Venerable has studied Buddhism for more than forty years. In 1981, he founded the International Buddhist Society with five other devout Buddhists in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. Today, the International Buddhist Temple is run by the Society, and known world-wide as a landmark of Mahayana Buddhism and traditional Chinese architecture.

After studying Buddhism for decades, the Venerable Guan Cheng was ordained as a monk in 1999 by the Venerable Master Xu Lang and other Sangha, at Miao Fa Monastery in the United States. Since then, the Venerable Guan Cheng has traveled all over the world, administering the Society’s charities and holding lectures in both English and Chinese. He also handles the daily affairs of the International Buddhist Temple. Most recently, he was chosen as one of the two delegates for Canada at the First World Buddhist Forum held in Hangzhou, China, with tremendous support from the Chinese government.

The Venerable Guan Cheng hosts a Dharma Talk five days a week, on the Chinese radio station AM 1320 (Overseas Chinese Voice) in Vancouver, Canada, and the Metroshowbiz FM 99.7 radio station in Hong Kong. He is also a bi-weekly Chinese language columnist for Hong Kong’s Buddhist Compassion Magazine, and has published four books in Chinese: Happiness Originates from the Mind (2003), How to Attain Happiness by Appeasing One’s Mind (2004), Prajna-Paramita Hirdya Sutra Commentary (2006), and A Bouquet of Incense from the Heart (2006).

The Venerable Guan Cheng is a Certified Management Accountant (C.M.A.), and holds B.A. and M.B.A. degrees from the University of Toronto. He speaks fluent English, Cantonese, and Mandarin Chinese.