Cham Shan Temple

Story

Cham Shan Temple of Canada was founded in 1973. Its present location was donated by the lay devotees Deqing He and Xueming Zhang He, both disciples of Master Tan Xu. It was named Cham Shan Temple in memory of the Cham Shan Temple established by the Dharma Master Tan Xu at Qingdao in China. The couple thereafter invited three of Ven. Tan Xu's ordained monks from Hong Kong, Ven. Sing Hung, Ven. Shing Cheung and Ven. Lok To, to be the pioneering abbots to the temple in Canada.

The three Buddhist monks undertook the vows bequeathed by Master Tan Xu to house the monastics and propagate Buddhism to benefit all beings. Two years later, in 1975, with the concerted efforts of the Sangha and the laity, the residential house was converted to a Buddhist main worship hall. Cham Shan Temple then found its footing to reach out to the public and became one of the first Buddhist institutions featuring traditional Chinese architecture in a Western country. It provided a sanctuary for the Chinese-Canadian community to learn Buddhism and cultivate towards enlightenment.

In 1984 and 1994, two additional congregation halls known as Guanyin (Avalokitesvara) Hall and Dizang (Ksitigarbha) Hall were constructed respectively. The Entrance Gate and the Tan Xu Memorial Shrine were also built. Since 1998 until present, the neighbouring houses adjacent to Cham Shan Temple were subsequently purchased and the properties were converted to become the Wisdom (Prajna) Shrine and Avatamsaka (Flower Garland) Pavilion. The total land area now stands approximately over four acres. In the years that followed, various congregation buildings within Ontario province were also subsequently established. They are: Hong Fa Temple, Cham Shan Buddhist Learning Centre, Fah Hoy Temple, Cham Shan Chan Temple, Cham Shan Buddhist Library, Ten Thousand Buddhas Sarira Stupa, Ci En Temple, etc. Scheduled events and services including dharma talks, meditation, chanting and repentance services, Sunday school, library service and many more are provided at all the above locations to propagate Buddhism.

Cham Shan Temple stands out as one of the earliest Buddhist organizations to spread Mahayana (Great Vehicle) Buddhism in Toronto. Over the years, it has become an important place of worship for devotees in Toronto. On special festive occasions such as Chinese New Year, thousands of visitors come to the temple to offer homage to the Buddha and to attend services for peace and blessings.

Cham Shan Temple continues to expand to meet the growing demands of the congregation. In 2003, the three Elder Masters ceremoniously handed the torch of Tiantai Dharma Lineage to Ven. Dayi Shi, a postgraduate of the City University of New York, USA to succeed as the 46th Patriarch of Tiantai Sect and Abbot of Cham Shan Temple.

Ven. Dayi Shi has been diligently promoting the principle of “Living with Wisdom”. He regularly delivers Dharma discourses through three radio programs in Canada, consistently practices meditation, and is actively involved in charity events. Under his leadership, Cham Shan Temple and its affiliations take the initiative in three aspects:

1. Establish and develop an education centre to promote Chinese culture and propagate Buddhist virtues of loving-kindness and compassion.

2. Uphold monastic standards, nurture monks and nuns in the promulgation of Buddhism.

3. Construct the Four Great Sacred Buddhist Gardens in Canada to provide amiable places for cultivation, to purify the mind and bring about social harmony.

Ven. Dayi Shi pledges to carry on the vows of the Elder Masters in leading both the monastery and the congregation of Cham Shan Temple into a new era in developing the Four Great Sacred Buddhist Gardens in Canada (The land covers 1,300 acres). This remarkable development is a major project, which will go down in history providing benefits to numerous generations of future truth-seekers. This project, when completed, will become a historical milestone in the growth of Buddhism in North America. It also serves to promote multiculturalism in Canada by bringing Chinese culture to a Western society.

Today, Cham Shan Temple and its affiliated locations organize various activities, which include regular classes and services, meditation retreats, mantra and sutra reading, Buddhist palliative care, library service, etc. Please check individual location for opening hours, schedules and activities.

加拿大湛山精舍成立于一九七三年，由倓虚老法师的皈依弟子何德庆 、何张雪明两位居士，捐献现址楼房一座，取名湛山精舍，以此纪念倓虚老法师在中国青岛创建的湛山寺，并聘请倓虚老法师的三位入室弟子──来自香港的性空法师、诚祥法师和乐渡法师为第一任住持。

他们秉承倓老的遣志，建寺安僧、讲经说法、弘扬圣教。故于一九七五年在僧俗四众的大力支持和帮助下，终于将普通住屋扩建为佛教大雄宝殿，宣扬佛法，成为多伦多首座中国式的寺院，并为当地华人提供一处学佛修行的道场。一九八四年及一九九四年又分别建成两侧的观音殿和地藏殿，以及山门和倓虚老法师纪念堂。一九九八年及二零零零年先后购买了湛山邻居楼房二座改为般若堂和华严阁。现在湛山整体面积约有四英亩地。

后来于安省各地相继创立了弘法精舍、湛山禅院、佛海禅院、湛山文物馆、法海禅院、湛山学佛院和万佛舍利宝塔寺等道场，并定期举办佛经讲坐、法会共修等活动。

湛山精舍是加拿大多伦多宣扬中国大乘佛教成立最早、规模最大的佛教组织之一，每逢佛教大法会均有数百人从各处赶来参加共修，特别是每逢中国新年更有成千上万的人排队等候上香祈福。

随着信众的增多与需求，湛山精舍亦在不断的扩大与发展。三位开山长老为了湛山的佛教事业继续发扬光大，在二零零三年特别将天台宗法脉传授给毕业于美国纽约大学的达义法师，并指定他担任湛山精舍第二代住持。

达义法师禀秉师志，率领僧俗四众弟子正在积极筹备由湛山精舍发起创建的加国佛教四大名山工程 (土地面积达一千三百多英亩)，这项功在千秋，利于万代的浩大工程，既能很好的宣扬佛教的慈悲精神，又是发扬中华传统文化的平台。它将是北美佛教发展史上的里程碑，亦是世界人民净化心灵的福地。

为了謹尊佛陀的开示，坚持教覌等持，福慧双修的教学原则，湛山精舍以及各别院时常举办：佛学讲座、读书会、坐禅、拜忏、诵经、念佛、持咒、放生、临终关怀、图书馆开放、寺院参访、法物义卖和素食供应等活动。