Origin of the Asia-Pacific General Assembly

The founder of Buddhism, Sakyamuni Buddha, was born in the Sakya Kingdom in Kapilavastu, India. At the age of 29, he gave up the throne, fame, wealth and glory. After 49 years of hard practice, verification and preaching, he lived to be 80 years old. After the Buddha's death, Buddhist scriptures were compiled four times. Around the first year of the Yongping reign of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Mahayana Buddhism began to be introduced into China. King Kanishka of the Kushan Dynasty in India ordered "Venerable Upali" to compile the Buddhist scriptures for the fourth time, and the Mahavibhasa-sastra was produced during this period. Bodhisattva Asanga and Upali advocated Mahayana Buddhism and received support from King Kanishka. They built temples to support Mahayana monks. Buddha statues also began to appear. Bodhisattva Asanga wrote the Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana.

Generally speaking, the route of Buddhism's introduction to the East was

Northern Buddhism: From the ancient Gandhara (Pakistan, northern Afghanistan) through Central Asia, the Western Regions (Xinqiang), and the Hexi Corridor to reach China, it was called the "Silk Road" in ancient times. It was then spread to Korea and Japan, and the teachings spread along this route are known in history as "Northern Buddhism."

Theravada Buddhism

It spread from South India via Sri Lanka to Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and other places. Some branches landed in South China and entered mainland China. This route is the famous "Maritime Silk Road", also known as "Theravada Buddhism".

Tibetan Buddhism

The later route for the spread of Buddhism was from East India across the Himalayas into Tibet.

Postwar Chinese Buddhism

After the end of World War II in 1945, Taiwan entered the period of the Nationalist Government. Later in the 1950s, due to the Chinese Civil War and the Chinese Communist Party's prohibition of the promotion of Buddhism, more and more Chinese Buddhist missionaries came to Taiwan to settle down. In 1953, the Daxian Temple ordination ceremony was the first grand ordination ceremony held in Taiwan after the war. Different from the more secular Buddhism that was popular in Zhangzhou and Quanzhou in the past, the Chinese Buddhist monasticism that emphasized "atheism" was officially cultivated in Taiwan at this time. After decades of preaching, Buddhism began to become popular in Taiwan in the mid-1980s. Coupled with factors such as economic development and political relaxation, the Chinese system of Mahayana Buddhism introduced from mainland China has become an emerging dominant force in Buddhism. Not only did the number of Buddhist believers increase, but Buddhist verses that had never appeared before also appeared in large numbers on various occasions. In terms of the size of Buddhist groups, the Tzu Chi Foundation, Fo Guang Shan, Dharma Drum Mountain and Chung Tai Chan Monastery have the greatest influence and are listed by Taiwanese Buddhist historian Dr. Chiang Chan-teng as the four major Buddhist venues in post-war Taiwan. Venerable Master Jingkong has spared no effort in spreading the Dharma on television, and his teachings have spread throughout the Asia-Pacific region. The collection of the Venerable Master’s Good Sayings and CDs published by the Buddha Education Foundation and the DVDs recorded by Huazang Television are even more numerous. It has a great influence on Buddhists in the Asia-Pacific region.

Origin of the Kumgangshan Asia-Pacific General Assembly

Master Zongyang, the master of Mount Kongfu, took it as his mission to spread the Mahayana sutras and teachings. His original wish was to benefit all sentient beings, and his footprints in spreading the Dharma covered Southeast Asia. It was not until 2004 that local believers living in Riau, Indonesia, established a Dharma Protector Association, designed a logo, and registered with the local government as the Indonesian Buddhist Vajra Mountain Association. Later, it developed into three foundations, namely the Kongosan Honganji Foundation, the Baishagang Yundian Temple Foundation, and the Religious University Foundation. Everyone worked together to support the mentor's ambition to establish a religious university and cultivate religious teachers. During this period, the Master often went in and out of Johor, Malaysia, and went to Buddhist associations in various places with local lotus friends to give lectures. In 2006, he came to Penang. The owner of the garden donated land and begged the Master to build the Mani Zen Temple. Afterwards, the Ksitigarbha Hall, the Relic Pagoda Forest, the Xiangyun Cave, and the preparatory committee for the Diamond Mountain Research Institute were successively established. In 2011, lay Buddhists organized the Vajra Mountain Penang Buddhist Association to support the Master’s great cause of spreading the Dharma in Malaysia.
Between 2000 and 2003, the Master recorded the CD of the Avatamsaka Sutra in Singapore and has made many Dharma connections. In 2009, he lectured on the "Sutra of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva" at the Singapore Dharma Propagation Center, and in 2012, he lectured on the "General Meaning of the Avatamsaka Sutra", which not only benefited local lotus friends, but also believers from Indonesia and Malaysia came to listen. In 2013, Singapore also established a Dharma Protector Association and once again invited the Master to the Singapore Dharma Propagation Center to lecture on "The Great Meaning of the Diamond Sutra". Ten Dharma Protectors from Taiwan came, among whom was Ms. Wu Jinque. Seeing that Dharma Protectors from various countries in Vajra Mountain had gathered in Singapore, they thought, why not take advantage of this auspicious opportunity to hold a gathering. This was also the first gathering of the Vajra Mountain Asia-Pacific General Association, with a total of 66 people from four countries participating. As for Taiwan, there are Kongshan believers in the north, central and south, but there is a lack of connection and organization. It was not until 2009 that the Kongshan Cultural and Educational Association of the Republic of China was established in Changhua, and believers in the north, central and south were included in the association. The greatest achievement at that time was the production of two DVDs, "Study on the Ksitigarbha Sutra" and "Study on the General Meaning of the Avatamsaka Sutra".
Due to coincidence, in 2012, the Taoyuan Lecture Hall moved to the Kaohsiung Lecture Hall. The believers in the south immediately established a Dharma Protector Association. At this time, the Hongyi Monastery in the north also established a Dharma Protector Association. Based on the belief of universal compassion, the Master intends to combine the strength of the Dharma Protectors Associations in the north, central and south to jointly protect the Dharma, so he appointed the Executive Director of the Cultural and Educational Association to organize the Asia-Pacific Association, to upgrade the national association to an Asia-Pacific regional association, and even expand it into an international organization.

In May 2014, the chairmen and volunteers of the four countries in the Asia-Pacific region (Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia) held the first Asia-Pacific preparatory meeting in Rawai, Indonesia, and held the second preparatory meeting in Hotel Hi Lai, Taiwan in June. In January 2015, cadres and volunteers from the north, central and south of Mount Kongfu gathered at the Kaohsiung Relic Hall and, with the assistance of legal advisor Attorney Chen Guide, completed the charter of the Asia-Pacific General Assembly. The meeting decided that President Lin Zhou Shuzhi would serve as the chairman of the Asia-Pacific General Assembly. And formally apply for registration with the Ministry of the Interior. ​After more than two years of planning and hard work, the Kongo Mountain Asia Pacific General Assembly was finally officially registered in Taiwan in July 2016. The establishment of the Asia Pacific General Assembly marks the beginning of another stage of glory and challenge for Kongo Mountain’s work of spreading the Dharma and benefiting sentient beings. The Master could not bear to see the decline of the holy teachings, so he led the four groups of Kongo Mountain disciples to work hard and practice diligently, upholding the spirit of the Buddha to continue the Buddha’s wisdom and take on the mission of educating sentient beings. The Asia-Pacific General Assembly will integrate the resources of various countries in the Asia-Pacific region to benefit the people, whether in education, culture or the promotion of Buddhism, so that all beings can enjoy happiness and be free from suffering in this world, and achieve the goal of social stability and world peace.

The monks and lay people work together and practice the Bodhisattva Path, praying that the Dharma will remain in the world for a long time and that all beings will be free from suffering and attain happiness!

In May 2014, the chairmen and volunteers of the four countries in the Asia-Pacific region (Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia) held the first Asia-Pacific preparatory meeting in Rawai, Indonesia, and held the second preparatory meeting in Hotel Hi Lai, Taiwan in June. In January 2015, cadres and volunteers from the north, central and south of Mount Kongfu gathered at the Kaohsiung Relic Hall and, with the assistance of legal advisor Attorney Chen Guide, completed the charter of the Asia-Pacific General Assembly. The meeting decided that President Lin Zhou Shuzhi would serve as the chairman of the Asia-Pacific General Assembly. And formally apply for registration with the Ministry of the Interior. ​After more than two years of planning and hard work, the Kongo Mountain Asia Pacific General Assembly was finally officially registered in Taiwan in July 2016. The establishment of the Asia Pacific General Assembly marks the beginning of another stage of glory and challenge for Kongo Mountain’s work of spreading the Dharma and benefiting sentient beings. The Master could not bear to see the decline of the holy teachings, so he led the four groups of Kongo Mountain disciples to work hard and practice diligently, upholding the spirit of the Buddha to continue the Buddha’s wisdom and take on the mission of educating sentient beings. The Asia-Pacific General Assembly will integrate the resources of various countries in the Asia-Pacific region to benefit the people, whether in education, culture or the promotion of Buddhism, so that all beings can enjoy happiness and be free from suffering in this world, and achieve the goal of social stability and world peace.

The monks and lay people work together and practice the Bodhisattva Path, praying that the Dharma will remain in the world for a long time and that all beings will be free from suffering and attain happiness!