Venerable Master Sing Hung is the first Abbot of the Buddhist Association of Canada Cham Shan Temple. As the first Chinese Mahayana Buddhist monk teaching Buddhism in Canada, he initiated the establishment of The Buddhist Association of Canada in early 1970's. In recognition of his great contribution to multiculturalism and social harmony in Canada, Venerable Master Sing Hung was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Governor General of Canada in January 2013.

Ven. Master Sing Hung was born in Zhaozhou in the Province of Hebei in 1924. Zhao was his surname at birth. Under the guidance of his father in 1936, he became a novice monk under Venerable Zhiyuan of Sucheng Temple in Henan. In 1939, he was fully ordained by Venerable Xianming of Guangji Temple in Beijing. After ordination, he studied at Fayuan School of Buddhism in Beijing. In 1943, he studied Tiantai doctrines under the distinguished teacher of Tiantai, Venerable Master Tan Xu, at the Cham Shan Temple School of Buddhism in Qingdao, Shandong. Three years later, he graduated and took up position in the temple. In all these years, he was educated in the tradition of Chinese Mahayana Buddhism.

During the Chinese civil war in 1948, following the instruction of their teacher Venerable Master Tan Xu, Ven. Sing Hung Sinand his four Dharma brothers of Cham Shan Temple in Qingdao: Shi Lok To, Shi Shenghuai, Shi Dacheng and Shi Zhikai, went to Hong Kong. With the help from Hongfa Temple, Ven. Sing Hung established the Huanan School of Buddhism to further propagate Buddhism. Ven. Master Tan Xu was appointed Principal. It was difficult to operate a school for monastics without sufficient funding. Together, they overcame a lot of hardship and challenges with dedication and conviction. During his time at the Huanan School of Buddhism, Ven. Sing Hung furthered his studies of Tiantai doctrines and Pure Land.

In 1962, in order to accomplish the mission of bringing Chinese Mahayana Buddhism to the Western world, Ven. Lok To left Hong Kong for America. Ven. Sing Hung and Ven. Shing Cheung stayed behind to care for their Master Ven. Tan Xu, who later passed away in 1963. During the three years of working in the library, they had the chance to deepen their studies in the Tripitaka to prepare them for spreading Buddhism abroad.

On July 1st, 1967, Canada celebrated its 100th birthday. Ven. Sing Hung and Ven. Shing Cheung were invited by Ven. Lok To to visit the World Expo'67 in Montreal. Never had a Chinese monk settled in Canada at that time. This trip became the beginning of their hard and meaningful venture of establishing monasteries and propagating Buddhism in a Western land. In those days, Chinese population was low in Toronto and disciples were few. Despite the hardship, their faith and determination enabled them to establish The Buddhist Association of Canada and found their first Nanshan Temple in 1968. Since then, with the presence of a temple, Dharma and Sangha, disciples began to grow in number.

In 1973, a disciple of Ven. Tan Xu donated a house for use as a temple which was named Cham Shan Temple in commemoration of the Cham Shan Temple in Qingdao, China. The three Venerables: Sing Hung, Shing Cheung and Lok To, became co-Abbots of the temple. Thereafter, Ven. Sing Hung and his Dharma brothers carried out their mission of propagating Buddhism diligently and over ten affiliated temples were subsequently established to strengthen the influence of Buddhism in Canada. Ven. Sing Hung has a vision for the future and made a vow to construct the Four Great Sacred Buddhist Mountains in Canada, promote the virtues of wisdom, compassion, practice and resolution, which have been exemplified by the four Bodhisattvas. He has made enormous impact on the development of Chinese Mahayana Buddhism in North America, which is to be remembered forever.