Sik Kok Kwong
Sik Kok Kwong, GBM GBS was a Tiantai Buddhist monk from Hong Kong and the first president of the Hong Kong Buddhist Association. He was also the Honorary Vice President of the World Buddhist Sangha Council, a member of the Hong Kong Basic Law Drafting Committee, and a Hong Kong Affairs Advisor.
Early life
Born Gu Chenghai in Haicheng, Liaoning, Kok Kwong exhibited interest in Buddhism at an early age. At the age of nine, he left the home life and ordained as a novice monk at Haihui Temple in Shanghai in 1928. Two years later, he was introduced to Venerable Yuanying, the abbot of Tiantong Temple in Ningbo, where he received the full precepts as well as a new dharma name, Jueguang. In 1939, Kok Kwong received the Tiantai lineage from Venerable Master Baojing. Through Baojing, Kok Kwong became the 46th lineage holder of the Tiantai sect. Shortly thereafter, following the Japanese invasion of China, Kok Kwong retreated to Hong Kong.Influence
In his capacity as a senior monastic, Kok Kwong established monasteries and was appointed abbot and director to many temples in Hong Kong. In 1945, Kok Kwong, together with other senior clerics, founded the Hong Kong Buddhist Association. Kok Kwong would later become the association's permanent president in 1966. As president, he oversaw the establishment of several educational institutions, such as the Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies in 1945, the Wong Fung Ling College and the Wong Cheuk Um Primary School in 1956, and the Kok Kwong Secondary School in 1979. Hospitals, cemeteries, and the providing of social services were also established under Kok Kwong's leadership.In Kok Kwong's later years, he along with eight venerables of various traditions proposed the World Buddhist Forum in mainland China in 2004, a suggestion that won support from Buddhist circles in countries like Japan and the Republic of Korea. He also spearheaded two tours of relics of the Buddha in 1999 and in 2003.