Venerable Dayi Shi’s Appointment as Vice President of The World Fellowship of Buddhists
達義大和尚當選世佛聯副會長開創加國佛教歷史性一頁
The 30th World Fellowship of Buddhists General Conference was held in Bangkok Thailand from October 18th to 20th, 2022. The agenda of the 3-days conference includes the election of the Steering Committee, Executive Committee, Standing Committee members, Vice Presidents, and Presidency among Most Venerables and renowned scholars throughout the world. The President of The Buddhist Association of Canada, Abbot of Cham Shan Temple, Venerable Dayi Shi is appointed the position of Vice President by the World Fellowship of Buddhists, creating a historical precedent for a Canadian eminent monk holding office with honorary position in an international Buddhist organization.
The World Fellowship of Buddhists (WFB) is a liaison unit of UNESCO. Since its inauguration in 1950, WFB has a long seventy-two years of history. Some fundamental Buddhist iconic symbols, such as the Buddhist flag, Buddhist emblem, official VESAK date etc. are all initiated by WFB and its regulations. With a long-standing history, WFB has earned its remarkable status and global recognition in Buddhist communities.
Upon his appointment as Vice President of WFB, Venerable Dayi Shi has expressed his gratitude on behalf of The Buddhist Association of Canada (BAC), Cham Shan Temple towards this meaningful mission. This is a formal recognition by WFB to BAC, for our propagation work in North America in the past half a century. The unity and synergy between Buddhist communities are demonstrated on an international level. Together we strive toward peace in the world and purify in our minds. This also is a form of endorsement of our Canadian Buddhist organization by international Buddhist communities.
In the 1960s, our founders late Ven. Lok To, late Ven. Shing Cheung and Elder Ven. Sing Hung have established BAC Cham Shan Temple. Since his appointment as the current Abbot of Cham Shan Temple, Ven. Dayi Shi has worked diligently towards the propagation of Buddhism both locally in Canada and in global Buddhist communities. In 2016, BAC was recognized by WFB as its new Regional Center. In 2018, Elder Ven. Sing Hung and Ven. Dayi Shi have both participated in the 29th WFB General Conference held in Narita, Japan, where Ven. Dayi Shi was appointed as the co-chair for the Dharma Propagation Committee.
The World Fellowship of Buddhists (WFB) is an international Buddhist organization established since 1950 in Sri Lanka by a famous Sri Lankan Pali scholar, Dr. Gunapala Piyasena Malalasekera. The inauguration of WFB was endorsed by 129 Buddhist delegates from 27 countries. With the headquarter currently located at Bangkok, Thailand, WFB has over 180 regional centers in 50 countries throughout the world. WFB’s missions are propagation of Buddhism, promotion of solidarity and unity among Buddhists in the world towards peace and happiness of mankind. The General Conference is held every two years, where resolutions are established to provide operational guidelines and financial reporting in order to establish the theme and location of the next general conference. After hosting the 29th General Conference in Japan in 2018, the global pandemic has deferred the 30th General Conference until this year of 2022.
世界佛教徒聯誼會（World Fellowship of Buddhists，簡稱世佛聯）當地時間10月18 - 20日在泰國曼谷舉行第30屆大會。三天會議內容，包括選舉本屆指導委員(Steering Committee)、執行委員 (Executive Committee)、常務委員 (Standing Committee) 及副會長(Vice President) 等職位，分別由來自世界各地的高僧大德擔任。加拿大佛教會會長、湛山精舍住持達義大和尚成功被委任世佛聯副會長一職。這是加國佛教高僧首次獲得世佛聯副會長級別任命，開創了加國高僧在世佛聯這種國際性佛教組織中擔任最高職位的歷史先河。
世界佛教徒聯誼會是聯合國教科文組織認可的全球性佛教徒聯誼組織，自1950年創會以來已經走過了72年曆史。現今世界佛教界的一系列基礎性設計，例如佛教的旗幟、佛教教徽、佛陀紀念日（衛塞節）等等，都來自於世佛聯及其章程，因此，世佛聯在世界佛教界，歷史悠久，威望崇高，具有舉足輕重的地位。
在世佛聯選舉結果公佈後，達義大和尚接受采訪時表示，能夠代表加拿大佛教會、湛山精舍當選世佛聯副會長這一崇高的職位，是一件非常有意義的事情。這是世佛聯對加拿大佛教會、湛山精舍在北美半個世紀弘法事業的高度肯定，是對加國佛教組織服務社會的高度認可。這既顯示了國際佛教界更加團結、互動交流，共同為世界和平、淨化心靈而努力，也說明加國佛教組織得到了國際佛教界的高度認可，對此感到非常欣慰。
加拿大佛教會湛山精舍自上世紀六七十年代，經由樂渡長老、誠祥長老和性空長老開山建寺，達義大和尚擔任湛山精舍住持以來，不僅在本土積極弘傳佛法，也主動參與全球性的佛教國際事務和弘法活動。 2016年，加拿大佛教會被世佛聯正式接納為新的區域中心；2018年，性空長老和達義大和尚出席在日本舉行的世佛聯大會，達義大和尚還擔任世佛聯弘法委員會共同主席。
世界佛教徒聯誼會是一個國際性的佛教組織，由斯里蘭卡的巴利語大師古納帕拉倡導，於1950年在來自27個國家的129個佛教團體的支持下成立。今天，世佛聯的總部坐落於泰國曼谷，已有190多個成員組織。該組織以“智悲一體”為宗旨，在弘揚佛教、人道主義援助等方面有突出的表現。每兩年，世佛聯會舉行一次全體代表大會，由秘書處匯報過去兩年的聯合會工作，發布財政審計報告，選出下一屆執行委員會，討論發展議題，審核新的成員申請，鼓勵成員間的交流合作，並就下一次集會的地點和主題做出決議。 2018年第29屆世佛聯大會後，因為全球性的新冠疫情影響，第30屆世佛聯大會推遲至2022年舉行。