• Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery is located in Bishan. As of 2020, the temple covers an area of 75,470 square metres. The total area is equivalent to 11 football fields, making it the largest Buddhist temple in Singapore.
• The monastery was founded in 1921 by Venerable Zhuan Dao. As the first abbot, he made it the monastery’s mission to promote, master and practise Buddhism, and to provide shelter for monks who came from afar.
• In 1947, Venerable Hong Choon took over as the second abbot. Besides building Kong Meng San into one of Southeast Asia’s renowned Buddhist temples, he continued the temple’s mission of developing and promoting Buddhism in Singapore.
• The temple’s name was inspired by the Pure Land of Avalokiteśvara (Guanyin) Bodhisattva, known in Chinese as “光明山”. The term “普觉” means “universal enlightenment”, serving as a reminder for Buddhists to follow the Buddha’s teachings, enabling all of humanity to attain liberation through enlightenment.
• Kong Meng San’s facilities include six shrine halls, three ancestral halls, the Venerable Hong Choon Memorial Hall, a pond, and a book & souvenir shop.
• The monastery offers a range of religious activities and services, such as refuge taking, prayers, cremation and storage of ancestral tablets.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cast its shadow over Singapore, some people have chosen to conduct their rites of ancestor worship a few weeks before the upcoming Qingming Festival, so as to avoid contact with large crowds. As a result, many visited the Kong Meng San Columbarium and Kwong Wai Siew Peck San Theng yesterday (March 14) to perform tombsweeping, leading to occasional crowds. (Lianhe Wanbao, 15/3/2020)