Venerable Kong Hai – Our Founder

The founder of and spiritual force behind SammaDitthi is the Venerable Kong Hai. Kong Hai is an ordained Buddhist monk who resides in his home country of Taiwan. He was ordained at the Lingchuan Temple in the beautiful port town of Keelung, located at the northern tip of the island.

As a student, Kong Hai pursued studies in philosophy, psychology and also had a strong interest in religion and has researched and studied many different philosophical views and faiths found throughout the world. He continued to search for answers that had been puzzling him since his youth even turning to the study of the stars and physics.

In 1981, Kong Hai became a licensed doctor in Traditional Chinese Medicine which led him to the profound realizations of life’s cycle. Later, he left his professional career to pursue studies in Early Buddhism in accordance with the Pāli Canon. Starting from 1989, Kong Hai travelled to Thailand, Korea and Japan where he engaged in studies and researched the practices of Chan (Zen) meditation. The more he learned the more he recognized the complications and divisions present in the various Buddhist traditions. Kong Hai made the decision to return to the grassroots of Buddhist teachings and share with people everywhere the simple steps to liberation that the Buddha himself practiced. Kong Hai is an avid meditation practitioner and will often spend days in secluded practice. His teachings spur from the Chinese Pāli Canon (阿含經) and other materials including the Heart Sutra, Diamond Sutra, Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching) and Liu Zu Tan Jing.

Since 2001, Kong Hai has been sharing his knowledge and realizations of truths visible in the natural world with all who are interested. When he is not working on his own practice in seclusion he travels teaching Ānāpānasati– Buddhist mindfulness of breathing meditation and leading silent meditation retreats.

“The key to liberation is being present in the here and now, accepting of everything in the moment at hand.”

~ Kong Hai