BLIA New Zealand Online Get-together for Joyous Reunion of North and South Island Fo Guang People

On the morning of 23 October, BLIA New Zealand held an online get-together, with nearly 70 participants, including Venerable Manshin, Venerable Juexi, Venerable Rulian, President Lintao Yu of BLIA North Island, Vice President James Low of BLIA South Island, committee members and members of BLIA New Zealand.

Mr Lintao Yu, thanked Abbess and Venerables for their compassion for getting together, which added a lot of joy and strength during the lockdown. Thanks to the active preparation of the committee members from each division and the enthusiastic participation of BLIA members, especially the young members who have undertaken essential tasks such as technical support and game planning.

Mr James Low shared some words on behalf of President of BLIA South Island Mr Bernie Siew and expressed his wish for Auckland to get out of lockdown soon. He looks forward to seeing everyone at the Temple again. He also thanked Abbess and the Venerables for preparing this get-together and using it as an opportunity to enhance the Dharma love to all participating BLIA members. Auckland residents have given up their freedom in cooperation with the Government in order to effectively control the spread of the virus, and everyone is a hero for uniting against the virus.

Abbess Manshin thanked the organising team for the superb planning of the event in a short time. It has been more than two months since Auckland has gone into lockdown. She asked BLIA members to continue to cooperate with and respond to the government's urge to vaccinate so that the community could be protected, effectively helping the country and the society.

During the lockdown, Auckland and Christchurch Temple held online reading sessions every Wednesday to Friday. At the same time, the construction team is working hard carrying out repair and maintenance work for the Temple.

Abbess encourages BLIA members to grasp the affinities, continue improving themselves during this period by implementing Buddhist teachings into their daily lives to aid themselves in the Dharma path.

Interactive games such as charades and Kahoot where Q&A on Buddhism knowledge were arranged. The organizer also specially held an award ceremony for the 2021 Global Buddhist Examination during the online get-together. Abbess Manshin, Venerable Rulian and Venerable Miaoyu presented certificates to the achievers in the Buddhists Examination. The get-together session was a success and concluded with joy.