Catholic Cathedral College Students Visited FGS South Island to Prepare for Speech Contest
On 2nd April 2021, High school students Eugene Bonot, Nicole Menezes and Lydia Palaiologos from Christchurch Catholic Cathedral College visited Fo Guang Shan (FGS) Temple South Island and were received by Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) South Island Director Kok-Wei Low and BLIA Young Adult Division (YAD) member Karzin Leong.
To prepare for their Bishop Lyons Speech contest, through the recommendation of their school teacher, the three high school students visited FGS South Island to seek an in-depth understanding of the topic How Buddhism and Christianity Coexist?. In the course of their visit, they asked questions pertaining to Buddhism, such as: the reasons for spreading Buddhism to New Zealand: The meaning of Taking Refuge in the Triple Gem and Nirvana in Buddhism: How does Buddhism convey its religious ideas by way of geographical and cultural means? and How to achieve coexistence between religions?
In answering the students, Kok-Wei explained that, in Buddhism, one can uplift oneself by serving others. Kok-Wei supported his point by using the activities in the BLIA Activities Report as examples. FGS's concept of Humanistic Buddhism advocates the spirit of Three Good Deeds and Four Givings which adopts serving others and giving as ways for the Buddhists to integrate with the public, leading to the building of a harmonious community and bringing joy to the people. Kok-Wei further explained that Buddhism is a Way of Life. It conveys good and beautiful messages and promotes right attitudes. For example, the 3G4G Festival of Cultural Sharing activities, through lively and interesting teaching methods, establish right life values. The three students were captivated by the 3G4G activity and said they would recommend this activity to their teachers so that more students can come to the Temple to better understand Buddhism.
From the contents of the BLIA Activities Report, the three visiting students were fascinated by the many activities carried out by FGS South Island that had benefited the community. They now realised that Buddhism is a very warm and inclusive religion. For example, various religious leaders, be they Catholic, Christian and Muslim, came the Temple to pray for World Peace during the Buddha's Birthday Celebration, something which is quite unbelievable. And after the Christchurch Mosque Shootings incident, FGS South Island organised the Embracing Love and Peace NZ Concert and the 2020 Blessing Chocolatte Festival, activities which not only promoted religious exchanges, but also calmed people's hearts and brought hope to the public. At the end of the visit, Eugene shared his feeling and said that he now learned that Buddhism and Catholicism have many similarities. They both advocate showering of kindness, respecting and living harmoniously with one another.
Before their departure, on behalf of FGS, Kok-Wei presented the students with auspicious souvenirs, much to their delights. This was the first time the students had visited the Temple. To them, the Temple was an oasis in a busy city, very peaceful and comfortable. They were very happy to get to know the Temple and hoped to spend more time here in their future visits. They promised to introduce the Temple to their families and friends and invite them to participate in the Buddha’s Birthday Celebration to be held in two weeks’ time.