Children Dharma Class – Gratitude Towards Our Mother
On May 14th, 2023, which is also Mother's Day, the students joined the chanting and light offering in the main shrine as a gesture of appreciation towards their mothers. All students enjoyed the prayers and offered light with their sincere and grateful hearts. The parents were also invited to join in the chanting of the Sutra on the Profound Kindness of Parents to receive blessings from the temple and reminisce about their parents. Liam's mother, Thanuja, shared that she was grateful to her mother and mother-in-law for giving birth to and nurturing her.
The students moved to their classes for the activity of making Lego flowers for their mothers. Some of the younger students struggled while building the Lego, and it was heartwarming to see the older students, such as Raymond (Hu), Wish, Zoey, and Skylar, take the initiative to help others. Raymond was the first in class to manage to put every piece of Lego brick together, and he mentioned that it is important to help others and not hesitate to ask for assistance when needed. Through building the Lego, the students learned that they could achieve more with teamwork.
Teacher Thomas reminded the students that the purpose of the activity was to show appreciation towards the mothers who have worked tirelessly throughout the years to nurture their children. Henil shouted enthusiastically that he appreciates his mother and father every day, not just on Mother's Day. This was indeed a great response! Wish also mentioned that he is grateful for his mother, and he helped her with the dishes and some basic house chores to lessen her burden.
The students then moved to the main shrine to join the Mother's Day celebration. It started with some touching speeches from the BLIA President and Committee about our late Venerable Master Hsing Yun and the importance of Mother's Day. The students were then given a chance to present the Lego flowers to their parents to show their appreciation and love. It was heartwarming to see the hugging and interactions between the children and their parents. Skylar also gifted her Lego flower to Venerable Rulian because Venerables are like mothers too, working day and night to propagate Humanistic Buddhism and educate the local communities. BLIA YAD NZ also did a dance performance such as Mamma Mia, that brought back the nostalgic memories for the mothers. The ceremony ended with the hand gesture of Eternal Star to reminisce about our late Venerable Master Hsing Yun.