Dharma Talk by Venerable Hui Shi at FGS South Island
On 30th October 2019, Fo Guang Shan (FGS) South Island hosted a Dharma talk ‘Practitioner of Humanistic Buddhism’ by the Secretary of FGS Supervisory Office, Venerable Hui Shi. The objectives of the talk were two folded: Firstly, to let the New Zealand public understand the causes and conditions behind the construction of New Zealand North and South Island Temples, and secondly, to share and introduce Venerable’s newly launched book Practitioner of Humanistic Buddhism. The talk was attended by around 70 people including FGS New Zealand Abbess Venerable Manshin, Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) South Island President Bernie, Advisor John Lai, Dharma Lecturer Rona Ku, BLIA South Island members and members of the public.
Venerable Hui Shi’s talk was based mainly on his book Practitioner of Humanistic Buddhism. Before his talk, Venerable quipped that it has been 15 years since he last set foot on New Zealand. On the subject of Temple construction, Venerable Hui Shi recalled that the initial design of the FGS New Zealand Temples got its inspiration from the thinking of a Buddhist Practitioner, and the design only took its final form after the endorsement by Venerable Master Hsing Yun. Venerable Hui Shi remarked that, because Master Hsing Yun has got a big heart and is very open and accommodative of new ideas, each FGS Temple in New Zealand was approved as a multi-functional Temple to include facilities such as lecture room, Library, Art Gallery, Water Drop Café and Buddha Hall to cater for the needs of the devotees. After FGS New Zealand Temples, for the purpose of better serving the public, all new FGS Temples have been similarly built with the multi-functional concept in mind.
On a side note, Venerable Hui Shi revealed how he came to stay in Mainland China for 4 years. According to him, after participated in Mount Putuo Avalokiteśvara Festive in the year 2005, he made a secret vow to Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva that he would like to serve Buddhism in Mainland China. To his amazement, his vow came through when he was retained by Master Hsing Yun to help in the construction of Yi Xing Da Jue Temple for 4 years. In the talk, the audience were also amused with a few of Venerable’s anecdotes. He told them that Mount Putuo was where Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva propagated Buddha’s teachings, while Mount Luo jia was where he practised her spiritual cultivation. Combining the names of these two Moutains, when constructing the Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum’s Avalokitesvara Shrine, Master Hsing Yun skilfully named it as Pu Tuo Jia Luo Avalokitesvara Shrine to allow the public to take note of the history of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva. Venerable Hui Shi also mentioned how, after 40 years of age, Master Hong Yi gave up everything to be ordained as a Buddhist monk who practised strict precepts in his spiritual journey. Afterwards, Venerable narrated another anecdote: Qi Xia Moutain was Master Hsing Yun’s education base, and to repay his school for providing him his early education, Master Hsing Yun donated a block of hostel and took upon himself to name it Yang Yong Building wishing that it would nurture future Buddhist talents.
In his summing up speech, Venerable Hui Shi expressed his gratitude to Master Hsing Yun for his encouragement and for allowing him to continue his writing passion. At times, he may feel that Master is far away from him, but he always discovers that this is not true and in actual fact, Master cares for everyone all the times. Finally, Venerable Hui Shi ended the talk by urging the public to read his book with their hearts so that they may feel the messages he tries to convey.
Later in her speech, FGS New Zealand Abbess Venerable Manshin thanked Venerable Hui Shi for the talk, and stressed that both FGS Temples in New Zealand have been propagating Buddhism based on the concept of Humanistic Buddhism. To date, FGS New Zealand has distributed more than twenty thousand copies of Master Hsing Yun’s book ‘366 Days with Wisdom’ to the local motels to enable the travellers to recharge themselves spiritually. Venerable Abbess mentioned that FGS Temple South Island has been in existence for more than 10 years despite having to go through a very difficult period of massive repair and renovation after the Canterbury earthquake. She emphasised that FGS Temples all over the World have been set up as the bases for practitioners of Humanistic Buddhism. Wherever there is a need, FGS will head towards there.
After the talk, the audience expressed the view that the talk had deepened their understanding of Humanistic Buddhism and they were specially moved by the concept expounded by the Practitioner of Humanistic Buddhism. Many of the public who attended the talk asked Venerable Hui Shi for his signature on the book Practitioner of Humanistic Buddhism and hoped that the experiences of Venerable Hui Shi in his pursuit as a Buddhist Practitioner can serve as an important standard for the practice of Humanistic Buddhism.