Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple NZ BLIA North Island Chapter 4 Committee Meeting – Teamwork to Create Good Affinities in the Community
In response to the “Cherry Blossom Art Salon Festival and International Vegetarian Day” on the 24th –and 25th of November and the “Buddha’s Enlightenment Day – Laba Congee in our Neighbourhood ” from the 3rd to the 16th of December that are organised by both BLIA North Island Chapter 4 and Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple NZ, the President of BLIA North Island Chapter 4, Veronica hosted a committee meeting on the 25th of September. This meeting were attended by about ten members from BLIA North Island Chapter 4 under the guidance of Abbess Man Shin and Venerable Ru Lian.
Abbess Man Shin started by introducing the primary purpose of organising the “Cherry Blossom Art Salon Festival and International Vegetarian Day” which has had approximately 90 local artists register to date. The art salon will feature local Maori weaving, various artworks such as oil painting, acrylic oil painting, watercolour painting, glass art, jewellery making, pottery, photography, wood carving, bronze sculpture, and stone carving will be exhibited on that event. The Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple New Zealand will be distributed into five areas to display the ten categories of artwork (about 350 pieces in total). This art salon gives opportunities for local artists to interact and exchange their ideas while providing a chance for the visitors to appreciate the beauty of the cherry blossom and the harmony of art and Buddhism. BLIA North Island Chapter 4 is responsible for the reception, temple tour, vegetarian food stall and decoration for this festival. Every committee member is voluntarily putting effort for this event and they are engaging enthusiastically in the discussion and job allocations in the meeting.
Everyone is actively involved in the discussion of the “Buddha’s Enlightenment Day – Laba Congee in our Neighbourhood ” in December. The operations such as preparation, cooking and delivery of Laba Congee were briefly discussed. The president, Veronica hopes that the orders of Laba Congee will be more than 3000 this year.
Abbess Manshin praised the unity and teamwork of Fo Guang member in serving the public joyfully to plant the Humanistic Buddhism in the local community.