One Month Milestone Celebrated at Fo Guang Tea House

It is a Chinese tradition to celebrate the newborn’s month old feat, and during the first month after birth, the mother and baby stay home to rest and heal. On the 12th of December 2008, Buddha’s Light International Association South Island vice president Mei-Hua Chen celebrated the one month milestone of Louis, her first grandson.

Over 70 friends of Mei-Hua and son Hao-Chin attended the celebratory dinner held at the Fo Guang Tea House, with most of the friends being members of BLIA South Island. Venerable Abbess Manshin specially flew down to Christchurch from Auckland to attend the celebration.

Venerable Abbess Manshin shared some words with the new grandparents and those in attendance, wishing that Louis will be blessed by the Buddha and be able to grow up in a safe and caring Buddhist family environment so that he will grow up to be a healthy and capable person, and ultimately become a beneficial member of society. Venerable Abbess also bestowed Louis prayer beads as a gesture of conveying the blessings to the baby.

Mei-Hua said that the birth of Louis initiated the third generation of the Hu-Gao family in New Zealand.

Account by Fan-Ping Chaing and Sheng-Han Lim