Summer Camp Day 3

The 22nd of December was the 3rd day of 2008 Fo Guang Shan New Zealand Summer Camp for Buddha’s Light International Association Young Adults Division members and other young children. After breakfast, the youths gathered at the Fo Guang Shan North Island Temple’s courtyard to top dress the Mondo grass with soil, as parts of the grass were uneven and had patches.

The youths displayed their cooperation skills and were full of energy as they took out their task. In the afternoon, the youths watered and added more mushroom compost to areas of the Temple’s garden boxes, mainly where the bamboos and plants were growing. To what could’ve been a quiet Monday at the Temple, the day became a busy and eventful fun one, and the bamboos and plants would have surely be thankful for all the youths’ hard work.

At 7:30 p.m., after the energetic youths finished gardening, the participants attended a martial arts session, where they learnt Taekwondo. Instructor Bo-Wen Dong led the youth for an evening of serious fun and work out. The youths practiced sit-ups and learnt how to punch and kick. The martial arts required the youth to use muscles in many areas of the body, and everyone was tired, puffing and sweating by the end of the lesson. The youths expressed that although the session only lasted an hour and a half, it was much more difficult and a lot more tiring than the work they usually performed around the Temple.

Instructor Deng shared with the participants the history of Kung Fu as well as the basic concepts and routines, in which the youths were especially interested in. They learnt that Kung Fu was not as simple as they thought, and developed respect to the ones who practice Kung Fu. The instructor also firmly pointed out that those who practice Kung Fu should not use it in violent situations, but instead use it to protect the self and others.

Account by Fan-Ping Chiang and Sheng-Han Lim