BLIA South Island Appreciation Tea Party
On the 2nd of May, Fo Guang Shan (FGS) and Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) South Island New Zealand hosted a “Buddha's Birthday Thanksgiving Tea Party for Volunteers” at FGS South Island's Cloud Water house. The event was attended by BLIA president See Shen Lee, vice president Louisa Kuo, James Low, Elsa, Dharma lecture Rona Ku and thirty other BLIA members, joined by Temple supervisor Venerable Jue Xi.
In order for every volunteer to recall and understand during Buddha's birthday celebration, a series of photos displayed on a slideshow, along with videos of the 2015 BLIA report and Venerable Master Hsing Yun's Dharma propagating report. The president expressed her sincere appreciation for the volunteer's warmth and cooperative spirit during the Buddha's birthday event, with each team fulfilling their duties well even in the face of crowds numbering over a thousand, a testimony that there was functional teamwork at play. After that, each team leader also voiced out their experiences that day, including some of the challenges that came up, and how they could be improved in the future. Some of the individual volunteers also took the opportunity to mention particularly memorable or interesting happenings during that day and also how participating in the event as a volunteer instilled a sense of responsibility, which is a part of continuous self improvement.
The gathering was also used as an opportunity for everyone to give their formal farewells to two BLIA followers, Eugene Yu and wife, whom will head back to Taiwan soon. Venerable Jue Xi passed on Venerable Abbess Manshin's best wishes to the pair, also gifting Venerable Master Hsing Yun's one stroke calligraphy “Tomorrow will be better”, as a token of appreciation for their help over the years. She encouraged the couple to continue participating in the temple's affairs in Taiwan, and wished them all the best for their future.
Eugene Yu described his 21 years in New Zealand thusly as so - “With a home for the body, a place the belong for the heart, a belief for the mind, and consciousness to depend on”. He expressed how Buddhism gave him a sense of assurance for his body, mind and consciousness. Although FGS South Island is the most southern latitude FGS temple in the world, it is still a home for the Buddhism triple gems. Opportunities to cultivate do not always arise easily, and he wished everyone would appreciate the triple gems, which in reflection is an appreciation of one's self.
Venerable Jue Xi thanked every volunteer for their hard work, and enduring patience in adapting to the location change every year, for three years while the temple underwent post-earthquake strengthening. Although each new venue brought with it new challenges, it also taught every volunteer the meaning of Venerable Master Hsing Yun's “Expand to society” philosophy, of learning by doing. For each of these three years, there was new learning taking place, and marked improvement over time. Under President Lee's leadership, BLIA members also became a more cohesive group, with tacit teamwork and shared understanding. Finally, Venerable Jue Xi encouraged everyone to set higher targets, for even better results next year.