BLIA South Island Members Attend Religious Discussion

In the name of fostering understanding between multiple religions, Christchurch's St Mary’s Merivale Church have organized a series of winter series religious discussion forums on Sunday afternoons over a three week period, starting from the 9th of August. Fo Guang Shan (FGS) and Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) South Island had gladly accepted the invitation for the first session, gaining to opportunity to present on the philosophy of Buddhism, with BLIA South Island NZ Vice President James Low representing as core speaker. Also attending from the FGS south Island in charge Minister Venerable Jue Xi, BLIA South Island NZ President See Shen Lee and Vice President Louisa Kuo, Youth Adult Division (YAD) members and the English Sub-Chapter, a total of about ten attendants. Although the day ran damp and cold, the session still saw about fifty participants from the Christchurch community.

Reverend Rory Redmayne warmly welcomed the arrival of the BLIA cohort, remarking on how the BLIA people added to the session's warmth and liveliness. Michael, the emcee for the day, thanked everyone for coming in even on that cold wintry day, and humorously introduced all of the speakers for that Sunday's session. BLIA Vice President James Low then commenced with a video presentation of Venerable Master Hsing Yun's dedication in propagating Humanistic Buddhism across the world, followed by a commentary of the ideology and tenets of Humanistic Buddhism. The story-like narrative style of the talk made such meaningful concepts like dependent origination and 'three goods four' gives easier to digest.

During the Q&A session, Michael asked Venerable Jue Xi about the meaning behind the colour of a venerable’s robe. Venerable Jue Xi pointed out that the robe's colours which are usually brown or grey represented plainness, modesty and closeness to nature, thereby acting as a reminder that cultivation is not for the sake of outward display but rather the development of one's inner good. From the video presentation, one of the audience members was curious why Master Hsing Yun laboured so much to physically attend so many prize ceremonies even though he is rather old and probably unsuited for long distance plane travel. BLIA members stated that Master Hsing Yun really wishes for Buddhism to re-enter into the society of China and straighten its trajectory to a more mindful direction, and does not consider the travel to be tiring since it helps with the process. Furthermore, it does seem as though Master Hsing Yun's trips have made an impact, as President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China had openly remarked on how Buddhism is not merely a religion, but a guide on educating and changing the hearts of people to one of righteous virtue.

Temple donated some of Venerable Master Hsing Yun's literary works - “366 days with Master Hsing Yun” and “Hsing Yun's Wisdom”, both English translated versions – to any of the attendants who wished to receive a copy. Lastly, FGS and BLIA South Island NZ expressed their gratitude to Reverend Rory Redmayne for his invitation that allowed members of the Buddhist, Christian and other religious community to gather and make connections, another step in increasing our shared understanding and development of a harmonious multi-religion ideal.