Heart Warming Abbess Time for Temple Volunteers

In the evening of 8th July, a Dharma discussion class with Venerable Abbess Manshin was held at Fo Guang Shan South Island. 16 female volunteers and Temple members attended the heart-warming discussion, including BLIA South Island Vice-resident Mei-Hua Chen and BLIA South Island committee members. Also present were Venerable Juexi and Venerable Miaoyu.

During the discussion, the volunteers shared their feelings and experiences of their time at the Temple’s reception desk. They confided that while volunteering at the front line, they had the opportunity to develop their communication skills and increase their self-confidence as they received the many visitors the Temple welcomes every day. Many of the volunteers commented that the Temple has successfully attracted visitors to both the Embroidery Exhibition and Tea House, as after enjoying the artwork, visitors also stop by at the Tea House for delicious coffee and vegetarian food.

As Buddhists themselves, the volunteers were urged to encourage family members to spend more time at Temple, become volunteers and walk the Buddhism path by taking refuge in the Triple Gem and becoming an official Buddhist. Several of the volunteers were deeply touched by the magnificence of the Embroidery Exhibition. In fact, after being taken away by it, they offered themselves to help at Temple so that they can also share the joy with others.

Venerable Abbess Manshin said that the Christchurch Temple is the fruition of the hard work, and that the devotees should fully utilise Humanistic Buddhism in their daily lives, and influence their family and friends to follow suit, so that they too can enrich their lives. The tour guides at Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery South Island have contributed immensely in attracting visitors from both the local community and Australia. We need to possess strong will to promote Humanistic Buddhism over sea.

Venerable Abbess Manshin appreciates the helping hands of the Temple volunteers and devotees, and hopes they will continue to propagate Buddhism. Everyone appreciated the opportunity to have some of Venerable Abbess Manshin’s precious time, where they received the wisdom and compassion of the Dharma which will help pave a steadfast path on the Buddhist path for them.