Hong’s Foundation Shared the Joy of Reading
The Director of Taiwan-based Hong's Foundation – Mrs. Ching-Hui Chien, and her assistant Mrs. Hong, arrived at Christchurch, New Zealand on the 3rd of March. On arrival, they were warmly greeted by Fo Guang Shan (FGS) New Zealand Venerable Abbess Manshin, Venerable Jue Xi, Buddha's Light International Association (BLIA) South Island New Zealand President See Shen Lee, and other BLIA members.
Mrs. Chien gave a talk entitled “The ways of reading, and the way to lead reading clubs”, located at the Cloud Water House. Venerable Abbess Manshin, Venerable Jue Xi, BLIA President See Shen Lee, Vice Presidents Louisa Kuo, Elsa Lee, James Low, Advisor John Lai, and other BLIA folks making up about 50 attendees.
Through two videos, namely “Conversations between 3 generations” and “A piece of the truth – I await for you at the book club”, Mrs Chien readily brought up the topic of reading books into the minds of the audience. Using a piece of her own personal history, she explained how effective communication between three generations [our parents, us, and our children] can work. She does this through an inner dialogue with herself, which led her to understand what her personal values on life were, and from there, the quality of her household, life, and career improved greatly.
Teacher Chien's talk was full of wit, and the audience responded well with bouts of laughter and smiles. She led everyone to the realization that book reading clubs were not necessarily fixed in the dull stereotypes we think of, but rather, they can be organized to be expressed in different ways. By sharing her stories of success, the audience also gained a new appreciation of the values of book reading clubs, making the activity appear all the more special and fresh. Mrs. Chien recommended that readers approach books with joy and passion, using Buddha's wisdom to be more in tune with life.
Venerable Abbess Manshin noted that although current FGS South Island temple was still undergoing repair works, the Venerables were still continuing to lead reading book clubs at the small Cloud Water House venue as the activity was so important. The books used included Master Hsing Yun's “Buddhist Affinities Across 100 years”, “One hundred lessons on Monastery Languages and Affairs”, “Message from a Humble Monk”, and other publications. From what was shared by the teacher that day, we learn that reading books can cultivate a very meaningful life, and hopefully then, everyone can discover their potential, improving one's quality of life and that of their personal self.
FGS Temple Supervisor Venerable Jue Xi expressed how Teacher Chien's talk touched a lot of people in the audience, and hoped that not only will everyone be inspired to find time to read more, but also learn how to express themselves more, to let their inner feelings out. With the multitude of ways we can read books, encouraging, learning and communicating with each other, it is hoped that everyone will put the inspirational ideas they gained to good use, changing theirs lives for the better through reading books. Some folks from the audience commented on how the teacher's talk was deeply meaningful, in that she showed how book reading clubs are not as hard or intimidating as once thought. We can start by sharing a little bit of our own personal experience, and go on from there.