Venerable HueiYan’s Short Visit in CHCH

On 27th April, after his successful "The Beauty of Buddha’s Light” Photography Exhibition" in FGS Temple Auckland, Venerable HueiYan and his mother, at the invitation of Venerable Abbess Manshin, visited FGS Christchurch.

Upon his arrival at Christchurch, Venerable HueiYan was immediately given a guided tour of FGS Temple South Island, which is currently in the final stage of repair. He was accompanied by Venerable Abbess Manshin, Temple Supervisor Venerable Jue Xi, BLIA North Island Adviser Dolly Tsai, and Temple staffs. Later in the evening, at Cloud Water Cottage, Venerable HueiYan met with Members of BLIA South Island consisting of President See Shen Lee, Vice President Louisa Kuo, James Low and 20 others. In the meeting, Venerable HueiYan shared his personal experiences with, and observations of, Venanarble Master Hsing Yun.

Even though already at the old age of 90 years and with failed eyesight, Venerable Master Hsing Yun still insists on a daily routine of reading and carrying out one-stroke calligraphy. For reading, Venerable Master Hsing Yun has articles read to him by disciples, once in the morning and once in the evening. For calligraphy, Venerable Master Hsing Yun has all the required materials prepared by helper and carries out the one-stroke calligraphy himself. When asked how he still manages to carry out the calligraphy with failed eyesight, Venerable Master Hsing Yun replied that it was done with the Heart.

Venerable HueiYan revealed that, even though too weak for long distance travelling, Venerable Master Hsing Yun still makes frequent trips to Mainland China with the noble aims of spreading Humanistic Buddhism there and fostering closer ties between Taiwan and Mainland China, all for the purpose of Peace and Unification. Through his relentless efforts, Venerable Master Hsing Yun has brought about a change in the attitude of many Buddhist Temple Managements where Temple entries are now free of charge. There are now better cooperation between Art Galleries, Museums in Taiwan and Mainland China. Cultural exchanges between the two have also flourished. Indeed Venerable Master Hsing Yun, despite his physical conditions and yet still working very hard, has become a model practitioner of Selfless Sacrifices for the Benefits of the Masses.

In his Sharing, Venerable HueiYan also shared his experiences he encountered in his journey in photography, from being a beginner 15 years ago to a professional photographer today. He stressed the importance of coping with changes and rising to challenges in one's undertaking.

In this short meeting, members of BLIA South Island learned about the greatness of Venerable Master Hsing Yun and vowed to continue with their work in Humanistic Buddhism.