Appreciation Tea party for 2 Major Events Volunteers
To give thanks to the volunteers involved in “Siddhartha: The Musical” and Fo Guang Shan South Island New Zealand's “Buddha's Birthday Multicultural Festival”, Buddha's Light International Association (BLIA) South Island New Zealand hosted a tea party for the time and efforts of all those involved in making the events a success. The tea party was conducted by BLIA South Island President See Shen Lee, and attended by Vice-Presidents Elsa Hayes, Louisa Kuo, and James Low, along with about 50 other volunteers and FGS South Island Temple Supervisor Venerable Jue Xi.
Before commencing with the main event, Venerable Jue Xi led the volunteers in prayer, reading the “Prayer for Volunteers” script from FGS founder Venerable Master Hsing Yun. Venerable Jue Xi then explained that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are the background volunteers of the people – always keeping busy with assisting everyone in their hard work. It is hoped that while we should enjoy and appreciate this gesture from the Bodhisattvas, this service should also be channeled on to the wider public, sharing the merits with everyone. Lastly, Venerable Jue Xi on behalf of temple wishes to express her gratitude for the volunteer's support in the Siddhartha Musical and Buddha's Birthday Multicultural Festival. Hopefully everyone will continue to be avid volunteers of Buddhist and public functions, as well as act as a volunteer to one's self – knowing to help and motivate our own self, to improve and become a more rounded person.
During the self-reflection session, each team leader raised up some of the problems that came up during the two big events, in order to let all of the volunteers constructively know the importance of every individual's critical role in making the events run smoothly. It is hoped that this will lead to improvements for future volunteering events, and help with team understanding and cohesion.
Afterwards, the volunteers viewed video clips taking them back to the two events, cheerfully revisiting the moments. BLIA South Island President See Shen Lee thanked the teams for all their hard service work, including the registration team, stage team, lighting team, front and backstage team, and others. BLIA South Island Vice President Elsa Hayes expressed how tiring the preparations for the musical show was, especially because this type of event was a first experience with no precedent. She appreciates the help from all the co-workers taking her through this challenging experience, and for teaching her many invaluable experiences from organizing a stage performance. BLIA South Island Vice President Louisa Kuo spoke of the initial difficulties in meeting the ticket sales target from advertising and networking, but under Venerable Jue Xi's motivation to “Go on with it”, she persevered and reached out to people in the business and shop communities to attend the musical. At the same time, marketing of the Buddha's Birthday Multicultural Festival also helped with the ticket sales numbers, and gratitude was shown to all members of the ticket marketing team for their teamwork and dedication in reaching the target.
Finally at the end of the tea party, a video clip of “Fo Guang Shan 50 Years Anniversary” was played, showcasing the history of Fo Guang Shan with Dharma joy since inception half a century ago. Venerable Jue Xi remarked that Venerable Master Hsing Yun spoke of how being busy is a form of nutrition. It is hoped that while doing our service, we can also gain valuable nutrition from the labour. Thanks were given by Venerable Jue Xi to everyone for attending that day, and everyone is most welcome to visit the temple again, after the final stage of reconstruction work is finished, to join in on activities and to help support the temple – home to the wisdom of the people.