TECO Consulate General visits FGS South Island NZ

After four years of repair work, Fo Guang Shan South Island New Zealand will be reopening its doors this coming August. In this two months’ interim period, many travellers and locals are interested in whether the temple is actually open. The official status now is that the building is in the last stages of repair work, and as safety hazards do exist, the general public is not allowed to enter for health and safety reasons. On the afternoon of October the 7th, New Zealand Taipei Economic and Cultural office Consulate Ambassador David Wu came down south to Christchurch to visit his fellow Taiwanese, and specially arranged for a tour to FGS South Island New Zealand. Accompanying Mr. Wu was Secretary Lu, Secretary Liu, Hwa Hsing Taiwanese Association Ms. Tian and six others. The Fo Guang Shan cohort included Venerable Abbess Manshin, Venerable Jue Xi, BLIA South Island NZ President Louisa Kuo, Vice President James Low, Advisor Sandy Liao and John Lai, directors and several other BLIA members.

Venerable Abbess Manshin took Consulate General Wu on a guided tour to the main shrine for a light offering, and gave some commentary about several parts of the building such as the Longmen Grottoes entrance design, the idea behind the time corridor, and the conceptual architectural basis of the clear water moat. She pointed out that this FGS South Island temple was a collaborative result between a Taiwanese sustainability company and local architectural firm, which adapted traditional Eastern elements to Western styles, creating a stunning mash up product.

Temple Superviosr Venerable Jue Xi also said how the temple's biggest unique point was that the building itself is a splendid work of art, and at the same time, carries works of art within the the Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery 2 that has stirred attention within the Christchurch art scene. FGS South Island adheres by Master Hsing Yun's philosophy of "Using education to train people" - advancing cultural education, awarding scholarships, hosting musical shows, giving out "366" books, promoting the "Three good Deeds and Four Gives" concept, and many more.

Consulate General Wu thanked Venerable Abbess Manshin and the BLIA folks for their warm hospitality. Although he himself is a Catholic, he still frequents the FGS temple. Back in the days when he was an ambassador in Vietnam, he remembers how Master Hsing Yun had assisted him in his efforts, giving two of his countrymen scholarships to Fo Guang University and two to Nan Hwa University before they eventually settled in Taiwan. Consular Wu also asked of Venerable Abbess Manshin on how to use religion to change the dark side of people nowadays, so that the world would not be such a messy place. Venerable Abbess Manshin replied by pointing to the example of how Fo Guang Shan has settled in so many different places, with different causes and conditions, using different techniques to spread the Dharma, all adhering to the Humanistic Buddhism philosophy that has its roots in Sakyamuni Buddha's original teachings, which is inherently about deep localization, catering solutions to the problems at the source. Lastly, Venerable Abbess Manshin on behalf of the temple presented Mr. Wu with a copy of Master Hsing Yun's "365 Days for travellers" and "A Message from a Humble Monk", plus the "2016 BLIA NZ Report".