Bidding Farewell to Leonard Harry West
Member of Canterbury Interfaith Society and Friend of BLIA South Island, Mr. Leonard Harry West, passed away peacefully in the evening of 28th September 2016. A funeral service for Mr. West was held on 3rd October 2016 at the Wairakei Road Funeral Parlour. It was attended by Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) South Island President See Shen Lee, BLIA South Island Vice Presidents Louisa Kou and James Low, Committee Director Mei-Hwa Chen and Sally Lim. Among about hundred relatives and friends gathered at the service were Venerable Sudchai of Wat Buddha Samakhee, Canterbury Interfaith Vice President Dianne Downward and Dr. Surinder of CHCH Multiculture Society.
In their short delivery, daughters Katie and Sarah thanked all for their presence and described their father as an ardent music lover and a man of humour who loved his family immensely. After his retirement, in his search for spirituality, Mr. West found himself to be in great resonance with Buddhism. For a brief period of time, he even went to Thailand to seek ‘peacefulness’ in Buddhism. In the later part of his life, Mr. West came across Mahayana Buddhism and had several dialog sessions about Humanistic Buddhism with members of BLIA at Fo Guang Shan (FGS) Temple South Island.
In real life, Mr. West was a fearless fighter who, despite being a cancer patient, took up a five year ‘Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies’ course in University of Otago, and graduated in June 2016 at the age of 72.
During his recuperation in Christchurch Hospital, FGS South Island Temple Supervisor Venerable Jue Xi, accompanied by members of BLIA South Island, visited Mr. West and presented him the book “366 Days With Wisdom”. Prior to his hospitalisation, Mr. West, with his positive attitude, had participated in many of the activities organised by FGS Temple South Island. These included the New Year Dinners and the ‘Seminar on Life and Death’ by Venerable Hui Kai.
To mark their respect, members of BLIA South Island bade Mr. West farewell by the presentation of sympathy flowers, and wished Mr. West continuation in the pursuit of Buddhism in his next life.