Heart to Heart Connection, Unrestricted by Language

On 12th November, the Young Adults Division organised Heart of a Child Week received invited guests from two groups: children from the Heart Children Society, as well as Society member Mr. Jim Vince, and several students from Riccarton High School, together with their teacher, Mr. Kevin Walker.

Together with YAD 1 President Jason Liu and the team of youth group members, BLIA Advisor Mr. Ron Wright, BLIA President Mr. Almeric Cheng, Venerable Juexi and Venerable Miaoyu welcomed the visitors and young V.I.Ps to the Temple. ‘The Sun’ newspaper Reporter Ms. Chen specially came to inquire into the event, and after Venerable Juexi explained to her the origins of Heart of a Child, Ms. Chen also interviewed many of the guests who participated that day as she immersed herself in the activities of the event.

Member of the Heart Children Society Mr. Jim Vince suffers from a heart condition, as do the children that he brought with him that day. The six students from Riccarton High School are born with Down’s syndrome, and among them, many have already visited the Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery in the past to view the “Wonders of Embroidery” exhibition. Thus, the Temple environment was already very much familiar to them. The organising team for the “Heart of a Child” event put everything they could into making it as purposeful as possible, bringing joy and happiness to the children.

Part one of the program was a tour of the Temple, with YAD member Shenghan Lim introducing the current “Way of Life” photography exhibition of the Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery South Island to the visitors, who showed their keen interest in the photographs of the building designs of the North and South Island Fo Guang Shan Temples. YAD member Weichia Cheng introduced the “Time Capsule” hallway, where he showed everyone the eight portraits of Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s life which depict his life story in a chronological order.

At Buddha Hall, the YAD 1 President Jason Liu introduced to everyone the Jade Buddha Statue and Dharma Instruments, and demonstrated the way of prostrating to the Buddha as well as making a wish at the wishing bell. A sense of excitement pervaded throughout the guests and everyone could not wait to have their turn on the wishing bell; one guest wished for their school to never give them homework ever again!

At the end of the Temple tour, everyone gathered at the Dining Hall for some interactive activities, including writing a wish or message on a piece of paper and folding it into an origami heart before sticking it up among the ever growing collection of hearts on the wall.

The glorious weather that day allowed the organisers to bring the series of exciting activities and performances to the courtyard. YAD members prepared a short break dance performance for the guests to enjoy, for which they received much applause. Following on was hand gestures to the song Ehipassiko, and the youth members, Venerables, volunteers and guest all gathered in a circle and learnt the hand gestures under a joyous atmosphere.

BLIA Advisor Mr. Wright delivered a short speech, thanking the guests and youth members for mutually creating the opportunity to learn how to look after and care for the others around them and hoped that the guests will return to the Temple in the future. Following the speech, BLIA President Mr. Cheng gave out gifts to the visitors and everyone enjoyed a scrumptious morning tea at the sunkissed courtyard.

At the conclusion of the program, two of the guests, Scott and Bruce shared their experience and feedback with everyone, saying that they have thoroughly enjoyed the visit and were thankful for the performances and morning tea provided for them, and that they have also become good friends with members of the youth group.

After the group photo the guests began to bid their farewells, and many anticipate their return to the Temple sometime in the future for another happy gathering. Visitors from Riccarton High School also stayed back after the conclusion of the event to view the Egg Art exhibition, where they received commentaries from FGY Public Relations Officer Seeshen Lee.