BLIA NZ (North Island) English Sub-chapter Cherry Blossom Festival Open Day Meeting

The 4th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival Open Day will be held on 16 October. A meeting was held on 23 September by the BLIA (North Island) New Zealand English sub-chapter and attended by 8 members of the chapter. Abbess Manshin and Venerable Miao Yu were invited to attend the meeting. The items discussed were job allocation, itinerary and details of temple tours, walking meditation , light offering ceremony and tai chi exercises.

The discussion was followed by guidance from the Abbess. She advised the members to accept all challenges and to fully realise one’s inner potential. Life’s experiences, be it bitter or sweet will strengthen our abilities as we sail through it. We learn to embrace all our cultural differences, strengths and weaknesses as we work together towards the same goal. Abbess also took this opportunity to share her gardening experience and introducing different plants and characteristics. She further explained the art of proper trimming and blending nature with the temple buildings.

There was a story of how a newly grown plant was mistaken as weeds and totally removed while a bamboo badly trimmed was thought to be a job well done. This drew laughter from everyone and the relaxed atmosphere encouraged more questions. The volunteer tour guides shared their guiding experience and one visitor commented that the Bodhisattva sitting outside Fo Guang Shan ( South Island) resembled the Maori Queen. Those with experience working in art galleries were very impressed with the expert way the art is displayed in the gallery. The boulders around the courtyard were not missed as well. They were transported from China, Taiwan and New Zealand not only to beautify the gardens but also symbolises “East Meets West”.