Love for life and gardening, BLIA - Auckland members takes the rein

The rain, the wind and the chill were no match for BLIA volunteer’s zeal for gardening! On the 2nd of March, under the leadership of Venerable Abbess Manshin, Venerable Jueguang, Venerable Juehao, Venerable RuLian and 25 volunteers went to work under the combined hail of rain and wind. They tirelessly re-laid 40 cubic meters of mulch for the retained vegetations around the Pagoda and the car park.
There was certainly plenty to do during this huge project, whether it’s shovelling, pushing and digging, everyone’s got their work cut out for them. Due to the narrow parts of the garden path, everyone had to pass along buckets of mulch like worker ants doing the relay. Even though this is an exhaustive and time consuming method, there were no grumbling to be heard.
Unfortunately, the un-favouring weather continued to pour down, but everyone laboured ahead with no regards for the hardship. In four hours time, it was mission complete. Even though everyone was drenched and muddied like wet dogs, there was plenty of joy to be had when the perfectly manicured garden appeared in view. The crisp green branches swayed in the wind, as if giving thanks to everyone’s hard labour.
Even though the weather report warned the public about the eminent storm approaching Auckland, the volunteers still bravely went to work, mulching and protecting the young garden plants. The sense of responsibility and duty enabled everyone to face the challenge, thus eventually completing the mission. During the group dinner later that night, when reflecting upon the joys of today’s challenge, everyone was very grateful for this opportunity to uncover their inner potentials. Through the experience of the week long garden maintenance project, everyone’s life became more fulfilled, spirits became uplifted and the will to face future challenges increased.