BLIA English Sub-chapter Welcome & Reunion Gathering

On the evening of 22nd of August, a BLIA Welcome & Reunion event for new members and returning members was hosted by the English Sub-chapter at Prajna Hall. The event was attended by 14 existing and returning members, 5 new members, and 3 guests. At 7:30pm, everyone stood up to welcomed the arrival of NZ North Island BLIA chairperson Dolly Tsai, BLIA advisor Peter Yong, English Sub-chapter chairperson Lesley, Minister in Charge Venerable Manwang and Venerable Miaoyu.

Dolly Tsai first spoke about the value of giving. Only by putting our wholesome belief into action, by committing wholesome deeds and by giving; can we truly be happy and gain fortune. Then, Peter Yeung spoke about the joy of joining Fo Guang Shan and BLIA. Peter emphasised that Buddhism should not be isolating self-practices. But should be done together with others, to learn, be mutually supportive and develop joy as a community. Afterwards Lesley talked about her experiences of adapting to a community consisting of different cultures and languages. By using positive thinking and tolerance, she has transcended these barriers, thus gaining joy and motivation to work with others. Through participation many new skills were learnt and many good affinities were made. She hopes that with the help of everyone present, the treasure of Fo Guang Shan can be shared with the wider local community.

Finally, Venerable Manwang gave a talk concerning various subjects. First, from experiences shared by Linda and Georgina, the Venerable talked about the importance of recharging ourselves with practices and participating at the temple, so we can control and rein in our mind. Also, as we encounter challenges and obstructions it's likely we will temporarily retreat, but as long as we are diligent and have heart, we will take one step backwards, but take 2 steps forward! Then Venerable Manwang emphasised the importance of Meditative Concentration. As we are living in a technologically advanced world that is faster paced and more complicated than ever before, now it's even harder for us to stop, think and find peace. Not to mention the difficulty of practicing positive thinking. Our mind is like a drunken monkey and wild horse that is always affected by external things and wonders all the time. More often we are day dreaming while going about our daily activities. By practicing Meditation, we can learn to settle our body and mind by bringing our thoughts back and regain peace. Especially with the act of sitting meditation, we retract and stabilise our body, focus on our breathing, hence our wild mind that moves like waves will settle and become like tranquil undisturbed water. Then, like serene clear water, we can finally see the bottom and see ourselves. The Venerable continued with the importance of upholding precepts. As we all have our respective roles in life, such as being a son/daughter, a mother/father, a student, and an employee etc, we all have respective responsibilities and rules to follow. As long as we follow these rules, do what we are supposed to do, we will have no problem. Because we behave properly by following the rules, we will have no worries and guilt, hence our mind will not have to think and chatter all the time. Our lives thus become simpler. We should all take responsibility for ourselves as we create our own Karma. If we have the fortune of still being able to make choices in life, we should cherish these conditions to improve ourselves and benefit others. If we have no choices during our current stage in life, we should accept our situation and let our Karma run its course. By entering the pass with faith, follow the right way, and then put what we've learnt into action, we can then practice upholding precepts, meditation and eventually uncover wisdom by gaining real life experiences.