Peace Train Interfaith Bike Ride on 2nd Anniversary of Christchurch Mosque Shootings
Two years after the Christchurch mosque shooting incident on 15th March 15, 2019, there is still a group of enthusiastic people working for social peace and justice. The Christchurch Cycling Association held their 2021 Peace Train Interfaith Bike Ride event on 11th April, inviting the public to visit various religious sites around the Christchurch city centre on bicycle to show their solidarity for peace. Fo Guang Shan (FGS) South Island NZ was one of the stops and the cycling group were welcomed by Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) South Island NZ President Bernie.
Bicycle team leader Ian Wells led a group of nearly 30 bicyclists to FGS South Island for a prayer. On behalf of the temple, Bernie recited Venerable Master Hsing Yun's Prayer for World Peace and prayed for the cycling group, wishing that the people of the world would respect and tolerate each other, and cut through the darkness in the world. The cyclists appeared very moved by the prayer.
On behalf of the organisers, Ian thanked the temple for their continued support of the event, and for giving the cyclists their full blessing for the road trip that day and the motivation to move forward. Some of the cyclists said that this was their first visit to the temple and that they were impressed by the artistic and beautiful atmosphere of the temple, as well as the sense of calmness in their hearts when they were there. Mr. Shaw invited the participants to attend the Buddha's Birthday Celebration and family fun day event to deepen their understanding of Buddhism and multiculturalism.
The cycling team was divided into four routes to visit religious sites on the Eastern, Western, Southern and Northern parts of Christchurch, including Christian churches, Muslim mosques, Sikh temples, Buddhist temples, etc, with FGS South Island temple being one of the stops. The cycling routes ranged from 5 to 12 kilometres, ending at Aldergate in the city centre. The organisers hope that the cycling event will bring the public together to promote the importance of peace across religions, races and languages.
On March 15, 2019, two mosques in the heart of Christchurch were tragically attacked. With one of the mosques only about 1km away from FGS South Island NZ. After the incident, the Christchurch Cycling Association formed a 100 member cycling team to attend a Peace Train-Interfaith Memorial Bike Ride event, in which cyclists visited various religious sites around the city centre, including FGS South Island NZ, to promote the importance of peace, tolerance, acceptance and kindness to the public. The 2021 Peace Train Interfaith Bike Ride is one of the continuous effort for message for love and peace.