The 8th 3G4G Festival of Cultural Sharing_Session 2 Respect & Experience New Culture
On 4th May 2022, the second batch of 160 of the year 9 students, led by 9 teachers from Rutherford College in West Auckland, participated in The 8th 3G4G Festival of Cultural Sharing after nearly an hour of travel to Fo Guang Shang Temple.
This year is the fourth consecutive year to participate in the event. The school favour the value of Three Acts of Goodness & Four Givings (3G4G) and appreciate the care from the Temple, giving hand-sanitisers and epidemic prevention resources to schools during the pandemic. Rutherford College was the earliest school to register for the education program this year.
The activities on the day included the writing calligraphy, ringing the wishing bell, watching the video of The Life of the Buddha at the Prince Siddhartha Exhibition, posting wishing card and experiencing mindfulness meditation. The activities also included the Senior Constable Matt Green and Constable Ian Willetts’s interactive activities with the students to enhance students’ ability to distinguish right and wrong, followed by the heart-warming refreshment of Laba rice by the students and teachers.
Yesterday’s visit from Rutherford College showed were interested in incense and light offering. Therefore, the Temple specially include an activity for the students to learn about the meaning and rituals of incense offering. During the free time, some students went to the Main Shrine and Ven Miaoyu guided them to do a proper prostration to the Buddha. One of the student, Andy, shared that this was his first time walking in to a Temple and he loved the calming atmosphere. He expressed that he would definitely bring his family to visit the Temple.
One of the teachers expressed that those students were very active and lively at school. He was very pleasure to see the students respecting the instructions and engaging well in every activity. Another teacher shared that she is looking forward to bring students visit to Temple every year. This is not only a new cultural experience for the students but also a journey to purify the mind for herself.