Visit of Burnside Women’s Institute to FGS South Island
On 23rd May 2019, 8 members of Burnside Women’s Institute, Christchurch, visited Fo Guang Shan (FGS) South Island. Team leader Carole Christie has visited the temple before and was deeply impressed by its Art Gallery. Carole afterwards made arrangement for other members of the institute to visit the temple. On the said day, the visitors were welcomed on arrival by Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) South Island member Jack Liu who then guided them to tour the external of the building, the Art Gallery, the Tea Meditation Area, the Time Tunnel and the Buddha Hall. Jack explained to the visitors that every section of the temple was designed to manifest the concept of Humanistic Buddhism, and to embrace more people into the arms of religious harmony.
At the Fo Guang Yuan (FGY) Art Gallery, the visitors very much enjoyed and appreciated the potteries and print-art pieces on display there and were full of praises for the artists’ fine craftsmanship. They were also very much taken in by the tranquillity of the Temple and expressed their hope to return for a more intimate enjoyment of its every corner. Afterwards, the visitors adjourned to the Water Drop Café for their afternoon tea, thus ending a fruitful and joyous outing.
Burnside Women’s Institute was a women’s organisation originally founded to cater to the welfare of the wives of soldiers who went to wars. Its original objective was to encourage these women, who lost their family supports, to be positive and stand up on their own to look after their families, and to even extend their caring to their community. After the war ended, the Institute still remained active and has become an important organisation where women meet and interact with one another. Members have relentlessly taken part in community work, showcasing the Institute as an organisation full of positive energy.