Visit of Elderlies from Sisters of Our Lady Of the Missions to FGY Art Gallery Christchurch
On 12th September 2020, 6 elderlies of Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions Christchurch visited Professor Kuo Yen-Chiao’s Traditional Chinese Painting Exhibition at Fo Guang Yuan (FGY) Art Gallery Christchurch. They were attended to by Professor Kuo’s daughter Louisa.
While guiding the visitors through the exhibition, Louisa briefed them on the journey undertaken by Professor Kuo in the development of his career, and described to them the philosophy of life subscribed to by Professor. Moving from painting to painting, Louisa took great pain to explain the content and meaning of each painting. The visitors were amazed by Professor’s attention to fine details, and were full of praises for the positivity emanated from his paintings. In addition, the visitors were interested in how to ascertain the quality of a traditional Chinese painting. To this, Louisa explained in details.
In the Temple, the elderlies also toured gallery curator Venerable Abbess Manshin’s ‘Thought of a Buddhist Practitioner’ Floral Exhibition. They were pleasantly surprised to find that every floral piece was different from the rest with unique character of its own. They were full of praises for the skill and wisdom of Abbess Manshin in creating these simple but yet contentful floral arrangements that brought them inner peace and tranquility.
Stepping into the Buddha Hall, the visitors were impressed by the setup and arrangement there, and their respect for Buddha was immediately aroused by the solemn Buddha statue seated in front. Afterwards, the visitors paid homage to Lord Buddha by performing incense and flower offerings, and they started to learn from Louisa some basic Buddhist etiquette. Inside the Buddha Hall, they tried their hands on Sutra transcription and were elated when they were able to successfully complete the transcription.
Finally, the elderlies adjourned to the Water Drop Café for their meals. There, they found the vegetarian food very satisfactory. Before parting, the visitors had a go at picking Master Hsing Yun’s ‘Words of Wisdom’ and they found the Words wise and useful.
The elderlies found the visit fruitful and informative allowing them to better understand a different culture and religion. They thanked the people of FGS South Island for their warm hospitality. They claimed to have felt, at FGS South Island, the presence of positive life forces, and the joy and affinity of Buddhism.