Visit of Lincoln Walking Group to FGS South Island
Led by Group Leader Alasfair Smithies and spouse Jill Smithies, 12 members of the Christchurch Lincoln Walking Group visited Fo Guang Shan (FGS) South Island on 23rd October 2019. They were received by Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) South Island committee member Jack Liu who took them on a tour of the Temple building and explained to them the architectural concepts adopted, including that of the external frontal wall, inspired by the Longman Grottoes, which has a cool and calming effect. Following this, the visitors were taken for a tour of the Fo Guang Yuan (FGY) Art Gallery, where they paused to appreciate closely the many art pieces on exhibition. In his speech, Jack commented that FGS has adopted the idea of propagating Humanistic Buddhism via Arts and, through such channel, FGS hopes to make the public understand Buddhism better, paving the way for its eventual acceptance.
Afterwards, Jack brought the visitors to the Buddha Hall and introduced to them the setup there. He also told them the life story of the Buddha. Jack further explained that the offering of incense is to purify the environment and the offering of lighted candle is to rekindle the wisdom in us. Other than bestowing a feeling of joy, the offering of flower serves to remind us of the ‘Law of Cause, Condition and Effect’, i.e. in simple language, you get what you sow. Because of this Law of Causation, if we want a fruitful future, we should start sowing the good seeds and laying the right conditions now. The audience nodded in agreement, showing their understanding of Buddha’s teaching.
After their tour of the Temple, the visitors adjourned to the Water Drop Café for their meals. They were full of praises for the delicacies and vegetarian dishes served and commented that they never thought vegetarian food could taste so good. They expressed their wish to bring their relatives and friends to Water Drop Café for the scrumptious vegetarian food.