Visit of Redwood Ladies Friendship Club to FGS South Island
On 3rd July 2019, led by their leader Margaret Olleson, 30 senior members of Christchurch Redwood Ladies Friendship Club visited Fo Guang Shan (FGS) South Island. They were welcomed by Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) South Island Vice President Lih-son Ding who then guided them through a tour of the ‘Transience’ Exhibition at Fo Guang Yuan (FGY) Art Gallery Christchurch, the Time corridor, and the Buddha Hall. During the tour, Ding took the opportunity to introduce to the visitors the concepts of Humanistic Buddhism expounded by Venerable Master Hsing Yun, and to brief the visitors on FGS’s ‘3G4G Festival of Cultural Festival’, which had received very positive responses from New Zealand schools.
At the Buddha Hall, Ding explained to the visitors the significance of the various items in the Hall; and told them the life story of the Buddha. The visitors were amazed by the setup, specially the flowers, candles and incense offered by the devotees.
At the end of the visit, the visitors adjourned to the Water Drop Café for their meal. Some of the visitors had previously visited the Temple before and had fond memories of the exhibitions held at FGY Art Gallery Christchurch, such as, the ‘One-stroke Calligraphy Exhibition’ by Master Hsing Yun, the ‘Embroidery Exhibition’ by Yao Hong Ying, and the ‘Egg Shell Carving’ Exhibition. One of them claimed that, though she did not understand the meaning of the Chinese words calligraphed by Master Hsing Yun, nevertheless, through his calligraphic strokes, she could still feel Master’s ‘Compassion’ and ‘Great Vows’!
The visitors expressed great satisfaction over their visit and enjoyed the peaceful and tranquil ambience of the Temple. They were full of praises for the delicious food served by the Water Drop Café and hoped to return for another Temple visit.