On 1st January 2025, the chant of Namo Sakyamuni Buddha echoed through Fo Guang Shan Auckland Temple as the New Year’s sun rose. Two hundred participants joined the New Year’s Pilgrimage, praying in a three-step, one-bow procession towards the Main Shrine. The blessings were dedicated to world peace, societal harmony, family well-being and personal fulfilment aspirations. Abbess Manshin of FGS NZ led the assembly in reading the Pilgrimage Prayer by the Founding Master, Venerable Master Hsing Yun and reflected on the Grand Master Spring Couplet for the Year of the Snake: Keep Going, The Future is Bright. Abbess further explained: A thousand-year dark room is illuminated by a single lamp; a moment of goodwill ignites the heart. The Abbess reminded attendees that by being mindful of one’s daily thoughts and actions, we could cultivate self-awareness and illuminate our inner light.
Abbess encouraged everyone to let wisdom and compassion light their hearts, expanding the power of goodness to bring happiness to individuals, harmony to society, peace to the world and hope to humanity. As one of the first countries to welcome the sunrise, New Zealand participants gracefully began the year with this sacred pilgrimage practice, receiving blessings from the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The Abbess emphasised the importance of practising the Noble Eightfold Path, particularly the Right View, to cultivate correct understanding and illuminate the intrinsic light of morality, concentration and wisdom, guiding everyone towards a brighter future.
To extend the Founding Master’s compassion, the Temple provided buns and laba congee for the attendees to recharge their bodies and minds. After breakfast, participants watched a video by the Most Venerable Hsin Bau, the Head Abbot of FGS Buddhist Order, and engaged in sutra transcription as a meditative practice. Venerable Rulian reminded participants that sutra transcription is a form of cultivation that allows mindfulness, focus and the realisation of wisdom in everyday life. The Venerable blessed everyone to live with gratitude and embody the Founding Master’s spirit of giving.
The Temple buzzed with auspicious New Year’s energy, featuring events like incense offerings, prayers for blessings, One-Stroke Calligraphy Exhibitions and live demonstrations by Art Salon artists. Abbess Manshin represented the Temple by presenting auspicious Spring Couplets and red packets, wishing everyone to Keep Going, The Future is Bright and sending blessings of peace and happiness to all.