On 19th November 2019, Fo Guang Shan (FGS) Benefactor Ms. Wong, together with her family, visited FGS South Island. On arrival, they were welcomed by FGS New Zealand Abbess Venerable Manshin, FGS South Island Minister-in-charge Venerable Jue Xi and other Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) South Island members. Venerable Abbess Manshin took the visitors for a tour of the Temple; started with the external wall where the four Bodhisattvas were sited, and followed by the Middle Court, the Fo Guang Yuan (FGY) Art Gallery, the Buddha Hall, the Time Tunnel, the Library and other sections of the building. The visitors were amazed by the design of the Temple, which has turned the building into a Palace of Arts and they were also full of praises for the meticulous interior arrangements and setups of the Temple.
At the Buddha Hall where they performed light offering, Abbess Manshin narrated to the visitors the path undergone by FGS South Island in the building of the Temple. In her narration, Venerable Abbess mentioned that, in the early days before the construction of the present building, FGS South Island was housed in an old church building. To commemorate this, the long benches from the old church have been kept for use in the present Temple. Since then, they have become one of the special features of the Temple, signifying the coexistence and tolerance between two major religions.
On another note, Abbess pointed out that the design of the Buddha Hall with its open view of the distant hill carries with it the message implying the casting of the Buddha Light over the whole mundane world so as to lead all beings towards the ways of the Buddha. Abbess Manshin also pointed out that after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the Temple was closed for 3 years and 8 months to undergo repairs and renovations. During this period, FGS South Island continued with its activities and Dharma cultivation in a temporary rented building with the intention of not interrupting with the propagation work, and at the same time giving the devotees a place to seek solace in this difficult time. It was because of this determination and insistence that FGS South Island is able to witness the continuation and flourishing of the propagation of Humanistic Buddhism in Christchurch today.
Being their first visit to FGS Temple New Zealand, Ms. Wong and family were deeply impressed by it. They hoped to make good use of their time while touring New Zealand to better understand Humanistic Buddhism in this part of the World.
