Wat Thai Temple Delegation Visited Chung Tian Temple

Brisbane has been raining a lot these few weeks, but today, Sunday the 14th of January 2024, it provided a warm and sunshine day at Chung Tian Temple for our international delegation, Wat Thai Temple Delegation from Thailand (Delegation), led by Abbot Chao Khum. The Delegation had about 100 members, with four Bhikkhus including the Abbot and 96 lay Buddhists. The activities were undertaken at the newly built Tathagata Hall.

After the meeting and greeting from Venerable Miao Lai and BLIA QLD members, the Abbot Chao Khum led a chanting session with the whole delegation in their own language, which was followed by flowers offering. The flowers looked like they had just come to the temple from the wild nature, especially those sun flowers, looking stunningly fresh and beautiful.

The Chung Tian Temple Abbess Venerable Man Wang officially welcomed the Delegation to the Temple, and then shared the late Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s wise words for the new year of 2024, “May you be free like clouds and water, auspicious and joyful”. The Abbess then shared our Master’s personal story, including his departure last year when he was 97 years old, his propagating of Humanistic Buddhism since 1989 in Australia including New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, West Australia, and New Zealand.

The Abbess then shared some history and development of Chung Tian Temple with the Delegation. These included the establishment of the Temple in 1993, its continuous development in infrastructure and Humanistic Buddhism, and the Major Shine which is currently estimated to finish by 2026. The Abbess said that “it may take about 5min to walk to this Tathagata Hall from the Entry Gate, but it took 31 years for us to build all these.” Some delegates interacted with the Abbess and expressed their admiration regarding how fast and how much Chung Tian Temple has been developed since 1998 as they came to visit Chung Tian Temple annually since then.

 After a short discussion, the Abbess talked about Venerable Hsin Bao who visited Thailand and received a warm welcome and generous support from the Thai Government, Schools, and the communities. The Abess then gave a brief introduction of Humanistic Buddhism and the activities undertaken at the Temple.

First, it is education, the education from the Buddha. We deliver Budha’s teachings to all human beings, with the content of compassion and wisdom.  For example, today the Temple is running a Happy Camp Day for over 50 children, an opportunity to plant a Humanistic Buddhism seed in the young minds. We teach mindfulness, meditation, and chanting. There is no doubt that education brings peace for us, and for the world.

Second, Humanistic Buddhism is for our safety. Where there is Humanistic Buddhism, there is safety. You can see from our Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s words about how he lived a peaceful life, and how we can follow in his steps. We are all Buddhists, so we bring peace to the world.

The Abbott Chao Khum then gave some words to the audience, including his genuine appreciation of the Temple’s time and effort to host the Delegation, that everyone in the Delegation is very happy to be here, to better understand Humanistic Buddhism, and that they will continue this joyful relationship with Chung Tian Temple.

After the group photo, the Abess presented Master Hsing Yun’s Spring Scroll to each member of the Delegation. When the official procedure was finished, some delegates offered the Buddha their lights and purchased the Red Packets to take home. All delegates enjoyed the light refreshment, and their free time to tour the Temple, taking home their joyful memory of the Temple with many photos.

International dialogue among Buddhist temples with different traditions is vital for the future development and sustainability of Buddhism. With different Schools in Buddhism, Humanistic Buddhism will shine in all continents via communication and mutual understanding. Today’s visit from Wat Thai Temple (Theravada tradition) is such an example here.