On Thursday 30th April, Years 4, 5 & 6 visited Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple as part of our Religious Studies curriculum. The Abbess, Venerable Nengchien and the community volunteers warmly welcomed us into the impressive temple in Flat Bush. It is the largest Buddhist temple in the country and was designed in the architectural style of the Tang Dynasty.

The educational programme we joined is designed to foster cultural understanding for non-Buddhists. The children learned about the life of Buddha, formerly Prince Siddharta Gautama, and his teachings on how to live a good life and make the world a better place. These were expressed as ‘the 3 Goods and the 4 Givings’.

Our group was respectful and well behaved when learning how to conduct themselves in a temple. As a result, we were invited to participate in a mindfulness exercise by a contemplative pool where a quiet wall of water calmly surrounded us.

The programme is endorsed by NZ Police and the students enjoyed meeting with the local police constable, Matt, who reinforced the value of making good choices and following your conscience rather than temptation. As a take home reminder, the students were all gifted a teddy bear wearing a ‘Do Good Deeds’ T-shirt.

Our visit concluded with a vegetarian stir fry ‘Three Goodness Rice’ refreshment. It was so delicious that one child had five helpings!

We’d like to thank the Fo Guang Shan community for their generous hospitality.