On February 6, Miami Fo Guang Shan happily welcomed the year of Dragon and hosted an end-of-year hot pot gathering at the temple. This event brought together nearly 50 BLIA members, volunteers, and resident monastics, including Venerable Ru Yuan, Venerable Jue Chan, Venerable Jue Yan, and Venerable Zhi Yun. With gratitude in their hearts, they shared a delicious hot pot meal and enjoyed warmth of each other's company.
Venerable Ru Yuan expressed appreciation for the volunteers' dedication to the temple, emphasizing that the temple is not complete without the dedication of volunteers. Emphasizing that volunteers worked together in different teams and groups similar to the diverse ingredients in a hot pot—only when combined do they create a flavorful dish. Venerable encourages everyone to embody the spirit of "I am indispensable" on the path to enlightenment, working collectively and integrating themselves into the community to make the root of wisdom even warmer. As everyone gathered around the steaming and aromatic hot pots, they enjoyed delicious food and heartfelt conversations with hearts filled with joy and gratitude. After the pandemic, the precious sense of happiness is evident on everyone’s face. Venerable Ru Yuan, along with Advisor Zhao Guang Long and BLIA President Mei Han Zheng, visited each table, raising a toast to the volunteers and exchanging New Year blessings. Gratitude and appreciation intertwined, turning a simple year-end gathering into a spiritual feast.
After the meal, Venerable Ru Yuan led the everyone into the main shrine and chanted the Heart Sutra and A Prayer for Volunteers by Fo Guang Shan's founding master, Venerable Hsing Yun. Each volunteer received a gift as a token of connection. The gathering concluded with everyone singing the Ten Practices Song, bringing the event to a meaningful close.
From volunteers experiencing the Fo Guang Shan gathering for the first time, they shared that while hot pot can be enjoyed anywhere, it is the warmth of the Fo Guang family that makes it truly special, allowing Dharma to resonate deeply with the heart.
Tong Lin, who attended the event wearing a red outfit with his fellow practitioners and son, shared his reflections afterward: "We wore ‘clothes that are 'bright as bright fire’, ate ‘harmony in the Dharma realm,’ sang of ‘the Pure Land of the Buddha,’ and practiced ‘Humanistic Buddhism.’" Deeply moved by the experience, he concluded, "It is truly wonderful to be part of the Fo Guang family and experience the joy of being grateful of each other.
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