On Oct 1st, the 2022 BLIA Virtual 4th Meeting of the Seventh Board of Directors Opening Ceremony was held globally across multiple continents, and more than ten thousand members worldwide participated online.

In Toronto, more than 50 BLIA Toronto Chapter members and all the Venerables, led by the Abbess of Fo Guang Shan Temple of Toronto, Venerable Chueh Fan attended the event in person in the temple. The meeting celebrated the 30th anniversary of BLIA, which was established in Los Angeles in 1992. The virtual event featured VFairs where members can visit seven online galleries which host BLIA exhibitions such as art, music, etc.

The celebration began with the performance of the Song of BLIA - Good To Have You. After the performance is a festive mirage of greetings from regional representatives including Asia, Oceania, Africa, Europe, and North America via live feed.Toronto members showed their prideful Canadian spirit, cheering and waving the maple leaf. This is followed by an Ode to the Triple Gems and the BLIA Member’s Creeds by all members. The Abbot of Fo Guang Shan, Most Venerable Hsin Bau thanked all the BLIA members for their dedication over the years. Founder of Fo Guang Shan, Venerable Master Hsing Yun also likened this grand gathering to that of the spectacular Dharma functions held in the Western Pure Land through a video message. He asked everyone to cherish this day and continue to strive to spread Humanistic Buddhism. Distinguished guests including members of theParliament from Canada, members of the LA County Board of Supervisors and BLIA leaders also expressed their congratulations.

The next item on the agenda is the handover from the former presidents of the BLIA chapters and subchapters to the new presidents. Over 30 BLIA chapters and subchapters across the globe marked this new phase. The festivity continued with the Three Acts ofGoodness International Microfilm Contest Awards Ceremony. The Microfilm contest was judged based on four categories: Drama, Documentary, Animation, and PureGreen. Among the around 2700 entries, over 100 films were honoured. The filmmakers of the top three awards for each category were invited to Hsi Lai Temple in Los Angeles to accept the awards in person. Top Prize Winners from Brazil and South Africa gave heartfelt speeches.

After a short break, the meeting resumed with voting for various BLIA motions and fun raffles and ended with Most Venerable Hsin Bau's closing remarks.

In the Toronto temple, the meetings started at 9pm due to the time difference; volunteers worked into the night and prepared warm red bean porridge for all the meeting participants.

Translated by Irene Chai

Edited by Brian Choi

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