In a heartwarming celebration of faith, community, and learning, nearly 40 members of the Toronto Buddha’s Light Children Dharma Class gathered at the Fo Guang Shan (FGS) Temple of Toronto on December 17th to markthe completion of their Fall 2023 program. The event, reminiscent of film festivals, featured a semester recap film, an award ceremony, and engaging activities that had children delighted, seeing themselves as the center of the film and being recognized for their performance and efforts in the past semester.  

To allow the Buddhist faith to take root in the children’s hearts, the event began with the joyful singing of the Ode to theTriple Gem. The students were grouped into four teams - Team Kindness, Compassion, Patience, and Wisdom - to embark on a "Temple Amazing Quest". The missions were organized by Teacher Juju to foster collaboration, exchange, and teamwork. The children visited six locations in the Temple and were engaged in trivia review questions on the core concepts of Humanistic Buddhism, such as the Three Acts of Goodness, Four Givings, FivePrecepts, Six Perfections, the law of cause and effects, and Buddhism fundamentals. 

What an honour it was to have the Abbess of FGS of Toronto, Ven. Chueh Fan, the Superintendent Ven. Zhi Guan, and the program Monastic Advisor Ven. Ru An at the award ceremony. Ven. Chueh Fan facilitated a lively Q&A session with the children and listened to their reflections. TheAbbess reminded the children to integrate Dharma into their daily lives and spread Dharma joy to people around them. She also assigned the children aspecial mission to observe and feel the compassion and wisdom radiating from the appearance of Buddha statues. 

A special thank-you to the support of the volunteer team for preparing healthy and delicious snacks for the children to enjoy. Parents expressed their happiness in witnessing the accomplishments and growth of their children, as well as learning more about Humanistic Buddhism while at theTemple. Also, gratitude to Matthew, organizer of the YAD winter fundraiser, who generously donated cookie gift sets as surprise prizes for the trivia winners.  

The teachings team aspires to let the Buddhist faith take root in the minds of the young, passing on the truthful, virtuous, and beautiful nature of Humanistic Buddhism wherever they go.