Discover the Beauty of the World

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FGS Temple of Toronto and The Buddha’s Light Centre Markham co-hosted a week-long children’s summer arts workshop, from August 15th to 20th, 2022. The first of its kind event had 14 participants from ages 6 to 11 to experience the spirit of the “Three Acts of Goodness” through a series of creative hands-on activities.   

Every day, there was a “Three Acts of Goodness Stories Time” session. Venerable Ru An guided the kids to realize the significance of being honest, grateful and compassionate through storytelling. The children were eager to share how they foster good affinities in their daily lives by doing good deeds, speaking good words, and thinking good thoughts.   

Each student went home every day with awide grin and shared their joyful creations with their families. In the Creative Drawing session, from pencil sketches to colouring, the children completed unique artwork under teacher’s guidance. The creative process allowed them to develop an awareness of the beauty that surrounds them. The Children Flower Arrangement session encouraged children to appreciate the many wonders of nature. It was a great opportunity to introduce the Buddhist concepts of coexistence, mutual respect and harmony. During the Home Make Pancake session, the children simply could not contain their excitement to doodle cartoons and clipart of their choice using pancake dough! At the Loving-kindness Planting session, the class taught the children to observe the needs of plants. This served as an opportunity for them to nurture compassion and loving-kindness for all beings. In the Mindful Little Chef session, from smashing bananas, and mixing the ingredients to shaping the dough, the children had first hand experience of the efforts involved to make food. Hence, the kids understood the importance to cherish and be grateful for the commodity of food. 

The last day of the creative portion of the summer program featured making traditional Chinese knot crafts. Other than making adorable clown key chains and knitting Chinese knots, they specially made heart-shaped cards and carefully wrote down their words of appreciation to thank their parents or grandparents.  

On the final day of the workshop, students with families and friends were invited to gather at the FGS Temple of Toronto for a Family Fun Day. Besides partaking in meaningful games, there was a celebration of achievements featuring the children’s learning of Buddhist etiquette, the essence of practicing the Three Acts of Goodness, and a recital of the Blia Four-Line Verse.

Jesse, the Temple guide volunteer, introduced the Main Shrine, Buddhist Museum and photo exhibition through lively storytelling and interactions. The exciting Three Acts of Goodness Family Fun Day kicked off right after the Temple Tour. Every family collected stamps from learning Buddhist etiquette and demonstrating how they would implement the Three Acts of Goodness – Do Good Deeds, Speak Good Words, and Think Good Thoughts – in their daily lives. The activity session ended with souvenirs and gifts for those who successfully collected all the stamps.  

Venerable Chueh Fan, the Abbess of FGS Temple of Toronto, praised the diligence and attentiveness of the participants. She reminded everyone of the benefits of practicing the Three Acts of Goodness in daily life. She also emphasized that the Temple is the home of faith, a place for us to purify our body, speech, and mind. She encouraged children to bring the positivity harvest that learn from the summer art workshop to benefit and share with the family, school friends, teachers, and more. Venerable Chueh Fan also presented the certificates to children to recognizetheir achievements. The summer art workshop was finished with the childrensinging the Blia Four-Line Verse to dedicate merits to all beings.

Translated by Angel Hsieh