FGS Nan Hua Temple hosted their Baby Blessing Ceremony 2023 on 1 January 2023 for good health, fortune and the power to overcome adversities in life to be wished upon the children. The Baby Blessing provides hope, protection and wisdom from the Buddha and Bodhisattvas for the children and their families.
 
The chanting and procedures included the Incense Anthem, Homage to our teacher Shakyamuni Buddha, the Heart Sutra and the Heart Mantra of Manjusri, also known as the Wisdom Mantra.
 
The baby blessing prayer was dedicated to wishing good fortune in each and every child's education and later their occupation.
 
The temple manager Venerable Hui Xing blessed each unborn baby, baby and child, receiving Buddha’s blessing in hoping for a healthier, joyful and loving life after which he gifted each with a bracelet.
 
The ceremony concluded with everyone chanting the Transfer of Merits. Around 60 babies attended this blessed event and it was a great way to celebrate the beginning another new year.

Global VegRun African region commenced their run in mid-November. Since commencement, we have done five runs at various schools in the local communities. Our sixth run, being the first public run, at the Voortrekker Monument was held on 26 November 2022. Approximately 700 hundred people participated in the 5lm, 10km and 21km run, and ran an estimated 8000km at the single event.

Nan Hua Temple and the Voortrekker Monument Running Club co-hosted the Voortrekker Monument Run over the weekend. The event had numerous pre-entries and also had on the day registrations for the various race categories. On the day of the event, BLIA Pretoria Chapter members handed out VegRun t-shirts to participants and encouraged everyone to wear them.

Chairman of Voortrekker Monument Running Club, Mr Joep Joubert, was very happy for the opportunity to work together with Nan Hua Temple to contribute to charity through running at the beautiful premises of the Monument. He hopes that we can host more meaningful events in future.

Chairman of Gauteng North Athletics Association, John, was ecstatic about the VegRun and hopes that it will better promote athletics in the future and allow everyone to come together and help the disadvantaged people in our society.

Vice-Chairman of BLIA Pretoria, Dr Alice Chan, participated in the 5km ran and was exceptionally happy to have participated in a multicultural run for the first time. Seeing a father of three persevere through 5km with his children whilst pushing a stroller was even more astonishing and left a lasting impression.

The run did not discriminate against people, a deaf family of three participated in the VegRun and completed the 5km run. They hope to raise more awareness of climate change issues and wish to challenge the 10km next time.

Since the commencement of the run in Africa, we estimate that 40 tons of maize meal will be donated to impoverished families.

At the end of the event, Abbot Hui Fang spoke about hosting the VegRun at Voortrekker Monument not only brings together people through running but also reminds us of the hard work by our predecessors to build the rainbow nation. Not only should we appreciate our country but we should also appreciate our planet and bring awareness to climate change issues. We should promote vegetarianism to help combat climate change to protect our planet.

You run 5km, we donate 5kg of maize meal
 
The word “VEGRUN” is an abbreviation for vegan run or vegetarian run. We would like to dedicate this run for the promotion of vegetarianism and veganism. The word “Veg-Revival” is associated with the revival of life through vegetarianism. Through your participation of the VegRun, you will not only be contributing towards charity, you will also be promoting vegetarianism which is a dietary choice that allows for the slowing down of global warming to sustain and protect our planet.

We hereby extend our invitation to everyone to participate in our VegRun event. Through your participation, you will not only revive your body by exercising but also enable you to spread awareness on climate change and environmental issues to revive our planet. Let us join force and run for the love of our world.
“VegRun for Love, Let love flow”
“For Health, Joy, Love, Environmental Protection”
 
Virtual Event Details:
1-     Date: 15 October 2022 until 15 December 2022
2-     Place: anywhere
3-     Distance: 3km / 5km / 10km / 21km / 42km
 Please note that you can run or walk anywhere, anytime and any distance during the duration of the event. You can accumulate the distance covered and upload it at your convenience.
 
Registration Method:

1. Individual registration: https://vegrunafrica.azurewebsites.net/RegisterNow.aspx
2. Obtain your run number: https://vegrunafrica.azurewebsites.net/GetNumberBib.aspx
   
3. Upload your run distance: https://vegrunafrica.azurewebsites.net/UploadRecords.aspx
4. Certificate of completion: https://vegrunafrica.azurewebsites.net/UploadRecords.aspx

 
Please note that in order for your run to be captured, you will need to upload a screenshot of your run details displayed by your running app. You can use apps such as Marathon’s World, Nike Run, Relive, Adidas, Mi Fitness etc.
 
For any further information, please visit: https://ipuregreen.org/vegrun/
Organiser: iPure Green
Regional Organiser: BLIA Chapters in Africa and Nan Hua Temple
Website: www.nanhua.co.za
Facebook: Nanhuatemple
Telephone: 013-931 0009
WhatsApp:072 176 9138

The Flower and Ch'an Cultural retreat offers you the opportunity to find inner peace through a meditative interaction with floral arrangement, basic flower arrangement and learning how to extend the life of flowers.

Join us on this journey to reach pure tranquility and discover the floral artist in you.

Nan Hua Temple’s flagship retreat is the ever-popular beginners’ meditation retreat. The retreat is intended for people who want to learn how to meditate. No previous meditation experience is required.

Meditation can be practiced by anyone, regardless of age or belief and who is in good mental and physical health. If you want to learn how to calm your mind and gain the emotional and spiritual benefits of doing so, this retreat will assist you.

We will show you the correct posture for sitting meditation. You will also practice Tai Chi and simple yoga, which is specifically designed to aid sitting meditation.

The retreat includes teachings in basic Chan (Zen) meditation and relaxation exercises. We will practice sitting, walking and music meditation as well as tea-drinking meditation. Meditation sessions last between 15 and 20 minutes. We sit with unsupported backs so you would need to have a healthy back.

The retreat begins on Saturday morning at 10h00 (morning tea starts 09h30 to 09h55) and continues through to Sunday lunch. You are welcome to stay on Sunday afternoon 13h00 for a tour of the Temple, if you wish.

The Flower and Ch'an Cultural retreat offers you the opportunity to find inner peace through a meditative interaction with floral arrangement, basic flower arrangement and learning how to extend the life of flowers.

Join us on this journey to reach pure tranquility and discover the floral artist in you.

Nan Hua Temple’s flagship retreat is the ever-popular beginners’ meditation retreat. The retreat is intended for people who want to learn how to meditate. No previous meditation experience is required.

Meditation can be practiced by anyone, regardless of age or belief and who is in good mental and physical health. If you want to learn how to calm your mind and gain the emotional and spiritual benefits of doing so, this retreat will assist you.

We will show you the correct posture for sitting meditation. You will also practice Tai Chi and simple yoga, which is specifically designed to aid sitting meditation.

The retreat includes teachings in basic Chan (Zen) meditation and relaxation exercises. We will practice sitting, walking and music meditation as well as tea-drinking meditation. Meditation sessions last between 15 and 20 minutes. We sit with unsupported backs so you would need to have a healthy back.

The retreat begins on Saturday morning at 10h00 (morning tea starts 09h30 to 09h55) and continues through to Sunday lunch. You are welcome to stay on Sunday afternoon 13h00 for a tour of the Temple, if you wish.

Throughout our lives, we have experienced failures, made mistakes or have been treated poorly. In this time of uncertainty, a little bit of spiritual support can go a long way.
 
The Venerables of Nan Hua Temple will hold an Adult Blessing Ceremony for individuals under the guidance of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas to help people maintain a peaceful mind in this unpredictable world. May this blessing of the Buddha help you find the direction you need in life.
 
Bathing the Baby Buddha
We will also hold the traditional Bathing the Baby Buddha celebration in commemoration of the birth of the Buddha.
 
Sutra Transcription
There will also be a Sutra Transcription in order to practice mindfulness and assist in increasing our understanding on the Buddha’s teachings; to eliminate anger, greed and ignorance.

Due to COVID-19, there will unfortunately not be any festival celebration for Chinese New Year 2022. However, the temple will be open to the public.

For more information:
Follow our Facebook page: Nan Hua Temple
Visit our website: www.nanhua.co.za
Join our WhatsApp group: 072 276 9138.