On Sunday, 7 April 2013, the Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) prepared a special Sangha Offering ceremony at Nan Hua Temple.
The function started with an explanation of the origin and history of the Sangha Offering Ceremony. The female representatives of the seven BLIA Africa Chapters offered the prepared vegetarian meals (food offering) to the various Venerable Masters of the Sangha, which was followed by a group led by Nan Hua Temple Manager, Venerable Hui Xing, prostrating and paying respect to the Venerable Masters of the Sangha. The male representatives of the various BLIA Africa Chapters then presented the Venerable Masters of the Sangha each with a bag of gifts.
The function started with an explanation of the origin and history of the Sangha Offering Ceremony. The female representatives of the seven BLIA Africa Chapters offered the prepared vegetarian meals (food offering) to the various Venerable Masters of the Sangha, which was followed by a group led by Nan Hua Temple Manager, Venerable Hui Xing, prostrating and paying respect to the Venerable Masters of the Sangha. The male representatives of the various BLIA Africa Chapters then presented the Venerable Masters of the Sangha each with a bag of gifts.
The Sangha Offering Ceremony is prescribed by the Lotus of the Good Law Sutra (Saddharma-Pundarika) and generally includes offerings of food, clothes, medicine, bedding and living necessities.
Venerable Master Yi Chun explained the offerings using the words of Fo Guang Shang founder, Venerable Master Hsing Yun, in accordance to the Buddha’s teachings. She described the various methods of giving and the importance of offering to the whole Sangha. She also suggested that instead of taking a Venerable Master to lunch or buy him/her gifts, the money could be donated to the Temple and in so doing, benefit the whole community. Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s principle of making offerings to the Sangha is: we should not make offerings for only a meal, to a small number of people or just for the present. Instead, it should be for the whole year, the entire community and the future.
Written by Lee Raath-Brownie
Venerable Master Yi Chun explained the offerings using the words of Fo Guang Shang founder, Venerable Master Hsing Yun, in accordance to the Buddha’s teachings. She described the various methods of giving and the importance of offering to the whole Sangha. She also suggested that instead of taking a Venerable Master to lunch or buy him/her gifts, the money could be donated to the Temple and in so doing, benefit the whole community. Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s principle of making offerings to the Sangha is: we should not make offerings for only a meal, to a small number of people or just for the present. Instead, it should be for the whole year, the entire community and the future.
Written by Lee Raath-Brownie
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