09/17/2024

Austin Students visit Xiang Yun Temple to learn about Chinese culture and Buddhism

Reported by Human Society reporter Zhiding

On Tuesday, September 17th, middle school(9) and high school students(18) from St. Andrew’s Episcopal School came to visit Fo Guang Shan Xiang Yun Temple. On this field trip, they were interested to experience more about Chinese culture and practice their Chinese speaking skills learned from Chinese language classes.

When the students arrived, they were given a tour by local devotees Bob and Barbara around the temple grounds. Barbara helped to explain the etiquette of visiting a Buddhist temple. Bob gave a history of the temple, and explained core Buddhist principles. The students then watched an animated video depicting the life of Shakyamuni Buddha.

After this, the students joined Venerable Jue Ji in the tea room to partake in the Chinese tea ceremony. They first started off with a guided meditation, then enjoyed the tea by vowing to do the Three Acts of Goodness, and ate some snacks. What followed was reading an article on the value of generosity and Q&A with Venerable Jue Ji.

After enjoying their tea, the middle school students were taught by Venerable Yi Song the art of Chinese calligraphy. They all got to try their hand at writing calligraphy. The high school students got to work in the kitchen on making dumplings from scratch. While some students were chopping vegetables, others were making the dough and rolling it out. With their stomach full of tea and dumplings and souvenirs, the students bowed goodbye and returned to school.