“Since we have come to Melbourne, we simply must visit Fo Guang Shan.”
On 23 September, Mr Liu Bo, former Director of the Jiangsu Provincial Press Office, together with his wife and friends — a party of five on their first visit to Australia — made a special visit to Fo Guang Shan Er You Temple in Melbourne. They were warmly received by Venerable Jue Hao, Superintendent of Er You Temple, BLIA Melbourne President Lindy Chea (謝莉) and Advisor James Yang (楊健).
Mr Liu’s affinity with Fo Guang Shan goes back many years. He has visited the Fo Guang Shan headquarters in Taiwan several times, enjoyed warm conversations with Venerable Master Hsing Yun, and read many of the Master’s books. His visit to Er You Temple allowed this long-standing Dharma affinity to continue in Melbourne, and gave him the chance to learn more about how the Humanistic Buddhism advocated by Venerable Master Hsing Yun is being propagated and practised overseas.
Accompanied by Venerable Jue Hao, Mr Liu and his party toured the exhibition “Sixty Years of Lamp Transmission — A Century of Reverence”. Through rich text, photographs and film, the exhibition traces Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s path from a young monastic to a lifetime of propagating Humanistic Buddhism, and shows how Fo Guang Shan grew from a single temple in Taiwan into a worldwide Dharma network.
Venerable Jue Hao introduced the Four Objectives that Fo Guang Shan has upheld since its founding — to propagate the Dharma through culture, to foster talent through education, to benefit society through charity, and to purify hearts and minds through spiritual cultivation — and explained how each is put into practice at the Australian temples. The guests also watched a video of Fo Guang Shan Australia’s Dharma activities: from temple services to community service, from cultural exchange to charitable care, scene after scene showed how Fo Guang Shan reaches into local communities and serves society, giving the visitors a real sense of the vitality of Humanistic Buddhism taking root overseas.
During the discussion that followed, Mr Liu shared his memories of his meetings with Venerable Master Hsing Yun. Seeing with his own eyes the wide range of activities that Fo Guang Shan Australia runs in response to the character of local society — diverse in form and close to the people — had, he said, given him a far more concrete and profound understanding of the Humanistic Buddhism the Master championed.
Communicating with the public through culture and serving society through practical action, so that the Dharma becomes part of daily life and enters the community, is precisely how Buddhism connects with modern society, he observed. From the headquarters to its overseas temples, the Humanistic Buddhism promoted by Fo Guang Shan lets the Dharma show new life across different cultures and regions.
As the visit drew to a close, Venerable Jue Hao presented Mr Liu and his party, on behalf of the temple, with books by Venerable Master Hsing Yun and “Three Acts of Goodness” keepsakes. A book and a small gift carry not only the happy memory of this meeting, but also continue Mr Liu’s Dharma affinity with Venerable Master Hsing Yun of many years.
A meeting across the years, continued from the Fo Guang Shan headquarters to Er You Temple in Melbourne; a deep Dharma affinity that has now written a new chapter in the Southern Hemisphere.
一場跨越歲月的佛緣——尋訪墨爾本佛光山
「既然來到墨爾本，就一定要來佛光山看看。」
9月23日，江蘇省前新聞處處長劉波先生夫婦及朋友一行五人首次來到澳洲，特別前往墨爾本佛光山爾有寺參訪。受到爾有寺監寺覺豪法師、國際佛光會墨爾本協會會長謝莉及督導楊健等熱情接待。
劉波先生與佛光山的因緣由來已久。過去他曾數度拜訪佛光山總本山，並與星雲大師相談甚歡，也曾閱讀大師多部著作。此次來到爾有寺，讓這段跨越歲月的佛緣，在墨爾本再次延續，也讓他有機會進一步了解星雲大師所倡導的人間佛教，在海外弘法與實踐的發展。
在覺豪法師陪同下，劉波先生一行參觀「傳燈六十・百年仰望」展覽。展覽以豐富的圖文與影像，呈現星雲大師從一位年輕出家人，一步步走上弘揚人間佛教的道路；同時也展現佛光山自臺灣一處道場發展至今日遍布全球的弘法歷程。
覺豪法師特別介紹佛光山開山以來所秉持的四大宗旨——「以文化弘揚佛法、以教育培養人才、以慈善福利社會、以共修淨化心靈」，以及這四大宗旨在澳洲道場的具體實踐。來賓並觀看佛光山澳洲道場弘法活動影片，從寺院法會到社區服務，從文化交流到慈善關懷，一幕幕影像呈現佛光山如何走入當地社區、服務社會，也讓來賓感受到人間佛教在海外落地生根的活力。
座談交流時，劉波先生分享過去數次與星雲大師接觸的經歷，並表示此次參訪爾有寺，親眼看到澳洲佛光山因應當地社會特色所推動的各項活動，形式多元、貼近大眾，讓他對星雲大師所倡導的人間佛教理念，有了更加具體而深刻的認識。
他表示，透過文化與大眾溝通，以實際行動服務社會，讓佛法融入生活、走入社區，正是佛教與現代社會接軌的重要實踐。從總本山到海外道場，佛光山所推動的人間佛教，也讓佛法在不同文化與地域中展現出新的生命力。
臨別之際，覺豪法師代表常住致贈劉波先生一行星雲大師著作及「三好」結緣紀念品。一本書、一份結緣品，不僅承載著此次相聚的美好記憶，也延續了劉波先生與星雲大師多年來的佛法因緣。
一場跨越歲月的相逢，從佛光山總本山延續至墨爾本爾有寺；一份深厚的佛緣，也在南半球留下新的篇章。