written by Sunny Hsieh
September 28th is the commemoration of the birth of Confucius and also the traditional Chinese Teachers’ Day. Around this time each year, CDR’s Instilling Goodness Elementary School and Developing Virtue Secondary School, in the spirit of respecting the teachers, would host a Teachers’ Day celebration. This year, it was held on the 25th (Sunday) to facilitate lay people and volunteer teachers from all places to participate in this grand event.
In preparing for this event, CDR and its schools mobilized everyone to ‘skillfully turn the mundane task into Buddha’s work’. It all started with working on tidying up the environment, beautifying the gardens, and decorating the Five Contemplation dining hall. Dharma Master Rong and Jin Wei Shr together with their kitchen staff, came all the way from San Jose’s Gold Sage Monastery to cook up a sumptuous vegetarian feast that was delicious and healthy for the guests. The students arranged wonderful programs and speeches to thank their teachers. Although everyone was busy, all were filled with dharma joy.
It was a beautiful sunny day on September 25th when the event took place. In the outdoor area near the entrance, a banner hung high between the palm trees proclaiming “Teachers’ Day Celebration” in five big red Chinese characters. Dazzling and eye-catching, it swayed gently in the wind and seemed to be waving in sincere greeting at the oncoming guests with a cordial welcome.
At 11:30am, the event officially began. The Managing Director of CDR, Dharma Master Heng Gwei, led the Sangha to their seats. The guests followed and took their seats in an orderly manner. People were served with delicious vegetarian dishes, pastries and fruits. The atmosphere was relaxed yet solemn.
The program began with the principal of Developing Virtue Secondary School, Dharma Master Shr, giving an opening speech at the podium. First, she welcomed everyone from all places for their coming to CDR to celebrate Teachers’ Day. As an old saying goes: “If those who are near are pleased, those who are distant will come.” Those invited for this event included lay people from Northern and Southern California regions such as San Jose and Los Angeles. Dharma Master Shr expounded on the essence of Teacher’s Day. She also talked about Venerable Master Hsuan Hua’s lifelong emphasis on the importance of education and his advocacy for free education.
During the program, Dharma Master Shr on behalf of the school, presented her five hand-painted watercolor landscape paintings as tokens of appreciation to the five attending volunteer teachers. She thanked them for their dedication and contribution to education over the years. Dharma Master Shr used cast off ceramic tiles as drawing boards and painted landscapes in a creative and natural way. The colorful painting renders liveliness to the landscape. Exquisitely beautiful! Inscribed on the paintings were four Chinese characters – “Merit lies in Education”, to acknowledge the teachers’ kindness and their contributions on this special occasion. These paintings were indeed the most meaningful Teacher’s Day gifts. The volunteer teachers also gave speeches on the stage to express their sincere gratitude and heartfelt thanks! The ambience was very warm and touching.
(To be continued …)