The event started with the Prayer Ritual. Despite the cold weather, participants gathered at the Grand Buddha Hall with their palms joined, chanting Buddhist scriptures in prayer for their families.

Director of Zhaiming Monastery, Venerable Guo Qi, said the event’s theme for 2010 was the ‘Six Ethics of the Mind’. She said that Zhaiming was looking forward to seeing everyone put these principles into daily life and even to promote it as a way to achieve social harmony. Venerable Guo Qi also encouraged everyone to cultivate self-merit by emulating the compassion of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva for the benefit of sentient beings.

The event ended with the distribution of relief goods, including cooking oil, rice and soy sauce, in addition to financial aid for registered disadvantaged households.

(translated by Jin Yang/edited by DDM Australia Editing Team)