On January 20, 2024, during the Laba Festival, Master Shi Xing Wu of Canada’s Xing Wu Zen Temple and his disciple volunteers braved the severe cold to go to the streets of downtown Vancouver to distribute food, fruit, hot coffee and quilts, warm cotton socks and other supplies to the homeless people.
A winter blizzard has swept across the Greater Vancouver area in the past few days. After several days of heavy snowfall and freezing rain, the streets in downtown Vancouver are covered with thick snow, and there are still many homeless people huddled on both sides of the streets. Shivering on the roadside, most of them were wearing very thin clothes.
Since Xing Wu Zen Temple often gives alms to homeless people, when they saw Master Shi Xing Wu and disciple volunteers arriving with food and steaming coffee, they seemed to see old friends and quickly gathered around to accept the Master of alms.
Although they are homeless people living on the streets, they are very friendly and polite. When the Master personally delivers every piece of food and hot coffee, as well as quilts and warm socks to them, they are very polite. Thank Master for their continued gratitude. The coldness of the streets in winter is touched by the scenes of small warmth, which warms people’s hearts.
Canadian Xing Wu Zen Temple has been adhering to charity for many years, forming good relationships, and allowing more people to feel the compassion and joy of Buddhism. The acts of making offerings and benevolent donations only hope that there will be more compassion and kindness in the world, and that the poor can receive help from kindhearted people and temporarily overcome their difficulties. Giving is a practice method in the Six Perfections of Buddhism. No matter what kind of giving or what you give, as long as you can let go of yourself and wholeheartedly benefit and help all sentient beings, that is the most complete giving.
Laba Festival –
According to legend, Sakyamuni became enlightened and became a Buddha after seeing stars at night on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month is the day when the Buddha Sakyamuni became enlightened. It is also known as the “Dharma Treasure Festival”, “Buddha’s Enlightenment Festival”, “Enlightenment Meeting”, etc. In order to commemorate the Buddha’s enlightenment and enlightenment on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Buddhist disciples made porridge with various fragrant grains and fruits as offerings to the Buddha. As it was passed down through the generations, it gradually became a folk festival. Laba porridge, also known as Qibao and five-flavor porridge, is a porridge made from a variety of ingredients.On this special day, let us sincerely recite:Namo’s master, Sakyamuni Buddha!Namo’s master, Sakyamuni Buddha! Namo’s master, Sakyamuni Buddha!
