On the first day of our reopening, Saturday 15th February, we received some special visitors in the afternoon at Santi: The Venerable Abbot from Phuoc Hue Temple in Wetherill Park accompanied by monks, nuns and lay people from his community and some nuns from the Cabramatta Cambodian temple. Their whole purpose on that day was to visit and offer support, both material and spiritual, to the two Buddhist monasteries and one retreat centre in this area that were affected by the bushfires (the others being Sunnataram and Vejjasala).
It was a delight to receive them all here. We offered chants and prayers together in the meditation hall and they asked to hear about our experience of the bushfire and how it had affected the monastery and community. Later we walked together through a part of the burnt forest to the cliff view lookout. They were emissaries too, not only offering generous support from their own communities, but also presented us with a very generous cheque from the United Vietnamese Buddhist Congregation in Australia and New Zealand to assist the monastery with bushfire recovery.
It was so touching to receive their heartfelt kindness, support and good wishes, and to feel the genuine concern from so many of their wider community reaching out to help their Dhamma sisters and brothers in this way, and knowing that they were thinking of us as the bushfire crisis developed. We are blessed indeed to have such kalyanamittas, spiritual friends, and feel much gratitude to them.
We’d like to express our deep appreciation to all of you who have offered Santi support, in this way and in so many other ways too. May the blessings of the Triple Gem be always with you.