FGS Temple of Toronto Chinese School and Children’s English Dharma Class co-hosted a celebration event, with the theme of “Promoting Three Acts of Goodness, No Tricks,” where children from the Chinese School dressed up as their favorite characters, celebrating Halloween joyfully. photo／Tracy Liu

The Life News Agency
November 21, 2023

On October 29th, the Fo Guang Shan (FGS) Temple of Toronto Chinese School and Children’s English Dharma Class co-hosted a Halloween celebration with the theme of “Promoting Three Acts of Goodness, No Tricks.” The event was an opportunity to educate kids about the importance of practicing the Three Acts of Goodness while promoting the virtues of truthfulness, kindness, and beauty.

Around 60 children dressed up and paraded through the Temple as their favourite characters. Starting from the Dining Hall, the children brought auspicious greetings and joy to volunteers and devotees stationed in the Buddha’s Light bookstore, offices, reception and Water Drop Tea House. The children learned the importance of giving joy while happily receiving candies.

Volunteers from the Water Drop Tea House distributed candies to the children from the English Dharma class. photo／Tracy Liu

Teachers from both the Chinese school and Children’s English Dharma Class skillfully used the fun-filled atmosphere of the occasion as a learning opportunity. The Chinese School teaching team delivered a specially crafted lesson on Chinese expressions related to the theme of Halloween. The students sang the “Three Acts of Goodness Song” along with the teachers as well as learning phrases related to Halloween and courteous greetings in Chinese.

The true spirit of “giving” was illustrated to the student through animation and stories, inspiring the children to develop the habit of sharing. The Children English Dharma Class students learned all about Buddhist etiquette. They paid sincere respect to Buddha with bows before embarking on the parade. All children showcased their creativity and lightheartedness by decorating their candy bags with appreciation and gratitude. Every bag featured the uniqueness and creativity of the children such as multi-eyed spiders and jack-o’-lanterns, just to name a few.

Before setting off to collect candies, the children showcased creativity and playfulness by crafting their own candy bags. photo／Tracy Liu

The children’s costumes were eye-catching and adorable. The girls dressed up as Snow White, little pumpkins, a purple witch, and a black angel, while the boys donned outfits ranging from Super Mario, and Spider-Man, to robots, and more. The teachers also joined the fun, wearing various costumes to jovialize the atmosphere, creating a colourful and vibrant scene filled with joy and energy.

After lining up in the Dining Hall, the children proceeded to various locations to collect candies. Venerable Chueh Fan, the Abbess, personally distributed candies in front of the office. Devotees and volunteers at various points enthusiastically handed out candies, graciously accepting the children’s expressions of gratitude such as “Auspicious Blessings,” “Thank you”. As they passed through the Main Shrine, the students also performed a sincere homage to the Buddha.

Venerable Chueh Fan, the abbess, distributed candies, and the children in the English class also learned to say, “Shifu, jixiang.”photo／Tracy Liu

Upon returning to the classroom, the children’s faces lit up with joy as they eagerly shared their Halloween harvest with friends, expressing their intention to share the candies with their families when they returned home.

多倫多佛光山中文學校及佛光英文兒童班，10月30日聯合舉行「行三好、不搗蛋」節慶活動，藉由備受兒童歡迎的萬聖節，教導學生行三好、不搞鬼，展現真善美，51位兒童變裝扮演喜愛的角色，遊行到多倫多佛光山的五觀堂、佛光書局、滴水坊、圖書館及大雄寶殿索討糖果。

中文學校老師們透過精心準備的萬聖節中文課程及具體的節日活動安排，讓孩子們感受西洋節日的歡樂，從而鞏固了與節日相關的中文表達；老師首先帶領學生們學習與萬聖節有關的各類詞語，用兒歌曲調教孩子們用中文講「萬聖節快樂」、「不給糖就搗蛋」，學生們充滿興趣並認真學習，還一起做了萬聖節手工。

英文佛學班的小菩薩齊唱〈三寶頌〉後，老師透過動畫短片及生活故事，講解「給」的精神，培養學生「分享」的習慣，學習如何以平等和歡喜心對待別人，並提出自己對布施的看法。接著，學生開始發揮創意及童趣，創作自己的糖果袋子，成品都顯童真巧思，有多眼蜘蛛、南瓜燈、糖果或精美的插圖。

小女孩裝扮成彩色獨角獸、紫色女巫和綠色孔雀，小男孩裝扮成超級馬里奧、悟空、警察，處處五顏六色、七彩斑斕，洋溢著歡樂和活力。大家先在五觀堂按班級排隊，然後保持安靜的依次去大寮、佛光書局、圖書館和滴水坊索討糖果；道場內各崗位的義工菩薩都熱情的分發糖果，收到糖果時孩子們也都會認真禮貌的說聲「師姐吉祥，謝謝師姐」，臉上洋溢著喜悅，迫不及待地向夥伴們分享收穫的喜悅。

住持覺凡法師鼓勵學生們，用歡喜心將自己剛得到的糖果，選一顆送給參加法會的叔叔、伯伯和婆婆、姨姨們，透過歡喜分享的行為，讓孩子們明白分享後會有更多的收穫。

另外，萬錦佛光緣的佛光兒童班，提前於10月29日慶祝萬聖節，同學們變裝各式卡通人物，及蝙蝠俠、消防員，老師和佛光義工也穿上不同服飾增加氣氛。幼童們分成3小組，拿著自己設計的萬聖節糖果袋，到服務台、圖書館、滴水坊、辦公室等地闖關，每一站說出密碼「做好事Go! Go! Go!」「說好話Nice! Nice! Nice!」「存好心Yes! Yes! Yes!」「吉祥」等愛語。