►By Zhou Ping Yu

On November 2, I joined the once a year event "Honoring the Elders Day" in Gold Sage Monastery. Gold Sage Monastery is situated on the East Foothill of San Jose. You can take Bus #25 to the terminal, then walk approximately half an hour up to the hill. Because of the Honoring the Elders Day celebration, Gold Sage Monastery chartered buses for transporting the seniors for this special day. Seniors are all dressed up, delighted to come for this special occasion.

Gold Sage Monastery is on top of the foothill. Inside the Buddha Hall, Shakyamuni Buddha is in the center along with other Buddhas. The decor and the environment are full serenity. To welcome the seniors, volunteers put on beautiful brooches for visitors. There is a pair of poem in front of the Buddha Hall, which cited the following:

To respect elders and honor the worthy is
the teaching of Confucius and Mencius.
Learn from the Buddhas and study with the sages:
this is the teaching transmitted from Shakyamuni.
Seniority and longevity are reached through the Patriarch's teachings.
At the advanced age of seventy or eighty,
you'll experience a wide heaven and earth.

With blessings and wisdom perfected,
all people congratulate you.
With the Tao and virtue both reached,
even the grass and trees are delighted.
I feel ashamed of my stupid resolve to imitate
the bamboo and plum tree which endure the ice and snow.
I wish all of you good health,
resembling the pines and cedars, evergreen.

The program started with a health exercise presentation for seniors. Subsequently, under the direction of the Dharma Masters, we recited the "Filial Piety Sutra". We also learned from the Dharma Master the "Honoring the Elders Day" event was initiated by Venerable Master Hsuan Hua who was a filial piety advocator. To keep the filial good virtue, which has been passed down in the Chinese culture from generation to generation, he initiated this special day to honor the elders. This event not only propagates filial respect, it also reminds us to respect all living beings. For example, by being a vegetarian, we can avoid killing, so that all living beings could have the fair chance to live.

An 82 years old Dharma Master shared her leave-home story with us. Following that, Mr. Long told us his personal life story about conquering his illness. Other seniors also share their personal stories with us to give good examples to the elders.

Lunch began with vegetarian dishes. 8 people sit in one table. Each table was served by one volunteer. The vegetarian meal started with western style appetizer, following with Japanese Sushi, Chinese nutritional soup, smooth tofu dish, vegetable sea cucumber, vegetable sweet and sour fish, garden harvest vegetables, spring rolls, dim sum, and desserts. Dishes were the combination of western and eastern cooking. The meal was delicious.

Children sang the Buddhist song. The youngest member is only two and a half years old. Listening to the music performance while consuming the delicious food, we felt we were in the Ultimate Bliss Land.

To encourage the seniors' participation in the activities, there was question and answer participation by the seniors. Seniors were actively answering questions. Each winner received a gift. The program was ended with reciting Amitabha Buddha holy name. In addition, everyone received a gift. We were full of joy.

The Honoring Elders Day hosted by Gold Sage Monastery is open to everyone. There is no boundary of nationality, religion segregation, or racism. One of the Master of Ceremonies introduced himself that he is a Catholic. Many of the guests are not Buddhists. The purpose is to participate in the propagation of Chinese traditional good virtue. This event enlightened us that all religions have a common goal which is compassion and inclusive.

I told my spouse "In ancient time, Dharma Master Xuan Zang had to walk thousand and thousand of miles to the west, faced numerous dangers to bring the Buddhist Sutras back to the east. Now, we ride on a big comfortable bus to come to Gold Sage Monastery and effortlessly receive Buddhist literature. In comparison, we are so lucky. Hopefully, we all can learn from the Buddhist literature to open our mind, be a vegetarian, cherish life, and do more good deeds in the community!

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