2019 North America Buddha's Light Youth Regional Conference, Montreal

The 2019 North America Buddha's Light Young Adult Regional Conference (NABLYARC), hosted by Montreal BLIA YAD, was held on August 8th at IBPS of Montreal, Quebec. Nearly 130 North American youths from 14 subdivisions gathered together to learn about the importance of "Faith and Legacy" during the four-day conference.

The courses included the themed lectures and forums, special lectures "BLIA-YAD", "Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)" and "Food and Environment", debates, translation, Humanistic Buddhism 101, logo design, vegetarian cooking, event planning, song and dance workshops. During the "Faith and Legacy" forum, the Abbess of Fo Guang Shan Temple of Toronto, Venerable Yung Ku, mentioned to the youths, "I hope you can find faith and bring back to your subdivisions/temples and pass it on to the younger generation". She encourages the youths to set an example for others to grow up, inspire more people to learn Dharma and pass down the torch on faith.

In one of the forums, the five BLIA YAD White Elephants shared their life and growth experiences in BLIA YAD and Fo Guang Shan. Their stories touched many youths with warm and laughter. Quotes from the BLIA YAD White Elephants: "Start with friendship, and finally become a family member", "Don't be afraid to do, as long as you are willing, the temple will give you the opportunity to learn and grow", "As long as people can come to the temple, they plant seeds, and they will sprout"...

The conference also invited Toronto-based environmental expert, Dr. Ranjana Mitra, to teach "Food and the Environment" to help young people learn how to protect the planet by choosing food in their daily lives. In order to entertain the youths, BLIA YAD prepared the Buddha's Night Market with the theme of Taiwanese Night Market. The youths performed and sang at the party. Under the leadership of Abbess Venerable Yung Ku, all the youths and venerables prayed for the blessings, wishing for the world peace and harmony. The light offerings were placed on the ground to glow the maple leaf, lotus flower and YAD.

At the farewell party, many youths stood up and shared their experiences. Some people have made like-minded friends in the fraternity have increased their self-confidence. Some thanked their parents for passing the Buddhist faith to them and also wished to pass on to the next generation.

The next North America Buddha's Light Young Adult Regional Conference host is New York BLIA YAD in 2021! We hope to see you all there. But first, let's go to Taiwan for 2020 International Buddha's Light Young Adult Conference!

Finally, we want to thank our very own Toronto BLIA YAD members who played an important role as staff in the conference. As indeed during the conference they had a great and fun opportunity working with the North American BLIA YAD staffs.

2019 NABLYARC Toronto BLIA YAD staffs and roles:

Keven - Master Ceremony Team Advisor and Group Leader

Joanna - Advisor of Deputy Group

Michelle - Advisor of Design and Creation Team

Jaycie - Media Team (Video Creator)

Joyce - Group Leader and Xiang Deng (Chanting)

Stacey - Group Leader

Okalyna - Academic Affairs (Ceremony) and Audio/Visual Team

From the conference, they have grown and built their bonds together with all the North American YADs. Faith & Legacy.

2019 NABLYARC Review