On the 25th of June 2019, the venerable master monk Haitao visited Durham for a day as one of his stops in his world tour, aiming to spread the ideas of Buddhism and unite Buddhist practitioners in local areas.
The Master monk Haitao is a renowned Buddhist monk in Chinese societies and a distinguished name in Chinese communities around the globe. During his trip in Durham, he was first greeted by the city Mayor Katie Corrigan and the Mayor’s consort, Bill Moir. Then he had a tour with the Dean of the Durham Cathedral, Rev. Andrew Tremlett and a talk with the Chaplin of the Durham University, Rev. Gavin Wort. at lunch time. In the afternoon, the master monk browsed the Oriental Museum in the companion of the museum’s principal, Dr. Craig Barclay. Throughout the trip, the master monk Haitao and his team were accompanied by the main organiser of this event—the Durham Market’s manager Colin Wilkes and the representative of the Durham City Chinese community, head teacher of the Durham Chinese School, Mr. Haoyang Liu.
In the morning, the master monk Haitao commenced his visit by meeting up with the Durham Mayor, Katie Corrigan and the Mayor’s Consort, Bill Moir. The Mayor expressed her warmest welcome to the master monk by sending him flowers and a badge which represents the city of Durham. After some short talks with the city mayor and the Mayor’s consort, the master monk Haitao began his Buddhist practice of sending wishes to the city of Durham and its people under a tent, where an image of the Sun is made up by a variety of fruits and flowers. Over a hundred people gathered around the tent to watch this practice. Amongst them were people from different national and ethnic backgrounds, and people with different religious beliefs. Together people participated this Buddhist practice with the master monk Haitao, and next to him, the city Mayor.
After the practice, the master monk Haitao paid his visit to the Durham Cathedral. During this period, he was guided by the Dean of the Cathedral, Andrew Tremlett. Andrew mentioned the burial place of the Saint Bede in the Cathedral, and that next to it on the wall, was a painting of birds suspending around the St. Bede in the middle of the sea. The master monk Haitao raised his question about this painting, and the Dean Andrew explained, this painting showed that the birds were trying to keep the St. Bede warm in the sea for his sacrifice for the people. The Master monk Haitao smiled and recognised this special relationship between the animals and humans, and said: ‘when one is doing good deeds for beings, he/she will have strong support from all kinds of beings no matter what they are.’ The Dean Andrew agreed and expressed his appreciation to the harmony between the two religions that were linked in this theme of love. This Cathedral tour was ended with some warm tea in the mansion that has belonged to the Deans of the Cathedral throughout the centuries.
Finally, after a vegetarian meal, the master monk and his team arrived at the Oriental Museum. This time the master monk Haitao was guided by the principal of the museum, Craig Barclay. Although the time was limited, the principal gave the team a concise tour of the museum, which included the discoveries of the buried head of the Buddha in Nepal, and some other Buddhist treasures founded in the middle-east. In addition, the principal showed the master monk Haitao the galleries of the Chinese culture and some other oriental cultures. He said: ‘The Oriental Museum was served as one of the most important educational places for the school pupils and university students in the northeast of England.’ And they planned to expand their galleries and include more oriental exhibitions in the near future.
The venerable master monk Haitao’s tour in Durham concluded with a gift exchange with the principal of the museum Craig Barclay. The principal gifted the master monk a bunch of flowers and invited him to leave his signature on the museum’s visitor’s book, and in return, a miniature of the Buddha and a long thread of the Buddhist beads were prepared and given to the principal for memory. After this, the master monk Haitao and his team set off for their trip to their next destination—Newcastle.
海涛法师访问杜伦市 杜伦中文学校校长作为华人社区代表全程陪同接待
2019年6月25日，海涛法师全球弘法巡育一行参访英国杜伦市，旨在弘扬佛教和平理念，凝聚本地信众与多元文化社群。
访问期间，杜伦市市长凯蒂·科里根（Katie Corrigan）及其夫人比尔·莫尔（Bill Moir）举行了热情接待。杜伦中文学校校长刘浩洋作为杜伦市华人社区代表，与杜伦市集总经理科林·威尔克斯（Colin Wilkes）共同担任此次活动的主要组织与陪同人员，全程协助安排各项市政、宗教与文化交流日程。
政要会见与祈福活动 清晨，市长凯蒂·科里根向海涛法师表达了热烈欢迎，并赠送了代表杜伦市荣誉的城市徽章与鲜花。随后，海涛法师在市中心广场举行了祈福仪式。杜伦市长及百余位来自不同国家、不同族裔与信仰背景的本地市民共同参与了这一仪式，展现了杜伦市多元包容的社区风貌。
大教堂参访与跨宗教对话 午间，在杜伦中文学校代表及市集经理的陪同下，海涛法师一行参访了千年来享誉欧洲的杜伦大教堂（Durham Cathedral），并与大教堂总牧师安德鲁·特雷姆利特（Rev. Andrew Tremlett）及杜伦大学校牧加文·沃特（Rev. Gavin Wort）进行深入交流与午餐会谈。参访过程中，总牧师向法师介绍了圣比德（Saint Bede）的历史遗迹与壁画典故，双方就慈爱、牺牲与人与自然和谐相处的主题展开了深刻讨论，一致表达了对不同宗教与文化间相互尊重、和谐共处的赞赏。
东方博物馆文化交流 下午，参访团一行前往杜伦大学东方博物馆（Oriental Museum），受到了馆长克雷格·巴克莱博士（Dr. Craig Barclay）的热情接待。巴克莱馆长向法师一行详细介绍了馆藏的尼泊尔及中东佛教文物，并导览了中国及东方文化展厅。馆长指出，东方博物馆是英格兰东北部中小学生及大学生的重要教育基地，未来将持续扩建并展示更多东方文化精粹。访问结束时，双方交换了纪念礼物，海涛法师在博物馆贵宾留言簿上留念。
此次参访活动在多元文化的和谐氛围中圆满落幕。杜伦中文学校在其中展现出的卓越跨文化协调能力与社区领导力，获得了杜伦市政厅、大教堂及杜伦大学各方的高度评价。