“Gratitude”, “Sharing” and “Permanency” are the themes of the Exhibition “Peace and Harmony – The Divine Spectra of China’s Fragrant Harbour”, and it is hoped that every visitor will appreciate that such themes are the only avenues to reach peace and harmony among friends, in the family and in the world. The stately statues of Bodhisattvas deftly carved from precious agarwood are all great illustrations of the Bodhisattvas’ majesty, peacefulness and compassion in blessing all believers.

The treasure vase symbolizes family members, favours and harmony in Buddhism, and “A Child Worshipping Avalokitesvara” illuminates that we ought to be grateful to our ancestors, parents, teachers, friends and everyone who has helped us and at the same time as we express our gratitude to the graceful Bodhisattva, we ought to be grateful to our ancestors, parents, teachers, friends and everyone who has helped us as well. As the ancient Chinese said, “For every favour received, remember it for a thousand years; for every flower received, wear its fragrance for ten thousand years.” Don’t take others’ kindness for granted, but have it engraved in your memory and always be grateful.

“Avalokitesvara with Clasped Hands” has her hands clasped modestly, teaching human beings to live in peace and harmony. The ancients’ use of incense for meeting friends and sharing their joy with each other was another manifestation of the essence of peace and harmony. Today, agarwood is endangered and costs dearly. We can no longer burn the precious wood easily with friends. However, sharing food, knowledge, secrets of well-being and other thoughts with friends will serve the same purpose of peace and harmony. Friendship, accord and sympathy are truths of permanence.

Talking about happiness, kindly note your ranking in the “happiness index” survey on the list of the world’s wealthiest countries and regions as published by the American magazine Global Finance. In spite of the widening gap between the poor and the rich, aren't we providing much better social welfare than many countries and regions? Are we behind other countries in terms of “happiness index”?

Let’s look at the components of the “happiness index”. Among the happy countries, over 70% of the people are happy about their harmonious relationship with family and friends, followed by the level of self-confidence – both far exceeding the factors of religious faith, material enjoyment and money. This proves that a person’s happiness and size of wealth are not necessarily proportional. On the contrary, it is one’s harmonious relationship with family and friends, self-confidence and satisfaction that count.

Having gone through the Asian financial crisis, the dot-com bubble burst, SARS and so on, many people were unhappy about the city’s political environment and economy. However, it is puzzling that despite the economic recovery and improvement in employment in recent years, our “happiness index” remains unchanged. We are now wealthier, but many are complaining that pay rise fails to keep up with inflation, that the government is not increasing the social welfare payments, that money is not given to the public promptly, that there is no universal suffrage, that their houses are not big enough, that they cannot afford to buy things they desired…In a nutshell, there is a great deal of grievances.

Have we failed to appreciate our fortune? Have we learnt to be grateful? Are we content and happy in life? Why are we always thinking about what we lack instead of what we have already! If we compare ourselves to others in the world, do we still find ourselves that awful? Do we lack self-confidence, harmony or are we simply not able to comprehend contentment? It’s time to reflect!

Of course, there are many among us who are always content and happy! Simply take a stroll around the exhibition hall and be part of it because this is an opportunity in a lifetime, and is thus worth celebrating.

To be happy or not is one’s choice! I wish everyone happiness forever! May I wish the world be filled with peace and harmony.