2004.06.26	Buddha’s Light Youth Summer Camp 2004 – The Three Good Exercises	St. Louis, USA
With the aim of promoting Master Hsing Yun’s Three Good Exercises of saying good words, doing good deeds, and having good hearts, the BLIA YAD St. Louis hosted its second annual summer camp at the Fo Guang Shan St. Louis Buddhist Center on June 26, 2004. This year’s summer camp was targeted towards youths from the ages of nine to fourteen. In order to let the young campers absorb this year’s theme more easily, YAD St. Louis planned various exciting, yet educational activities for these youths to enjoy. From lion dancing to meditation, the campers got a taste of Chinese culture and became acquainted with Buddhism. In the beginning of the camp, campers were divided into four teams. Each team developed its own unique cheers that brought team spirit and enthusiasm into the camp. In addition, to let the campers become familiar with Buddhism’s founder, Shakymuni Buddha, the staff and counselors performed an amusing skit for the young campers to enjoy. At the end of the skit, the intelligent campers were able to answer every trivia question that pertained to the life of the Buddha. Moreover, in order to allow the campers to keep the three good exercises in mind throughout the camp, YAD St. Louis composed a song along with hand-movements entitled “Three Good Exercises” especially for this year’s camp. This beautiful piece of music was played during the camp, and the young campers sang along to the song as they went from activity to activity. Under the guidance of the enthusiastic staff and counselors, the youths performed unique, self-directed skits for their parents at the closing ceremony in regards to the three good exercises. These exceptional performances brought laughter and awe to the audience. As a final closing to this meaningful day, using a prayer written by the YAD on the three good exercises, the campers prayed and offered candles to the Buddha. At the end of the day, the YAD realized that not only did the young campers go home happily with the new materials exposed to them, but that the staff and counselors themselves gained new experiences from this event as well.