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萬佛聖城與育良小學、培德中學於六月五日聯合舉辦第一屆「懷少節」，邀請附近瑜珈市的學齡兒童與家長參加。這是宣公上人近年大力提倡敬老懷少風俗，為改善人心而舉辦的又一項活動。
是日上午，來賓於道源堂，觀賞中、小學學生的表演節目。女學生的中國鈴鼓舞、踢躂舞，與舞獅。男同學合唱一首淨化歌曲，壓軸節目是由男女校各推出一齣話劇表演：女校演出「達摩祖師到中國」，介紹達摩祖師將正法眼藏自印度傳到中國，慧可大師斷臂求法的經過。這故事使得許多美國學生與家長，第一次接觸佛教的精義。
培德中學男校學生自編自導自演英語話劇「兩個朋友」，敘訴一個誤入歧途，加入幫派的年輕人，由於好友為他喪生而痛改前非，最後成為熱心公益的社會人士，劇情動人，也反映了時下青少年吸毒、加入幫派等問題的嚴重。
表演結束，來賓應邀參加佛教「上供」儀式，並享用午齋。在進餐時，學生為來賓以英語背誦「禮運大同篇」、「弟子規」與演唱其他歌曲。瑜珈高中校長菲力普．蓋瑞接著致詞指出，聖城中小學師生的誠摯與純潔，令他非常感動。他希望瑜珈高中將來能有機會與培德中學合作。
身為教師也是學生家長的大衛．朗玆說，聖城裡的學校重視品德、關懷與責任，沒有暴力與毒品，灌輸學生的觀念是以助人為快樂之本，尊敬師長、照顧弱小，因此，校園內充滿安全祥和的氣氛。他記得一九五○年代的瑜珈市也是這麼祥和安全，但是現在已大不如前，凶殺案時有所聞。朗玆認為暴力與毒品問題遍布全美，所以，為學生建立正確的價值觀是非常重要的。
當日下午男、女校開放參觀，展出本學期各科目學習的成果。男校高中部以「易經與科學」為主題的陳列室，由於題材特殊又有深度，製作用心，許多來賓駐足觀賞。
一週前，上人在法界聖城也舉辦懷少節，當時，上人舉出美國最近發生的一則新聞，一個學生殺了父母，還洋洋得意到學校去報告。令上人很痛心：「這個國家的小孩子不曉得孝順父母，養小孩不孝順父母，養小孩幹嘛？如果沒有好的教育，小孩子不壞才怪。」
今日世界天災人禍層出不窮，按照因果律而言，是社會風氣敗壞，人人競相追逐私欲所造成的果報，要減少人類的災難，唯有從改善人心著手，才是根本解決之道。因此，上人多年來大聲疾呼六大宗旨：「不爭、不貪、不求、不自私、不自利、不妄語」，又提倡「敬老」「懷少」風氣，希望大家都能由自身做起，並推廣及人，使社會化暴戾為祥和，人人轉貪瞋癡為智慧光明，就是眾生共同的福氣了。
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On June 5th, the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, with Instilling Goodness Elementary and Developing Virtue Secondary Schools, celebrated the first annual Cherishing Youth Day. Students and parents from Ukiah were invited. This is one of the Ven. Master's recent vigorous efforts to elevate people's minds by promoting the trends of revering the elderly and cherishing the young.
That morning, guests gathered at Daoyuan Hall to enjoy the performances given by students from the Boys' and Girls' Schools. The Girls' School performed a Chinese tambourine dance, a tap dance and a Chinese lion dance. The Boys' School Choir sang a spiritually purifying song. The program ended with two plays. The girls performed the play "Bodhidharma Comes to China," which tells how the Patriarch Bodhidharma took the "Treasury of the Proper Dharma Eye" from India to China, and Great Master Huike cut off his arm in his sincere quest for the Dharma. This was the first time that many American students and parents heard such a story transmitting the profound principles of Buddhism.
The students of Developing Virtue Boys' School wrote, directed, and performed the play "Two Friends," about a young man who went down the wrong path and joined a gang. Because a good friend died for him, he reformed and in the end became a citizen devoted to public welfare. The touching play reflected the serious issues of drug use and gangs among today's youth.
After the program, guests were invited to the meal offering ceremony and the noon meal, during which they were treated to more songs, a recitation of "The Great Unity" by Confucius and "The Rules for Being a Student" in English. Among the honored guests was Phil Gary, Principal of Ukiah High School. He said he felt very moved by the sincerity and purity of the students and teachers at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, and hoped the two schools could work together in the future.
David Rounds, both a teacher and a student's parent, said that the schools at the City stress virtue, caring and responsibility, and are free of violence and drugs. Students learn that happiness comes from helping others, revering teachers and elders, and caring for the weak and young. The campus has an atmosphere of safety and peace. He remembers that Ukiah was like that in the 1950's, but now it's very different and one hears about murder cases from time to time. Rounds thinks violence and drugs are pervasive throughout the United States. It's very important for students to have proper values in their lives.
After the meal, both the boys' and girls' schools held "Open House" and displayed their projects in each subject. The Boys' School set up an exhibition on "The Book of Changes and Science." Since the topic was special as well as profound, and the preparation was carefully done, many guests stayed to look at it.
One week earlier, when the Ven. Master was celebrating Cherishing Youth Day in Sacramento, he mentioned a recent news story about an American student who murdered his parents and then went to school to brag about it. The Master lamented, "Children in this country don't know how to be filial to their parents. If the children aren't filial to their parents, why would the parents want to raise them? If children don't receive a good education, it would be surprising if they don't turn out bad."
The world today is full of natural and man-made calamities. According to the law of cause and effect, this is the retribution resulting from the moral degeneracy of society and the contention among people as they struggle to fulfill their desires. If we want to reduce the disasters which plague humanity, we must start by reforming people's minds. That's the fundamental solution. For so many years, the Venerable Master has proclaimed the Six Great Guidelines: do not contend, do not be greedy, do not seek, do not be selfish, do not pursue self-benefit, and do not lie. He has also promoted the customs of revering the elderly and cherishing the young, hoping that everyone will practice them and influence others to practice them, thus turning a violent society into a peaceful one. If everyone can turn greed, hatred and stupidity into the light of wisdom, that will be a blessing to all living beings.
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