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ETHNIC BUDDHISTS IN NEW SOUTH WALES

BY GRAEME LYALL
(Originally published in Abe Wade Ata (Ed.) "Religion and Ethnic
Identity - An Australian Study" Vol.3, 1990, Richmond, Vic., Spectrum
Press.)
ORIGINS AND TEACHINGS
1

In the year 563 B.C., on the border of modern day Nepal and India, a
prince was born to a ruler of a minor kingdom, the Sakyan. His name
was Siddhartha Gotama and, at the age of thirty five, he attained,
after six years of struggle and through his own insight, full
enlightenment or Buddhahood. The term 'Buddha' is not a name for a god
or an incarnation of a god, despite Hindu claims to the contrary, but
is a title for one who has realised through good conduct, mental
cultivation and wisdom the cause of life's vicissitudes and the way to
overcome them. Buddhism is, perhaps, unique amongst the world's
religions in that it does not place reliance for salvation on some
external power, such as a god or even a Buddha, but places the
responsibility for life's frustrations squarely on the individual. The
Buddha said:
By oneself, indeed, is evil done;
By oneself is one defiled.
By oneself is evil left undone;
By oneself, indeed, is one purified.
Purity and impurity depend on oneself.
No one purifies another. (1.)
His teaching can be summarised as:
Not to do any evil,
To cultivate good,
To purify one's mind, This is the Teaching of the Buddhas. (2.)
THE SPREAD OF BUDDHISM
Today, Buddhism is almost extinct in India, the land of its birth. It
fell victim to the Arab (Muslim) invaders, led by Muhammad Kasim, in
712 A.D.
'His soldiers slaughtered a large number of 'samanis' (sramanas) who
'shaved their heads and beards'.---- Toward the end of the 8th century
the Arabs swooped down upon the prosperous monasteries of Gujarat and
destroyed the Buddhist University at Valabhi on the sea coast.' (3.)
However, during the reign, in India, of Asoka (273 - 276 B.C.) Buddhism
spread outside India to Sri Lanka and, possibly, Burma (Myanmar)*. It
was later adopted by Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. These countries
constitute the stronghold of the Theravada or the orthodox school of
Buddhism. Another major school, the Mahayana or reformed school, which
had its roots in India in the fifth century B.C. spread to China,
Korea, Japan and Vietnam, during the early centuries of the current
era. An offspring of the Mahayana school, the Vajrayana or Tantric
school took root in Tibet in the seventh century and later spread to
Mongolia, parts of China and currently has pockets of followers in
Korea (Chingak and Chongji sects) and Japan (Shingon sect).
*' According to the tradition preserved in the Ceylonese Chronicles,
two Buddhist Monks, named Sona and Uttara, were sent by Emperor Asoka
to preach Buddhism in Suvarna-bhumi, which is generally identified with
Burma. There is, however, no reliable evidence to show that Sona and
Uttara were actually sent as missionaries by Asoka, and the location of
Suvarna-bhumi is also not beyond dispute. For, while some identify it
with Burma, others place it in Siam or take it to denote, broadly the
whole of Indo-China. Barring the story of Uttara and Sona there is no
other evidence that Buddhism flourished in Burma before the fifth
century A.D.' (4.)
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE MAJOR SCHOOLS
The essential teachings of the Buddha are accepted as pivotal to all
schools of Buddhism, however, they differ mainly on the emphasis that
they place on certain aspects of the teaching and in their
interpretation of the rules (Vinaya) governing the conduct of the
clergy (Sangha). The Theravada school claims to adhere strictly to the
original teachings of the Buddha as contained in the Pali cannon
(scriptures) and it emphasises the goal of personal salvation (Arahant
2

ideal) for the individual follower. The Sangha of the Theravada is

expected to observe to the letter the 227 rules laid down in the
Vinaya, which includes eating only prior to midday and refraining from
handling money. Four of these 227 rules, if broken, entail expulsion of
the transgressor from the monastic order. They are: killing a human
being, sexual intercourse, stealing and falsely claiming supernormal
powers.
The Mahayana school is less rigid in its interpretation of the
Teachings and emphasises the importance of the follower's becoming a
Buddha for the salvation of all living beings (Bodhisattva ideal). The
Sangha observes strict vegetarianism (unlike the Theravada where
vegetarianism is optional) but eat in the evening. This change of
eating rules became necessary when the Teaching spread to colder
climates. The post-midday meals are regarded as medicine. The rule
prohibiting the handling of money has been seen by the Mahayana Sangha
as impractical in today's world, and it has been reinterpreted as not
amassing wealth, whilst a transgression of the celibacy rule entails
only demotion in some sects of the Mahayana. Other Mahayana sects,
notably in Korea and Japan, admit married priests.
The Vajrayana school is essentially the same in its interpretation of
the Teachings as the Mahayana but it stresses the importance of the
acceptance of a personal Guru (teacher) who initiates his followers
into the, so-called, secret teachings (Tantra). Neither the Theravada
nor the mainstream Mahayana schools accept that there are such things
as 'secret teachings' in Buddhism. The Gelugpa sect of the Vajrayana
is the only Tibetan sect that insists on the celibacy of its clergy.
BUDDHISM COMES TO AUSTRALIA
Apart from the traditional Koorie (Aboriginal) religion, which has
existed on Australian soil for at least 40,000 years, it is suggested,
by some anthropologists, that Buddhism may have been the earliest
non-indigenous religion to reach our shores. Between 1405 and 1433,
the Chinese Ming Emperors sent an armada of sixty two large ships under
the command of Cheng Ho, to explore the south. Evidence exists that
several ships of this armada landed on the Aru islands, 480 kilometres
north of Arnhem Land, but whether they set foot on the mainland is not
confirmed. Professor A.P.Elkin seems convinced that certain Koorie
practices such as the belief in reincarnation, psychic phenomena and
mental cultivation can only be explained in the light of early contacts
with the Orient. Unfortunately, no hard evidence exists to support his
hypothesis.(5.)
In 1882, a ship called the "Devonshire" arrived in Mackay, Queensland,
where two hundred and seventy five Sri Lankans were landed. Two days
later, another two hundred and twenty five Sri Lankans disembarked at
Burnett, to be met by an angry group of 'Anti-Coolie Leaguers' who
pelted stones at them. This violence was met with retaliation by the
Sri Lankans who drew knives to protect themselves. This racist
encounter later came to be known as the 'Battle of Burnett'.(6.) A
certain Bastion Appo is recorded as having sworn an oath on a
'Buddhist Bible' when bringing assault charges against an Australian in
a Mackay Court in 1885. This 'Buddhist Bible' is thought to have been
a Buddhist textbook which the Sri Lankans had brought with them. (7.)
During the 1890's, almost five hundred Sri Lankans, mainly pearlers,
settled on Thursday Island and established the first Buddhist temple
in Australia. It is thought to have occupied the site where the post
office now stands. All that remains to remind us of this Buddhist
community are two Bodhi trees (Ficus religiosa) descendants of the
original tree under which the Buddha sat, when he attained
Enlightenment, more than 2,500 years ago. Despite his minor flirtation
3

with Buddhism, it was Alfred Deakin who introduced the Immigration

Restriction Bill in 1901 which was the forerunner of the notorious
White Australia Policy. (8.) This heralded the decline of Buddhism in
Australia for the next fifty years.
It was not until the early 1950's, inspired by the visit of the
American born Buddhist nun, Dhammadinna, that the Buddhist Society of
New South Wales was formed under the Presidency of Leo Berkeley, a
Dutch born Sydney businessman. This society is the oldest Buddhist
organisation extant in Australia. Its membership was and still is
comprised mainly of people of Anglo-European ethnic background.
In November, 1960, a lineage holder in the Chinese Cha'an (Zen) sect
arrived in Sydney, where he stayed until the end of 1971. He was the
famous master Hsuan Hua. (9.) He gained the impression that there were
no Buddhists among the local Chinese community as he was largely
ignored and, was, at one stage, on the verge of starvation due to the
lack of support. At the end of 1961, he left for California, where,
with the support of his many followers he established a monastic centre
known as the 'City of Ten Thousand Buddhas'.
It was not until the 1970's and 1980's that true ethnic Buddhism made
its appearance and became firmly established in New South Wales.
THE ETHNIC BUDDHIST COMMUNITIES OF NEW SOUTH WALES
The Burmese
In 1987, Sydney's small Burmese community rented a cottage at North
Parramatta to serve as a temporary Buddhist Vihara (monk's residence
and place of worship) as the first step towards establishing a
permanent Burmese temple in the Sydney area. The Abbot, Venerable
Sayadaw U Zagarabhivamsa, took up residence there in January, 1988. He
is a highly respected teacher and scholar, being formerly a professor
at Nalanda Buddhist Institute in India. In 1989, larger premises were
purchased by the Burmese Buddhist Society at Merrylands, also in the
Parramatta district from where it currently conducts its activities.
Many of the local Burmese community are middle class professionals,
some of Chinese ethnic background, who were expelled by Ne Win during
one of his purges of non-ethnic Burmese.
The Chinese
On January 23rd, 1972, Eric Liao, a Chinese businessman, formed the
Chinese Buddhist Society of Australia. Initially, he invited Venerable
Somaloka to conduct services in a garage adjacent to his home. With the
assistance of Bill Jong, another businessman, he acquired more central
and suitable premises in Dixon Street, in Sydney's Chinatown district.
This newly established temple in Dixon Street was later named "Prajna
Temple". A tragic fire destroyed the premises on November 14th, 1985.
All that remained after the fire was the statues of Sakyamuni Buddha,
Kwan Yin Bodhisattva, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and approximately one
thousand books, including the Tripitaka (Buddhist canonical
literature). The abbot of the temple, Venerable Sik Chee Ming, and his
supporters later re-established the temple at Hornsby, a northern
Sydney suburb. In 1989, premises in Dixon Street, vacated by the
Chinese See Yup Society, were acquired and the central Chinese
community, again, has a place of worship.
The form of Mahayana Buddhism followed by most Chinese and, indeed, the
Vietnamese, is a fusion of Cha'an (Zen) and Pure Land (Messianic
Buddhism). As Paul Croucher (10) observes:
'The elemental Chinese religion is, of course, a kind of nature
polytheism, onto which aspects of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism
have been grafted. The Chinese brought with them a syncretic blend of
beliefs and practices in which the demarcations were ill-defined and
4

the influence of Buddhism only mild. As in China, those who identified

themselves with Buddhism probably amounted to no more than one per
cent of the population. Most were content to wear 'a Confucian crown, a
Taoist robe, and Buddhist sandals', and when pressed had some
difficulty in describing the religion they practised.'
Although a small number of the Chinese Buddhist community in Sydney is
very devout, the greater number is quite pragmatic regarding religion
and regard it as solely of use in rites of passage. A monk who eschews
non- Buddhist practices amongst his congregation is Venerable Tsang
Hui, who arrived in Australia from Taiwan in 1977. In 1979, from a
rented house in Redfern, an inner city suburb, he established the Hwa
Tsang Monastery. Being a qualified school teacher as well as a Buddhist
monk, he employed the 'skilful means' of attracting young people to
the Monastery by conducting classes in academic subjects. The monastery
later moved to Greenacre, where regular religious services were
conducted and later to a second location at Homebush, where a new
monastery has been built. In addition to conducting religious
observances, the monastery continues to attract many high school
students to its daily classes in Buddhism, chemistry, Chinese
language, English, general science, physics and mathematics. Due to
these special classes, many of the students gained places at Sydney's
universities and have later graduated to the professions. As an outcome
of these Buddhist students attending the universities, joined by
overseas students studying in Australia, university Buddhist societies
were formed in the early eighties. The first student society was the
University of New South Wales Buddhist Society, also known as UNIBUDS,
which was founded, in 1981, with Venerable Tsang Hui's support. It was
followed a year later by the formation of the Sydney University
Buddhist Society. The proposed development for the recently opened Hwa
Tsang Monastery at Homebush, in the Strathfield Municipality, created
a furore among some of the older Australian residents of the district.
Although figures are not available for the Strathfield Municipality
alone, the 1986 Commonwealth Census reveals that in the Inner West
Region of Sydney, of which the Strathfield Municipality forms a part,
10,513 residents are of Asian ethnic background - a not insignificant
number. (11) An intensive letterboxing campaign under the names of
H.J.Heath and Marie Heath J.P. (next door neighbours of Ven.Tsang Hui)
stated:
If this type of development is allowed in A2 Class residential area
your street may be next, or even the back garden next door. The value
of your home, your most valuable asset will be eroded. What some people
or organisations would like to put in our garden suburb!!! It WAS
called "Oasis in the West" in our Council's Centenary year JUST three
years ago!!! I know that most of us have worked all our adult life to
own a place of our own to relax in, in the evening of our life. Not to
be faced with a fight to maintain our peace and tranquillity and
protect our landscape and view, and the sight of native birds feeding
in our garden and nestled in the many trees, that would be affected by
this proposed development. Please act now, you have only until 4 p.m.
Friday 19th August, to protest in writing. You may view the plan and
model as suggested in the letter (from the Council), but your own
intelligence will paint in your mind's eye this hideous development to
a back garden landscape. (12)
The Strathfield Municipal Council, noted as one of the most
conservative councils in Sydney, despite receiving 890 individual
letters and a petition containing 840 signatures supporting the
application and a petition, organised by the Heaths, containing 273
signatures opposing it, unanimously rejected the Monastery's
development application, so an appeal was lodged with the Land and
Environment Court of N.S.W.. Venerable Tsang Hui stressed that should
the Buddhist community accede to the Council's decision without
putting up a fight, the door would be open to all other Councils to
5

reject development applications for religious premises from the minor

religions. Mr. Justice Cripps of the N.S.W. Land and Environment Court
ruled, on June the first, 1989, in favour of the Monastery's
development application. He stated in his judgement:
It became plain that the intensity of the opposition to the subject
development was, in some instances, influenced by the circumstance
that the religious institution was a Buddhist monastery. All residents
were at pains to volunteer that their views were not "racist" and I
accept their assessment of their objections. The question of what does
or does not qualify as "racism" was not explored in the proceedings
but because the word was bandied about during the course of the
hearing, I feel bound to express my opinion that I do not think any
objector is a "racist" just because he or she objects to a Buddhist
temple functioning next door or in the near vicinity. It was stated
explicitly by some and was implicit in the evidence of others that the
opposition would not have been so intense had a comparable Christian
establishment been proposed. By way of illustration, none of the
residents seems to be duly concerned about the activities of the
Lutheran church (nearly opposite). It is made clear by the evidence,
there is a need for the monastery in the sense that there are many
people who wish to congregate as Buddhists. The subject land is zoned
residential but churches and educational establishments are
permissible in residential areas. There are many churches in
residential areas in Sydney, some of which have functions and
undertake activities more intrusive than the subject proposal. It is,
of course, not possible to speculate on the attitude Mr. and Mrs.
Heath will have to the development if it proceeds. I am, however,
confident that most other people who have expressed hostility to the
concept will, with the passage of time, accept the monastery in the
same way they presently accept the Lutheran church. (13.)
Reluctant to accept the umpire's decision, the Heath's formed an
organisation called 'Strathfield Overdevelopment Saviours (S.O.S.)'
which enlisted the support of the local State Member of Parliament,
Paul Zammit, who possibly saw political mileage in siding with
racists. He requested the Council to seek further legal advice in the
hope that an appeal could be lodged against the judgement. In a letter
to the Town Clerk, he wrote:
I therefore respectfully request Council to urgently call an
extra-ordinary Council meeting to discuss this matter in the hope that
a second legal opinion be obtained with the full knowledge of certain
inconsistencies and possible moral turpitude that have come to light.
Should Council decide to proceed to hold this meeting I strongly urge
that S.O.S., on behalf of the residents, attend this meeting.
(14.)
A copy of this letter was circulated to the local residents. When
Ven.Tsang Hui's solicitor queried Zammit regarding his allegation of
Immoral turpitude', he suggested that he suspected that the signatures
on the Monastery's petition were faked. He withdrew this comment after
it was suggested that a defamation action could result unless he did.
The Town Clerk wrote to the N.S.W. Minister for Local Government and
Planning, Mr.Hay, requesting that he overturn the Court's decision. The
Minister replied:
I have noted the Council's views on the development, however, the
council has presented its case to the Land and Environment Court and I
have no power to overrule decisions of the court. It is therefore
inappropriate for me to meet with the council to discuss the issues.
Should the council wish to pursue the proposal further within the
court, it should seek further legal advice.
(15.)
The Council's 'further legal advice' was that there were no grounds for
an appeal. Many councils and citizens of Australia still seem slow or
resistant to accepting the policy of multi- culturalism. This causes
much hurt, not to mention expense, in our new citizens and causes them
to feel that one law applies to old Australians whilst the new have a
constant battle for the acceptance of their lifestyles and culture.
6

The Hwa Tsang Monastery is not alone in facing trials and tribulations
with Councils and local residents. The Taiwan based Fo Kwang Shan
organisation, is currently constructing a huge multi-million dollar
complex on a ten hectare site at Wollongong, south of Sydney. After a
minor battle with the Wollongong City Council over its increasing the
originally agreed price for the land, (16.) a bitter newspaper debate
ensued in the 'Letters to the Editor' column. Fortunately, they had the
support of the then Lord Mayor, Alderman Frank Arkell, who was also
the local State Member of Parliament, so they are currently proceeding
with the project which will comprise three prayer halls, two
meditation halls, twenty classrooms, a dining hall for 500 people as
well as sleeping quarters. Fo Kwang Shan also maintains centres in
Hong Kong and in Los Angeles. This latter centre was the venue for the
16th Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists in 1988, the
first time that it was held outside Asia.
Another ethnic Chinese religious group, whose members are mainly
refugees from the Indo-Chinese countries, has constructed a temple at
Bonnyrigg, west of Sydney, which is one of the largest in Australia.
This is the Confucianist, Buddhist cum Taoist lay organisation, the
Australian-Chinese Buddhist Society. Future plans involve the
construction of a school for the young and a retirement village for
the elderly. This temple is one of the few serving the Indo-Chinese
community which is completely privately funded.
The Khmer (Cambodians)
Resulting from the genocide wrought on the Cambodian people by Pol Pot
and his Khmer Rouge henchmen and the consequent invasion and
occupation of Cambodia by the armed forces of the Peoples Republic of
Vietnam, many refugees fled to the freedom of Thailand. These people,
who, under the fanatical policies of the Khmer Rouge, were forced to
labour for sixteen hours a day with little food, had lost all of their
possessions. Many of their relatives and friends, especially the
educated, the professionals and the monks, had been slaughtered. They
looked to the compassionate countries of the 'West' for resettlement so
that they could resume what was left of their shattered lives.
Australia accepted many of these industrious people and the various
Governments provided some assistance in their resettlement. Buddhism
is central to the lifestyle of the Khmer people and their fondest wish,
after their arrival in Australia was to have a Buddhist monk to
minister to their spiritual and social needs. Due to the genocide,
very few monks survived to satisfy this need. In the mid 1980's, the
Venerable Long Sakkhone, a Cambodian Buddhist monk arrived to take up
residence in Sydney. The community rented a rather run-down cottage in
Fairfield, a Western suburb of Sydney, to serve as a temporary monk's
residence and temple. The then Minister for Housing in the N.S.W.
Government, the Hon.Frank Walker, later arranged for the lease of a
tract of land adjacent to a large shopping Plaza at Bonnyrigg to the
Khmer Community of N.S.W. for the purpose of constructing a community
centre and temple. Construction of the first stage of this Cambodian
centre, comprising a community hall, office and amenities block as
well as a monk's residence has already been completed and was
officially opened by the Premier of N.S.W., the Hon.Nick Greiner on
Saturday the 10th of February, 1990. The temple building, itself, being
large, complex and expensive will have to wait for another day. The
Khmer community is divided politically, with some supporting Prince
Norodom Sihanouk (FUNCINPEC), others Son San (KPNLF), whilst a small
number support the Vietnamese 'puppet' government of Hun Sen, however,
they are united in their devotion to Theravadin Buddhism and,
irrespective of how poor their circumstances in their new country, they
generously support the temple and the religion generally. One would
imagine that, in the light of the horrific experiences suffered by the
7

Khmer community prior to their arrival in Australia, psychosis would be

prevalent. Such is not the case, however. The Khmer people attribute
this to their devotion to the teachings of the Buddha and are thus
accepting of change, sorrow and their karmic circumstances.
The Koreans:
During the past 600 years, Buddhism has undergone turmoil in Korea.
Cha'an (Zen) Buddhism was introduced from China in 372 A.D. and fused
with the indigeonous Shamanism. (17.) The Choson kings, who ruled from
1392 until Japan annexed Korea in 1910, favoured Neo-Confucianism and
ruthlessly suppressed Buddhism, forcing it out of the cities and towns
and confining the temples to the remote mountains. During the Japanese
occupation, Buddhism again gained favour but the celibate monks were
forced to marry. Following liberation in 1945, the main sect, Chogye,
re-instituted celibacy for its clergy whilst several of the minor sects
persisted with married priests. Following the Korean war, Korea came
under American influence and an influx of Christian missionaries,
especially of the aggressive fundamentalist variety, invaded Korea.
What was formerly a Buddhist stronghold, now sees half of its
population following Christianity. The results of this tumultuous
period in Korean history has, to a significant degree, manifested
itself amongst the Korean Buddhist migrants in Australia. Early in
the 1980's, the Korean Dharmakaya Society was formed at Summer Hill, a
western suburb of Sydney. In 1984, a monk, Venerable Jin Sang Sunim,
arrived from Korea and premises were leased at Earlwood to serve as a
residence and temporary temple, known originally as Hong Boep Sa and
later renamed Dharma Sa. Venerable Jin Sang left Australia early in
1985 and was replaced by Venerable Jang San Sunim, who arrived on the
first of April, 1985. An uneasy relationship developed between the
monk and the Committee of the temple. By October, the dissent had
become so untenable that the Venerable Jang San was forced to leave
the temple, together with those members of the congregation who
remained loyal to him. By December, 1985, a new Korean temple, Bul
Kwang Sa, was established at Summer Hill with Venerable Jang San as its
Abbot. His visa expired early in 1986 and he returned to Korea. After
returning to Australia in January, 1988, as a permanent resident, he
resumed his duties of ministry to the spiritual needs of the Korean
community at the Bul Kwang Temple. The Committee of the Korean
Dharmakaya Society later sponsored a Bhikshuni (female monk), Venerable
Jung O Sunim, in October, 1986, to take over as resident spiritual
teacher. Again, conflict arose between Jung O Sunim and the temple
committee and she was dismissed in September, 1988. Many of her
supporters severed their connection with the Korean Dharmakaya Society
and established yet another temple, Kwan Eum Sa, at Belmore, an inner
Western suburb, with Ven.Jung O Sunim as its presiding abbot. Yet
another Bhikshuni, Venerable Ja Young Sunim, arrived in 1989 to serve
the needs of the Korean Dharmakaya Society. The Society has since
vacated its Earlwood premises and established itself at Campsie,
Sydney's main centre of Korean migrants. Meanwhile, trouble arose at
the Bul Kwang Temple at Summer Hill. An assistant monk, Venerable Dok
Jong Sunim had joined Venerable Jang San. The President felt that, as
he and the committee were meeting the expenses of the temple, the
monks should confine their activities to performing ceremonies and all
major decisions should be vested in the committee. The situation
became so tense that Venerable Jang San formed the opinion that the
temple was serving more as a Korean social club, providing a venue for
Koreans to meet and discuss issues back home. He felt that they had no
real interest in practising Buddhism so he returned to Korea in mid
1989, leaving Venerable Dok Jong to conduct the religious ceremonies.
Soon afterwards Venerable Dok Jong Sunim also departed, leaving the Bul
Kwang Temple without any monks to serve the congregation. Many people
in the Korean Buddhist community feel a deep sense of shame over the
turbulent history of Korean Buddhism in Australia. Moves have been
8

initiated by the new committee of the Dharma Sa Temple (Korean

Dharmakaya Society) to unite the three temples and to resolve the past
differences which have been so damaging to the progress of Korean
Buddhism in Australia. With a spirit of goodwill the Korean community
is striving for reconciliation and, hopefully, they will leave in the
past what belongs in the past and will firmly establish the Korean
Buddhist tradition in their new home. Won Buddhism, a fairly recent
evangelical sect from Korea, is currently establishing itself in
Sydney. A nun from this order arrived in 1990. Won Buddhism is a fusion
of Son (Zen) and Confucianism and has, as its object of worship, a
circle, symbolising the Void which 'contains everything and is perfect'
(7), rather than the traditional Buddha image. Won Buddhism is
celebrating the centenary of the birth of its founder, the Venerable
Master Sotaesan, in 1991.
The Laotians:
The
Lao society is inseparable from Buddhism - they
have been Buddhist for nearly a thousand years. 95% of the country
are rice farmers and rural life revolved around
the village Wat
(temple) where the monk acted as teacher, doctor and spiritual
adviser. Throughout the feudal and colonial periods, the Sangha - the
order of monks - remained the main institution in
the country. The
monks were held in tremendous esteem
as moral and spiritual
arbiters as well as the most learned of the community. (19.) In 1975,
the Pathet Lao defeated the army of the royalist Buddhist monarchy and
many Lao people fled from the communist tyranny across the Thai
border. Many have since settled in Australia. The community divided
into two factions - one supporting the former monarchy and the other,
feeling dominated by the educated middle class, wishing to follow an
independent path.
In the mid eighties, the Lao refugees welcomed the
arrival of their first monks to serve the spiritual needs of their
community. The Lao Community Advancement Co-operative, the
pro-monarchist group, purchased a two storeyed premises at Cabramatta
West, known as Wat Prayort Keo Dhammananaram, to serve as a temporary
residence for their monks and a meeting place for religious
observances.
They were later granted, by the N.S.W. Government, the
lease on some land at Bonnyrigg for the purpose of, eventually,
establishing a temple and community centre. The Foundation Stone
Laying Ceremony was held on Sunday, 20th of August, 1989 and
construction is scheduled to commence early in 1990. For many years
the independent Lao Association of N.S.W., rented premises on the Hume
Highway at Cabramatta as a temple and residence for their Abbot,
Ven.Thongsoun Phantha-Oudom and their monks. The temple, known as Wat
Buddhalavarn later became independent from the Lao Association and the
Abbot was appointed as President. Early in 1988, a cottage was
purchased to serve as a temporary Vihara (residence and temple) until
land for a temple could be acquired. Moves were made in 1988 to unite
the two Lao temples but, although the monks from both temples strongly
supported it, suspicions about the motives for the merger still
lingered amongst the laity, especially those from Wat Buddhalavarn, and
such a conjunction now seems more remote than ever. The occasional
combined ceremonies, that occurred before the attempted merger, have
now completely ceased.
The Malaysians:
June, 1985 saw the arrival of Venerable Mahinda, who had a long
association with both the Buddhist Missionary Society (B.M.S.) in
Kuala Lumpur and the Singapore Buddhist Mission, on a one month
missionary lecture tour of the eastern States of Australia. Whilst
here, he realised the fertile ground ready for cultivating the Dhamma
(the Buddha's teaching). An application was lodged, prior to his
return to Malaysia, for his permanent residence visa. This was granted
and he returned in July, 1986. He was appointed Bikkhu (monk) in
9

Charge of the Hock Cheng See Buddhist Vihara at Ambarvale, a suburb of

Campbelltown, south of Sydney. This Vihara had previously been
purchased by some monks from Malacca, Malaysia and the trustees had
invited Ven.Mahinda to use it as his residence. It was in August,
1986, that Venerable Mahinda suggested that an Australian Buddhist
Mission could be set up on similar lines to the B.M.S. and the
Singapore Buddhist Mission. During its formative years the Mission has
organised several meditation retreats, Buddhist Youth Camps with
participants from several ethnic groups including Australian born,
Burmese, Cambodian, Malaysians, Sri Lankans and Vietnamese. The aim of
the camps was not only to plant the seeds of Dhamma so that future
Bodhi trees might grow but to promote mutual understanding and
friendship among the diverse groups who make up our multi-cultural
Australian community. In 1989, the Mission sponsored the two year
visit to Australia of Ven.Acharn Yantra, a famous Thai meditation
master and, in 1990, is sponsoring the visit of a senior Sri Lankan
monk to minister to Sydney's small Sri Lankan community. The Mission's
main aim is to complement rather than to duplicate the activities
already being so ably performed by the other Buddhist organisations.
The Sri Lankans:
On the 9th of May, 1971, Venerable Ratmalane Somaloka, a Sri Lankan
born monk, arrived in Sydney to become the first permanent resident
member of the Buddhist Sangha in Australia. He ministered mainly to
Buddhists of European ethnic origin. In May, 1973, the Australian
Buddhist Vihara was opened at Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains, west of
Sydney. This was the first Buddhist temple in New South Wales and the
culmination of a dream of Venerable Somaloka and his devotees. Despite
the optimism which greeted the founding of Australia's first Buddhist
Vihara, since then, all has not been a bed of roses. A sign on the gate
of the Vihara, "Private Property", is a significant indicator of its
policies. Despite the Sri Lankan origins of Venerable Somaloka, the
local Sri Lankan Buddhist community was discouraged from visiting the
Vihara. It was only after the arrival of Venerable Pemananda, another
monk from Sri Lanka, who was invited to assist in the activities of
the Vihara, that the Sri Lankan community was granted limited access.
The Bhikkhu (monk) who followed Ven.Pemananda's stay, Ven.Suganananda,
was most unimpressed with the exclusiveness of the Vihara's policies
and threatened to leave unless visitors were granted freer access. Some
Blue Mountain's residents who wished to study the Dhamma (the
Buddha's teachings) and to practice meditation claim that they were
actively discouraged from attending the Vihara. As the result of an
alleged breach of a major Vinaya rule by Somaloka, many of the original
supporters have since withdrawn from its activities. Currently, the
majority of Sri Lankan Buddhists, who follow the Theravadin school,
attend the Thai temple or "the Australian Buddhist Mission.
The
Thais:
In 1975, a magnificent Victorian house, now known as Wat Buddharangsee,
was purchased in the inner city suburb of Stanmore. The opening
ceremony, on Vesak Day, 25th of May, 1975, was performed by His Royal
Highness, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, in the presence of His Highness
Ven.Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara, the Buddhist Patriarch and ten visiting
Bhikkhus (monks) from Thailand. Although Wat Buddharangsee is
essentially a Thai monastery, Ven.Phra Khru Sukumaphirak, the abbot,
has ensured that it serve the needs of the Lao, Khmer, Malaysian and
Sri Lankan communities as well as a significant group of AngloEuropeans who regularly attend the nightly meditation sessions. Wat
Buddharangsee has proved to be one of the most popular Buddhist meeting
places, in the true spirit of multiculturalism, in the Sydney area.
Such has been its success, that it has rapidly become too small to
adequately serve its large congregation so, a large tract of land was
10

purchased at Leumeah, south of Sydney, where a traditional Thai-style

forest monastery, Wat Pa Buddharangsee, was opened in May, 1988. The
Stanmore premises has been retained to serve the needs of the inner
city Buddhist community.
The Tibetans
Sydney's Tibetan community, numbering less than twenty, must
constitute, perhaps, the smallest of the ethnic groups, yet, Tibetan
Buddhist organisations make up one third of the many Buddhist
organisations in Sydney. Tibetan Buddhism attracts many followers of
Anglo-European background. Many of the local Tibetans were formerly
Buddhist monks either in Tibet or in India following the Chinese
occupation so they are often called upon to serve as teachers or
translators for visiting lamas. Many of the Anglo-European followers
have joined with the Tibetan community in protests at the Chinese
genocide and persecution of the Tibetan clergy. The Tibetans are
saddened and disappointed with the Australian Government's neglect of
the plight of their country, preferring not to offend the Beijing
regime lest it affect our trade. They have a strong supporter in the
N.S.W. Attorney General, John Dowd, however, who has often bravely
spoken out about the complacency, of both the Liberal and Labour
Parties, about the Tibetan situation.
The Vietnamese
At the end of 1979, a group of Vietnamese refugees met at a restaurant
in Glebe, an inner city suburb, and formed the Vietnamese Buddhist
Society of N.S.W. The first religious ceremonies organised by the
Society were held at the Thai temple, Wat Buddharangsee, at Stanmore.
Premises at Lakemba, a western suburb, were later leased by the
Society, to serve as a temporary temple, prior to the arrival of
their monk, Venerable Thich Bao Lac. Problems with the local council
and racism from the local residents forced the Society to seek
Government assistance to find a more suitable place and to establish a
more permanent place of worship. Land at Bonnyrigg, an outer western
suburb, was leased to the Society by the Housing Commission of N.S.W..
Today, on this land stands the first, purpose built, Buddhist temple
in metropolitan Sydney, the Phap Bao Temple. A large statue of the
Bodhisattva Kwan Yin forms a dominating landmark at the entrance to
the temple. Actually, the first Vietnamese monk to arrive in Australia
was the senior teacher, Most Venerable Thich Phuoc Hue, who set foot
on our soil in 1980. In 1981, he formed the Vietnamese Buddhist
Federation of Australia, which currently has branch temples in all
Australian States with the exception of Tasmania, which has very few
Vietnamese refugees. At its Biennial Conference in 1987, the name of
the Federation was changed to the United Vietnamese Buddhist
Congregations of Australia. He established the Phuoc Hue Temple in a
large garage at the rear of a cottage in Fairfield, which served as a
monk's residence. Again, racism and the local council's insensitivity
to the needs of the refugee communities, forced the Vietnamese
Buddhist Federation to seek Government assistance in finding a suitable
place for a temple to serve the spiritual needs of Sydney's large
Vietnamese Buddhist community. The then Premier of N.S.W., the
Hon.Barrie Unsworth, responded by making available an unused school
premises at Wetherill Park, an outer western suburb. The foundation
stone for the new Phuoc Hue Temple was laid by him in October, 1987. A
splendid temple premises, which will be a major showpiece of Sydney, is
currently under construction on this former school land. The
Vietnamese community is divided politically, hence the two temples. The
Phap Bao Temple was established by Vietnamese who were in Australia,
as students or diplomats prior to the 1975 fall of Saigon. The Phuoc
Hue Temple serves the 'boat people', who view those, who didn't
personally experience Communist oppression, with suspicion. They claim
that many of the people from the Phap Bao Temple are not vigorous
11

enough in their opposition to the current government in Vietnam. Both

temples support a youth movement called "The Young Buddhist Family"
which is similar to and affiliated with the Boy Scout Movement.
The Administrative Structure
Traditionally, Buddhist temples are autonomous, although, in 1902,
Thailand instituted the Buddhist Order Act, which brought the Sangha
under its own bureaucratic control. Laos and Cambodia followed suit
(20). An attempt was made, in Sydney, in 1988, to institute a Sangha
Council as an advisory and administrative body, but due to the
diversity of Buddhist traditions with differing Sangha rules and few
of the monks having a common language, it became unworkable and was
eventually disbanded. As previously mentioned, the Vietnamese
Buddhists in Australia have established the United Vietnamese
Congregations of Australia as an umbrella body. With few exceptions,
the Vietnamese temples in all States of Australia are affiliated with
this body which meets biennially to elect its council. The Buddhist
Council of N.S.W. was established in 1985 to service the needs of the
local Buddhist organisations. During its relatively short history, the
Council had gained the respect and support, not only of the members of
the Buddhist community, but especially that of both the Commonwealth
and State Governments. The Council provided assistance and advice to
the Buddhist community generally, but the bulk of its work involved
support to the special needs of the ethnic Buddhist communities.
Council was the co-ordinating body for the organisation and resource
supply for the teaching of Dharma to Buddhist students in N.S.W. State
Schools. Combined Vesak celebrations (Buddha's Birthday) were organised
each year, bringing together, in a greater spirit of understanding,
the many traditions that comprise the Sydney Buddhist community. The
Council maintained liaison with various Government Departments and
acted as a lobby group to promote the rights and interests of all
Buddhists. Although it boasted a membership of twenty three
organisations, at it annual General Meeting in 1989, it was unable to
gain a quorum and its operations were temporarily suspended, however,
at a well attended meeting called in September, 1990 to consider the
future of the Council, a new committee was elected and a revised
constitution ratified. A feature of the re-established Council is a
Sangha Committee to act as a consultative and advisory body. A
national body, the Buddhist Federation of Australia, was formed in
1952, but it has failed to gain the support of the majority of
Australia's Buddhist organisations, having only seventeen member
organisations in the whole of Australia in 1989. Its biennial
conference, due to be held in January, 1989, had not been held by the
time of writing this paper - nearly two years after its due date.
Buddhists and Australian Society
According to the 1986 Commonwealth Census (21), 80,387 people in
FDivision, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of
India, New Delhi, 1956.
A History of Buddhism in Australia 1848-1988. New South Wales University Press, Kensington, 1989.
Croucher, Paul
A Short Account of the Spread of Southern
Buddhism in Australia and Queensland in Particular Dhammadinna House,
Wacol, 1982. de Jong, Klaas.
Australian Bureau of Statistics
(ABS) 1986 Census extracted and compiled for the NSW Department of
Housing and the Ethnic Affairs Commission of Sydney, 1989. H.J. and
Marie Heath.
Urgent Notice to Strathfield Residents. Circular
distributed in August, 1988. Cripps, J.S.
Judgement - Tsang
hui. Council of the Municipality of Strathfield Land and Environment
12

Court of New South Wales, Sydney, 1989. Zammit, Paul.

Letter to
the Town Clerk, Strathfield Municipal Council - SUBJECT: Proposed
Buddhist Complex. Circular distributed in August, 1989.
Buddhists Perplexed Over Extension Drama. The Western Suburbs
Courier Vol.105, No.35, P.6, Wednesday, September 6, 1989. Jamrozik,
Wanda.
$25m Buddhist Centre Falters - The Sydney Morning Herald,
P.3, Monday, May , 1989
The Scripture of Won Buddhism - Won Kwang Publishing Co., Iri, 1988.
Davidsons, John Paul (Producer)
Hearts and Minds - Asia 10 Years
After the Vietnam War. Film from BBC, London, 1985. unnag, Jane
The
Way of the Monk and the Way of the World,
Bechert, H. and Gombrich,
R. (Eds.)
The World of Buddhism, Thames and Hudson, London, 1984.
McAllister, Ian and Moore, Rhonda
Ethnic Prejudice in Australian
Society: Patterns, Intensity and Explanations Office of Multicultural
Affairs, Canberra, 1989.
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