Buddhism in Australia Traditions in Change

*—

xiv

Coniribnlor:

Lama

Choedak

Rinpoche

(‘Challenges

of

teaching

Buddhismin

contemporary

society‘)

isthe heart

son ofHis Eminence

Chogye

Trichen

Rinpoche.

In

additiontohis

traditional

training.

heisalsoa

graduate

ofAustralian

National

University.

Asan

author,

translatorand

teacherhehasfounded 20

urbancentres

andtworetreat

centresinAustralia.He

livesinCanberra.

Dr

CristinaRochateaches

attheSchoolof

Humanitiesand

Languages

and

is

a

memberoftheCentrefor

Cultural

Research.

University

ofWestern

Sydney.

Sheis

theeditorofthe

Journal

afGla/ral

Buddhism.ller

writings

includeZen

in

Brazil:The

Queslfur

Cosmopolitan

Modernity(2006);

‘AlltheroadsCome

from

Zen:

Busshinji

asa

referencetoBuddhism

inBrazil‘

(Japanese

Journal

n/Religiaur

Studies.

2008).

VenerableThich

Thong

Phup

(R

Hawkins)

(‘Being

allofwhoIam:Buddhist

monk

and

chaplain')

isa

bhikkhu intheTrue

LamtraditionofVietnamese

Zen.He

isaPhDstudentat

University

ofTasmnnia.His

publications

include

‘The

Buddhist

insight

of

emptiness

asanantidote

forthemodelofdeficient

humannesscontainedwithin

thelabel

“intellectually

disabled“

(Journalof

Religion.

Disability

and

Health,2004).

DrPatricia

Sherwood

(‘Educating

for

wisdomand

Compassionmind‘)

is an

adjunct

researcherat

EdithCowan

University

andtheDirector

ofthe

Sophia

College

of

Counselling.

ller

publications

includeTheBuddhai:

influ!Street:

Engaged

Buddhismin

Aus/raliu

(2004).

JohnSkennar

(Sydney,

a

city

growing

within:the

establishmentofBuddhist

centresin

Western

Sydney")

isan

urban

designer/artistplanner

witha

profes-

sional

architectural

background.

His work focuseson the

development

of

community

cultural

meetingplaces.

the

design

of

publicspace

andthedevel-

opment

of

public

art

witha

community

cultural

developmentapproach.

Dr

Shiva Vasi

(‘Adaptation

and

continuity

in

Cambodian Buddhist

temples:

implications

forservice

delivery

and

communitydevelopment‘)

holdsaPhD

from

Monash

University

and

is

currently

a researcher in

the School of

Psychology

and

Psychiatry.

Monash

University.

where she is

developing

culturallycompetent

healthservicesforthe

Cambodian

community

inAustralia

byutilizng

BuddhismandIradilional

healing

practices,

AssociateProfessor

GordonWuitt

(‘Locating

aBuddhist

temple

in

Wollongong.

New South

Wales')

teaches atthe

University

of

Wollongong.

NewSouth

Wales.Hisresearch

interestaddressessocial

inequalities

inthe

contextof

place.

Publicationsinclude

Gay

Tourism:Cill/areandContext

(with

Kevin

Markwell.

2006),

Preface

Many

BuddhismsinAustralia:

continuity

and

accommodation

Martin Baumann

Forthelasttwo

decades.

the

analysis

othtddhismintheWesthas

brought

forward

numerous studies thatscrutinize the

development,

transformation andcurrent

statusofBuddhisminNorthAmericaand

Europe.

More

recently.

similarefforts

havebeenmadetodocumentBuddhisminSouth

America.

Afric andAustralia.

In [989 PaulCroucher

published

adetailed.

chronologically arrangedhistory

(Buddhism

in Australia

[8434988)

focusing

on Buddhist

pioneers.

teachers

and

organizations.

Now.

twodecades

later.

BuddhisminAustralia: Traditionsin

Change.by

CristinaRochaandMichelle

Barker.

not

only

continuestonarratethis

story.

butitalso

opens

thefieldtoa

multiplicityofdiseiplinary

and

methodological

approaches.

Furthermore.

thisvolume

bringstogether

scholars

studying

thearrival

andlocalizationofBuddhisminAustraliaand

prominent

Buddhistteachersand

community

membersinvolvedin

forming.adapting

and

indigenizing

Buddhist

practices

and

concepts.

WheneverBuddhistideasand

practices,

rolesand

organizational

formshave

settled inanewcultureand

society, they

havemaintainedand

preserved

the

traditioninadditionto

adapting

and

changing

it.Thenotionof‘tradition‘

,

of

handing

onideasandrituals

,

mprcssesprocesses

ofcontinuationandtransfor-

mation. Inthecourseofthelast 2500

years.

the

teachings

oftheNorthIndian

ascetic.

Buddha

Shakyamuni,

have

developed

into

adapted

localizedforms

appro‘

priate

toeachnewcultureand

society

thatthe

teachings

haveentered.It

may

well

be

argued

thatitismore

appropriate

to

speak

ofa

plurality

of‘Buddhisms'.each

marked

by

the

specificadaptations

madetothe

culture.norms,

mlesand

religions

ofeachnewhost

society.

Inthis

way.

traditionsand

(sttblschools

ofBurmese.

Chinese.

Japanese.

Vietnamese.Tibetan.

Cambodianand

many

more

culturally

coined‘Buddhisms’havecomeinto

being

asaresultof

century-longprocesses.

Although

Buddhist

teachings,persons

andritualsfirstcametoAustraliainthe

nineteenth

century.

itis

only

inthelatetwentiethand

earlytwenty-first

centuries

that Buddhismhas

gaincd

a

lasting

foot inAustralianmulticultural

society.

This

timely

volumenarratesthe

story

indetail:

examining

howBuddhist

concepts.

practices.images

and

organizational

structureshavebecomea

part

ofthe

religious

plurality

existentinAustralia. Like

many

otherwestern

nation-states,

Australia

hasbecomea

place

inwhichthevarietiesofdifferentBuddhisttraditionsand

schoolsmeet.