Buddhism in Australia Traditions in Change

88

JohnSkzrmar

Temples

arenot

churchesbutarea

whole

complex

ofdilTerent

parts.

they

are

living

cultural

centres thathave

many

functions. Nunsand/ormonks live

Withina

templecomplex

andareonhand

atalltimes.

Temple

activitiesinclude

cultural

ceremonies.

chanting.

meditation,retreats.festivals.

spiritualguidance.

education and

social

centre.

offering

food

tomonks andnunsandalsoa

day

centreforthe

elderly.

Theactivitiesof

Buddhistcentres

present

a

challenge

tothe

normalactivitiesof

residential

neighbourhoods

and,

indeed,

can

range

acrossthe

categories

ofland

useclassification.

Wat

Buddharangscc.

a

temple

in

the Thai forest tradition. was

originally

establishedin 1974

in

Stanmore.

aninner

West

Sydney

suburb.

However.

the

temple

had

difficulties

establishing

a

Sunday

school

(local

peopleobjected

to

thenoiseof

childrenfortwotothreehours

on

Sunday).

sotheWatcommunitv

decidedtoestablish

anew

temple

at

Leumeahin 1984 onthesouthern

fringe

of

metropolitanSydney.

The

communitypurchased

a

largeparcel

oflandinasemi-

rural

setting.

notfar

fromtheheadwatersof

the

Georges

River.However.even

hereitwasfoundtobe

very

difficultto

establisha

temple

andsuitthe

planning

regulations.

Itwas

acceptable

tohavea

place

of

worship.

butnotanassociated

residenceformonks

(althoughspace

foracaretaker

was

acceptable).Zoning

did

not

accountformixeduse

inthe

way

templesoperate.

The

planning

issueswere

funher

affectedinthatthe

locationwasinascenic

protection

area.

Eventually

the

monks

accepted

the

limitationsof

planningregulations

and

decided

thatthecentre

would

operate

asaresidence

formonksbutnotasa

place

of

publicworship.

The

monks

alsofelttheneedto

step

backfromatraditionalThaiarchitectural

style.

as

they

were

concernedit

might

not

getapproval.

‘lfthatfearwasnottherewe

may

havedoneit

better’,

said the

abbot.

VenerableTanChaoKhun

Vibunsilapom.

The

beautiful

grounds

also

includea

stupa

andsmallshrineswithin

landscaped

gardens.

The

NSW

Heritage

Olfice

now

recognizes

Wat

Buddharangsee

asa

heritage

site.

Landuse

planning

—

the

playing

field

Spatial

planning

of

citiesinfluenceshowwelive

andusethe

city.

Spatial

condi-

tionsare

regulatedthrough

planning

instrumentsthat

nominate

acceptable

land

uses

andactivities

through

the

zoning

ofland.These

conditionsaresetdownin

localand

regional

environmental

plans,

aswellasstateenvironmental

planning

policies

andmore

detailed

prescriptions

arecontained in

development

control

plans.

When

considering

cultural

paradigms.

it is

worthwhile

remembering

that

these instrumentshave

been

appropriated

from

colderclimatetown

planning

concepts.They

arealso

historically

linkedtothe

IndustrialRevolutionandthe

resultantmiserableurban

townscapes

thatledtovisionsfora

physically

healthier

way

of

life

beingchampioned.

Atthe

time,

therewasamovetoleave

behindthe

squalor

of

cramped

inner

city

conditions

Separation

ofdifferent

types

of

landuse

was
proposed.

where

previouslyindustry

and

housing

wereoftenmixed.

to

Australia.

this

approach

toland

use.

combined

withtheriseincar

use.has

separated

functionsandestablished

single

interest

precincts

resulting

ina

lack

Sydney.

a

cilygrowing

wilhin

X‘)

of

variety

of

activity

and

buildingtypes.

architectural

style

and

neighbourhood

character.

Therecanbeavisual

blandnessandalackof

activity

thatmakes it

difficulttoorientoneselfwithinsuch

environments.Residential

areasare

separate

fromcommercial

precincts

anddistinct

fromindustrialand

soon.In

recognition

ofthecentral

importance

of

religiouspractice.

however.

places

of

publicworship

have

traditionally

been

permitted

inresidentialareas.

There isofcoursea

pre-existing

culturalcontextwhere

there isafashioned

conception

astotheactivitiesand

formofa

place

of

public

worship,

Itwasnot

until 1998 thatNSW

planning

law

wasamendedsothattheterm

“places

of

public

worship‘

became

applicable

toall

religions

insteadof

being

restrictedto(‘hristian

churchesiKevinDunnreferstothis

‘terminology’

and

legislative

issueinrelation

totheestablishmentofa

mosque

inthe Bankstown Local

GovernmentAreal

(Dunn2004).

The settlement

patterns

and

spatial

representation

of

migrant

communities

within

Sydney

are

pushing

theboundaries

oftraditional

neighbourhood

activities.

changing

theface ofcommercial

precincts

and

ways

of

doing

business.and

challenging

theformerroleofa

sleepypublic

domain.Different

culturesaremore

visibletoeachotherinthebuilt

environmentandthere

are

varyingresponses

ranging

from

hostility

to

acceptance.

Manygroups

are

unfamiliarwith local

regulations

andin

dealing

with

regulatory

authorities.Nuns

andmonkswhoare

seeking

toestablish

temples

and

meditationcentresandcome

from

backgrounds

wherethereis

strongsupport

for

temples

findthenew

regulatory

environment

bewildering.

Neighbourhoodamenity

Local

government

hastheroleasarbiter

and

regulator

inthe

development

process

that

accompanies

theestablishment

ol~

premises

fordillercnt

cultural

groups.

When

consideringchanges

tothe

fabric oftheurban environment

thatdevel-

opmentbrings,

councils

generally

consider

maintaining

the

amenity

ofthearea.

Amenityencompasses

abroad

range

ofconsiderationsthat

dealwith

bulk.

scale

height

andcharacterofthe

development‘

floor

area,

car

parking.

trafiic

impact.

noise.

architecturalform.location

and

availability

of

public

transport,

mintmtnn

width

block.

site

coverage

and

landscape.

The

greatest

concerns

regarding

theestablishment

of

temples

aretheissuesof

traffic,

parking

and

noise.Differentlevelsof

activity

generate

different

responses

Smallerhouse

temples

that work with their

neighbours

in

mitigating

conflict

may

beless

likely

toattract

disapproval.Larger

temples

that

grow

into

regional

centresthatsometimes

hundredsorocc

sionall)

thousandsof

people

attendare

not

encouraged

inresidentialareas.Thescale

ofthecentreneedstobe

compatible

withthelocation.

Councils

encourage

consideration

of

long~termgrowthprospects

before

choosing

asite.butoftentheimmediate

needtoestablishacentreandthe

availability

ofatTordablelocations

takes

priority.

Councillor

ThangNgo

fromFairfield

Ctty

Councilissomeonewhounderstands

theissues

regarding

theestablishment

oftcmples

whenconfrontedwithcouncils‘