Buddhism in Australia Traditions in Change

152 Anna

Hula/of]

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isNovember:is.

3

Being

all ofwho

I am

Buddhistmonk

and

chaplain

Venerable

Thich

ThongPhap

I

grewup

aMethodist.Atfive

years

of

age

Iannouncedto

my

entire

family

that

Iwantedtobeaministerof

religion.

AsI

grew

olderI

thought

about

becoming

achickenfartheranda

linguist

butat

age

ISIreturnedto

myoriginal

vocational

choice.

By

age

17,when

my

idealismwasatits

peak

andIhadreadalifeof

Saint

FrancisofAssisi.

my

vocation

transformedintoadesiretobecome

amonk.Itried

totest

my

vocation

inan

Anglicanreligious

orderat

age

18 bul

thatdidnotwork

out.

By

theendof

my

nineteenth

year

and

my

firstatteacher's

college.

Ihadlost

my

Christian

faith

but

not

my

monasticvocation.Whattodo?

Aboutseven

years

later.in1978,

IdiscoveredBuddhism.

Thoughtsofbecoming

amonkreturnedto

meandI

explored

the

possibilityagain.

but thetimewas

just

not

right.

Another

17

years

went

byduring

whichIfound

my

way

toVietnameseZen.

In 2001 Imet

my

teacherin

Viemamwho

gave

me

permission

toordain.In

2004 Iwasmadea

noviceand, 20 monthslater,

Iwasordainedabhikkhu.Ittook

47

years

fromthe

first

recognitionofmy

vocation

to

my

ordination.

Allthemonksand

nunsin

my

traditionare

primarily

meditators.

butinAustralia

weall live

singly

or

in

very

small

groups

and

many

are

involved in

teaching

meditation.

Idonothavea

group

of

lay

people

to

supportme,

neitherdoIhavea

private

income.

SoIreceive

government

benefitsandwork

three

days

aweekasthe

volunteer

Buddhist

chaplain

atFlindcrs

University.

which

is

my‘Iemple‘.

The

path

ofaBuddhist

pastor

isnot

clearly

setandI

constantlyponder

on

whatitinvolves.

Inthis

chapter,

Ireflectonhowto

integrate

thesetwo

aspects

of

my

work.

In

February

2007 I

spent

VietnameseNew Year

inanotherAustralian

city

staying

in

a

temple

withamonkordainedin

my

tradition.

I

enjoyedvery

muchthe

company

of

my

brothermonkandthe

laypeople

who

support

thecentre.OnNew

Year's

Day

amanvisitedthecentreandwe

engaged

inconversation.Hehad

very

certainideas

aboutwhatZenwasandfelt

perfectly

atease

in

sharing

hisviews

with

me.Afier

ashortwhiletwoladiesarrivedandwantedto

meettheAustralianmonk.

They

were

lovely,genuinepeople.

Oneofthemwas

a

registered

nurseina

nursing

hume.After

aboutanhourofconversation

they

made

mean

offering

andIeR.In

the

meantime

themanhadreturned.

‘Why

did

you

Waste

your

time

talking

tothose

two

women?‘‘Well.

that‘s

myjob.‘

‘YouarenotaChristian

pastor.

YouareaBuddhist

monk',

hecontinued,

takingupquite

abitmoreof

my

monastictime.