Buddhism in Australia Traditions in Change

8 MichelleBarker

andCristinaRocha

been

historically

limited

(Bucknell

1992).

two

chapters

inthisbook

(Bubna-Litio

and

Higgins.

and

Cousens)

attesttothe

continuing

desireforsuch

eeumenismand

demonstrate

thebenefitsofthis

Bouma

argues

that

‘migtation

hasbeenthe

major

factorin

theradical

increasing

religious diversity

inAustralia'

(2003:

59).

Indeed,

in 2006 69

per

centof

Buddhists

(288,100)

were

bornoverseas

(ABS2007),

Of

these,

nearly250,

werefromAsiancountries.It

is

noteworthy.however,

that

5,

wereborninthe

United

Kingdom.

TableI

liststhe

top

15 Asian

countriesinwhichAustralian

Buddhistswereborn.

However,

Bouma

also observesthat ‘the

recentincrease

among

Buddhists

cannot be

entirely

explained bymigration’(2003: 59).

Therehas beenarise

in

thenumberofconverts.

Thisissimilartowhat

hasbeen

occurring

inother

Western

settings,probably

duetothe

credibility

Buddhismcarri

'

intheWestand

to

thefactthatinrecent

decadesAustralianshave

become

‘sptntual‘

ratherthan

‘religious'

(Bouma

2006:

62).

Thishasbeen

accompanied

by

an

expansion

ofthe

religious

market

throughmigration,

travelandincreased

globalization.

In

Australia,

the

expansion

oftheNew

Age

movementhas

translatedintoarise

of

alternative

spiritualities(Bouma

2006:

61—3).Although

census

figures

tendto

lackthe

refinementof

in-depth

research.

they

can

provide

a

general

ideaofthe

field.For

instance,

thenumber

ofAustralians

identifying

with

nature

religions

has

increasedIn

I996theseconstituted

I0,000(0.

per

centofthe

population);

in

200Ithis

numberroseto23.

(0.

per

centofthe

population)

and,

by

2006.

hadreached

29,396 (0.

percent).

Bouma

argues

that ‘therise

of

Pagan

and

TableI

2

Birthplace

ofAustralian

Buddhists. 2006

('Dlmlrynfhir/lx Number

ofadhmm

Vietnam

93.

China(excludesSARSandTaiwan

Province) 36,

Malaysia

23,

Thailand

23,I

Cambodia

19,

Sri

Lanka

I93."

Taiwan

9.

Japan

8.

Hong

Kong

(SAR

of

China)

7,

Laos

7.2I

Indonesia

5.

Singapore

4.

Burma

(Myanmar)

4,

Korea.

RepublicoftSouth) 3.

EastTimor

2.

E

Source:
ABS2006,

Country

ofBirth

ofPersonand

Religious

Affiliation

by

Australia

Introduction 9

New

Agespiritualities

is

largely

attributableto

changes

in

religiousidentity

in

response

tothe

globalization

ofideasabout

religion'(2003:

55).

Twootherdevel-

opments

havecontributedtothis

spiritual

renewal.

First.

therehasbeenadecline

inmainlineProtestant

groups(for

instance.

Anglicans

arenow18.

per

centof

the

population,

while

theycomprised

40

per

centin

1947).Second,

thereisan

increaseinthenumberofAustralians

whoidentifyas

‘no

religion'in

thecensuSrfrom

15.

per

centin200]to18.

percent

in2006.

Giventhesethree

developments

7

an increasein

spiritualities

of

choice.

a

declineininstitutionalized

religion

andanincreaseof‘no

religion”

,

itis

highly

likely

that

increasing

numbersofAustraliansare

migrating

frominstitutionalized

religions

toamorefluid

spirituality.

Indeed,

Boumahascalledattentiontothe

factthatthenumberof

people

whose

religion

was

‘inadequately

described'has

increased 552

per

centbetweenthe 1996 and 2001 censuses

(nearly

2

per

centof

the

population).

WhenBoumoaccessed

people’s

written

responses

totheir

religion

inthe‘other‘box.hefoundthatthe‘word

spiritual

wasthemost

frequent

choice‘

(2003:

65)

According

toBouma:‘the

growth

ofmeditationand

spirituality

centres

provides

furtherevidenceofthe

change

and

regeneration

ofAustralian

religious

and

spiritual

Iifc~

(2006:162).

Thisis

supportedbyTaccy.

whofoundin 2003 that

religious

and

spiritual

revitalizationwas

occurring

inAustralia

(2003)

However,

whileAustraliansare

experimenting

with a

range

of

spiritualities,

convertsto Buddhism are not

necessarily ‘picking

and

mixing~

from diverse

religious

traditions in New

Age

fashion. Oneofthefew studies ofconvert

BuddhistsinAustraliaconcludedthattheir

approach

to

practice

wasnotNew

Age;

ratherthatconvertBuddhistsin this

study

‘Iocatedthemselveswithinadiscrete

spiritual

traditionina

relatively

stablemanner Atthecoreofthe

practice

is

disciplined

and

regular

meditation.comhincdwithdetailed

study

ofBuddhist

philosophy

asitisdocumentedinadvanced textsand

scnptures'(Phillips

and

Aarons2005:

219720).

Fitzpatrick‘sanalysis

ofTibetanBuddhist

practices

in this

volume

suggests

thatthe

meaning

oftraditional

religiouspractices

arereframed

and

reapplied

tosuit the

contemporary

needs ofAustralian individuals This

approach

issimilartothe

practices

ofotherWesternBuddhists. whoblurthe

boundariesbetweenIaici7ationandmona:'cism.

Buddhist

practice

is

changingsubtly

inother

ways,

The Australian website.

BuddhaNet,

exemplifies

the

increasing

effects oftheintemet. BuddhaNetis a

non-sectarian Buddhistinformationandeducation

network,

administered

by

the

Buddha DhatmaEducationAssociationthat

provides

onlineresourcesfrom all

Buddhisttraditions.Venerable

Pannyavaro,

thewebmasterof

BuddhaNet.

Founder

andPresidentoftheBuddhaDharmaEducationAssciationandaVice-Presidentof

theWorld

Fellowship

ofBuddhists.sees

possibilities

for

changing

the

way

Buddhism

is

taughtthrough

useofonlineresources.Venerable

Pannyavam

(2004)

suggests:

The

templeapproach

in

teaching

theDharmais

through

sermonswiththe

teacher

andthecontent

beingunchallenged.

Thenew

way

is

throughgroup

learning

viadiscussion.

OntheNetit's

through

chat

groups

wheretheteacher

ormoderator

actsasafacilitatorforan

ongoing

debateordiscussion.