Buddhism in Australia Traditions in Change

14 MichelleBarker

andCris/hmRocha

According

tothe

myth

the

‘typical

Australian‘isa

practical

man,

rough

and

ready

inhismanners

and

quick

to

decryany

appearance

ofafl‘cctation in

others.He'sa

great

improviser,

ever

willing

‘tohavea

go'

at

anything

He

believesthatJack

isnot

only

as

good

ashismaster

but,

atleastin

principle.

probably

a

good

deal

better,

and so heis a

great

‘ltnucker‘ofeminent

people

He‘sa

fiercely independentperson

who hatesot‘frciousnessan

authority,

especially

whenthese

qualities

are

embodiedin

military

officers

and

policemen.

(Ward

I992:

l79~80l

For

Ward,

thisnationalcharacter

wasconstructedwithcharacteristics

derivedfrom

thebushmen

(‘outbackemployees,

semi-nomadic

drovers,

shepherds.

shearers.

bullock~drivers.

stockmen.

boundary—riders.

and

station»hands‘)

ofthenineteenth

century

(1992: 180).

Mostofthese

werein factconvictsorerr-convicts and

weremen

whowere

fiercelyindependent

and

practical

duetotheirnomadiclife.

Although

thisis

nota

lifestyle

ora

profession

that

is

pervasive

in

contemporary

Australia.

thisnational

myth

nonethelesscontinues

to atTecthow thenation

perceives

itselfHalafofl‘s

chapter

observesthatthe

media

employ

thesesalne

qualities(e.g.

‘maiter—of-factAussie

attitude'.

‘easy

goingstyle‘)

todescribethe

FPMTAustralia

nun.VenerableRobinaCurtin.

Finally.

the

inlcrmingling

of Australian

indigenous

spirituality

and

Zen

Buddhismis

noteworthy.

The

profileofAngln-Australian

Buddhist

tertiary

educated. urban.

leaning

towards the left and well otl'

,

fat:

ttutes this

phenomenon (Philips

and

Aarons 2005:

22l). Anglo-Australian

Buddhists

from this

sociodernographic possess knowledge

of,

and

respect

for.

indig-

enousculturesthatmakethem

keento

bridge

the

gap

and

findcommonalities

betweenbothcultures.Ina

previous

article,

McAraexamined

the

relationship

betweenaFPMTTibetan

Buddhist

group

inruralAustraliaandthe

Aboriginal

owners ofthe

land.

exploring

how the FPMT

sought

to

acknowledge

and

accommodatethe

originalowners,

to

achieveanoutcomewhere

‘Abnriginal

concepts

of land-based

spirituali

and

Tibetan Buddhist

strategies

for

establishing

theDharmain new

places

momentarily

came intoan unusual

relationship‘(McAra2007).

Inher

chapter.Bamaghi

concludesthat

indigenous

spirituality

andZenBuddhism

sharethewisdomof

interconnectednessand thatmuchcanhe

learned

l'romthe

spiritualrelationship

of

indigenous

Australianstotheirlandandsenseol’

place.

Elsewhere.Buddhismhas beenconnectedto

the

ecological

movement

(Harris

[995),

but

Ihereis

very

littlewrittenaboutthe

connectionsWesternBuddhists

make

betweenBuddhismand

indigenousspirituality

orhow

indigenouspeople

in

Western

countrieshavereactedtothearrivalof

Buddhismontheirland

(McAra

2007),

The

intermingling

ot‘Australian

indigenous

spirituality

andBuddhism

may

begin

anewflow

ofideasand

practices

that.

while

originating

inAustralia.will

circulatethe

globe.

*

Inlmduclt’arr l 5

Conclusion

Buddhism

in

Australiashares

many

characteristicsincommonwithBuddhismin

other

Western

countries.

However.

localizationsand

adaptations

alsoreflectdiffer-

encesdueto

historical.

geographic

and

political

factors.Buddhism inAustralia

canbeseentohavebeen

influenced

by

the

specifics

oftheAustralian

situation,

its

proximity

toAsia.itsmulticulturalist

policies

andits

relationships

withBuddhism

in

Europe

and America. Theresult is

theexistence of

many

Buddhismsin

Australia;

traditionsthatareinastateof

change.

A

goodexample

ofthefactthatBuddhismin

Australiaisnot

only

derivative

ofBuddhisminotherWesterncountries

(althoughheavily

influenced

by

it)

are

theeventsthat took

place

atthe

Bodhinyana

Monastery

inPerthinlate2009.

The

BodhinyanaMonastery

endeavouredtorevivethe

bhikkhuni

lineagebyfrilly

ordaining

four bhiltkhuniswithoutauthorization from

eithertheeldersofthe

traditionorThaiBuddhistauthorities.The

verypublic

and

acrimonious

dispute

that

followedresultedinthe

expulsion

ofthe

Bodhinyana

Monastery

fromtheWatPah

Ponglineage

andtheexcommunicationofthedharma

teacher,

Phra

Brahmavamso.

popularly

knownas

Ajahn

Brahm,

for

sponsoring

the

ordination.The incidentin

Australiahad

repercussions

forother'l'hai

temples

in

theWest.

According

toThe

Bangkok

Post,

theforestmonksoftheWat

Nong

Pah

Ponglineage

were

pressuring

theCouncilofEldersandtheOfiiceofNational

Buddhismin

Thailand.

‘to

impose

strictercontrolsonWesternmonksto

stop

themfrom

ordaining

women.

They

also

wantthe

properties

ofThai

temples

intheWestto

comeunderthe

ownership

of

theThai

Sangha

toensure

complete

control‘

(‘Thai

Monks

Target

Western

Clergy'

2009),Many

Buddhist

teachers.

solneofwhichare

contributorstothis

book.

have

Signed

astatement

ofsupport

forthefullordinationof

bhikkhunis.

Throughexamples

like

this,

itcanbeseenthat

BuddhisttraditionsinAustralia

are

trulyplural. Theyrange

fromthose who

maintain closelinkswith their

origins.

tootherswho

forge

new

ground.

The

chapters

thatfollow.written

by

both

monasticsandteachersinvolvedin

spreading

Buddhismin

Australia.

furtherillus»

iratethis.

Notes

I These include

publications by

Croucher

(I989).

Spuler

(2000. 2002)

and

Abeyagunawardena(2009);

anda

special

issueoftheJournal

qr

Global

Buddhism.

‘EuddhlsmInOceania'

(2008)

that includes

chapters

onBuddhism inAustralia

by

Bubnz-Liticand

Higgins

(2007),

Eddy

(2007)

andMcAra

(2007}.

Adetailedbibli»

ngmphy

ofearlierreferencescanbefoundinanannotated

bibliographycompiledby

Spuler(2003a).

2 inthe

firstincident.

a

ship

called

Tampapickeduprefugees

whowereona

leaky

boat

oil“thecoastofAustralia.TheHoward

govcmmcnt

refused

toallowthe

refugees

to

be

processed

inAustralia.intheChildrenOverboard

Affair.theHoward

govemment

claimedthat

refugees

hadthrowntheirownchildrenoverboardsothat

they

wouldbe

rescuedandabletosecureentranceinAustralia.AnAustralian

inquiry

laterfoundthat

no

childrenhadbeenthrownoverboardandthatthe

government

knew

this

prior

tothe

election.which

they

ended

upwinning.

._—__—dl¥,