Buddhism in Australia Traditions in Change

3

Sydney,

a

city growing

within

TheestablishmentofBuddhist

centres

in

Western

Sydney

JohnSkermar

Changing

theestablished

physical

face

andlandusecharacteristicsoftheurban

environmentis

always challenging,

evenmoresowhenoneofthe

agents

of

change

isa

less

understood

spiritual

practice

suchasBuddhism.Buddhistcommu-

nitiesinWestem

Sydney

continueto

struggle

withunfamiliar

regulations

and.in

somecases.

local

hostility

totheir

presence.Planning

lawand

protocols

canseem

static,

andeven

abstract.

in

contemporary

multicultural

society

where

existing

instrumentsareheld

rigidly

overthecommunitiesthat

they

areintended

toserve.

More

supportive

approaches

toconsiderationandassessmentofthecultural

issues

oflanduseandurbanandarchitectural

design

are

required

andtheseneed

to

play

amorccentralrolein

regional

andlocalarea

planning

Buddhistcentres

inWestern

Sydneyplay

arolein

securing

thesocialandcultural

sustainability

ot‘citygrowth

andtheirestablishmentneedstobe

supported

Accommodatinggrowth

and

wellbeing

withina

changingcity

Sydney

continuesto

grow

atarateofabout

34,000

peopleperyear.

TheNew

SouthWales

(NSW)

Govemment‘s

MetropolitanStrategy

indicates

that 70

per

centofthose

people

willbeaccommodatedwithinthe

existing

fabric

ofthe

cit)

and 30

per

centwillbeinnew

greenfield

locations

(Depanment

ofInfrastructure.

Planning

andNatural

Resources

2004).

This

means that in

parts

ofthe

city,

cxisting

low

density

suburban

neighbourhoods.

town

centres.road

and

nansport

corridors

will

change

their

existing

builtfirmand

becomemoreurban

incharacter.

with

higherdensity

andmore

integratedliving,working,

recreational

andcultural

environments.

Historically.

GreaterWestern

Sydneypost«European

settlementhasbeenacollection

of

townships

dottedaroundtheCumberlandPlain.eachwithitsowncharacter

and

identity.

Thesuburbs

have

now

expanded

tofillthe

gaps

andthecommunities

thatlive

inthese

places

have

undergone

remarkable

change

aswell.In

Australia.

84

per

cent0f

people

born

overseas.

livein

Sydney.They

comprise

a

population

ofl.2million

people

ina

city

of 4 million.In

addition.

52

per

centof

Sydneysiders

areeither

migrants

or

childrenof
migrants.

in

NSW.

2.2

per

centofthe

population

isBuddhist.

andinthe

FairfieldLocalGovernmentArea

(LGA),‘

[7

per

centof

the

population

is

Buddhist.

inSouthWestern

Sydney.

the

changing

cultural

landscape

is

becoming

more

apparent.

Sydney,

a

city

growing

within 87

Newresidentsandcommunities

bring

with

themcultural

practices

and

ways

of

living

thathavethe

potential

tomaintain

communityidentity.promote

wellbeing

andassistthesettlement

process.

The

continuingemergence

of

Buddhistcentres

is

part

ofa

change

ofthe

physical

andculmral

fabricofthe

city

and

presents

an

opportunity

toconsider

thecharacteristics

andmeritsor

traditionallanduse

practices.

Urbanenvironments

characterized

by

more

integrated

land

use,

where

housing.

business.

employment

andcultural

practices

coincide.

archeraldedits

thefeaturesof

socially

and

environmentally

sustainablecities.

Asa

microcosm,

templesoperate

asa

type

of

integrated

land

use.

While

cityplanning

looksatbroad

targets

for

housing

andinfrastructure.

the

finer

grain

oflocal

planning

thatconsiders

and

provides

forlocal

communitiesand

diverse

cultures

struggles

tobeaccommodated.

Thecostand

availability

ofland

in

Sydney

makesit

moredifficultfor

recently

arrivedcommunities.

not

only

to

atford

housing.

butalso

toestablish

meetingplaces

thatallowthem

tocontinueto

practice

theirculture.

Many

communities

alsoconfrontresistance

to

carrying

out

theirculturalactivities.

Raceand

religion

aresometimesattacked,

whenoftenitis

thelanduseor

building

type

thatisthe

problem.

Sydney

is

growing

withinitself.This

isadifiicult

process

assuburbanlife

makes

way

foramore

urbanonewhere

new

patterns

oflanduse

and

diversity

of

builtformandcultural

practices

continue

to

emerge.

Itisan

interestingparallel

that

manypeople

inwesternsocieties

are

looking

toBuddhism

andmeditation

practice

as means

of

“looking

and

growing

within‘in order

to

cope

withthe

pressures

ofmodem

life.

While

many

lament

the

changes.

there

isalsothe

potential

forenrichmentof

thefabricand life

ofthereconstructed

city.

The

growingpains

are

symptoms

of

change

and

withinthesedifiiculties

aretheideasand

building

blocks ofa

rejuvenated

urban

environment.

Change

canbemadeeasier

with

processes

that

acknowledge

cultural

planning,explain

difierentcultural

values,

andestablish

carefullanduse

andurban

design

that

partners

regulation

with

flexibility

anda

readinesstoconsider

newandunfamiliar

ideas.

Buddhain

suburbia

—

emerging

Buddhistcentres

Buddhismisa

growing

spiritualpractice

inAustraliawith2.6

per

centoftheNSW

population

identified

asBuddhistin

the 2006 census.

Migrants

froma

range

of

Asiancountries,

aswellas

growing

numbersofwestern

adherents,

make

up

the

number

ofgrowing

Buddhistcommunities

inAustralia.

Theestablishment

ofBuddhist

centresformsan

important

part

orthesettlement

process

for

migrant

communities

asthe

temple

or

meditationcentrebecomesthe

focusof

the

community.

Some

temple

communities

havea

longerhistory

andhave

had

support

fromtheirformer

homecountries.Some

ofthese

groups

haveestablished

temples

inatraditionalAsian

style.Manyyoups,

however.

aremade

up

ofeconomi-

callydeprived

refugeemigrants

whodonothave

thefundstobuilda

temple.

but

have

theneedto

carry

out

spiritual

activity.

House

temples

andmeditationcentresareamore

affordable

way

of

establishingmeetingplaces

for

growingspiritual

communities.