Buddhism in Australia Traditions in Change

92 JohnSkemmr

These

requirements

areintendedtoestablish

parity

in

regulating

theestab—

lishmentof

places

of

public

worship

withinresidential

neighbourhoods.

Smaller

house

templesusually

falloutsidethese

regulations

andcan

operate

providing

thereare

good

relationswiththe

neighbours.However,

therecanbe

problems

for

thehouse

temples

in

regard

to

conforming

to

buildingregulations.Largertemples

are

encouraged

toestablish

premises

inindustrialarcasorbusinessdistricts.

Creating

territories

ofdiversily

Temples

andmeditationcentres

vary

fromthosethatincharacter

merge

withtheir

surroundings.

tothe

magnificent

andornatetraditional

styles.

These

varying

archi-

tecturalcharactersare

testimony

tothevariedcircumstancesofthe

organizations.

theirconfidenceandthe

possibilities

oftheirlocations.Some

temples

thatarewell

placed

andhave

larger

landareasareableto

develop

afull-scale

templecomplex

withmonks‘

residence,

community

hall.

shrine

room,

stupas,gracefulgardens

and

onsite

parking.

Centressuchastheseinthesuburbsof

Bonnyrigg

andWetherill

ParkintheFairfield

LGA.

haveestablished

buildings

intraditionalAsian

style.

Theypresent

aremarkable

respite

fromthe

surrounding

brickandtilehousesand

actas

points

oforientationinthesuburban

landscape.

At

Bonnyrigg.

thereisa

gathering

ofcultural

centres,

churches.

temples.

clubs.

a

mosque

andahardware

megacentre

aroundadistrict

park

atthetowncentre.

Thesites forthesecentresweremadeavailableinthelatter

part

of

the 19805

by

the‘Landand

HousingCorporation‘.

Thecentral

parkland

at

Bonnyrigg

is

currentlybeingdevelopedby

Fairfield

City

Councilas‘sites

of

contemplation‘,

a

meetingplace

inthe

public

domainforthediversecultures

ofthelocalarea.

Vietnamese,

CambodianandLao

temples

are

part

ofthis

gathering

of

places

of

worship.

FairfieldCouncilis

developing

urban

design

and

public

domainstrat-

egies

that

willincludevisualartsandculturalactivities

in

the

public

domainwith

representation

oflocalcultures.

The

Lao

temple,

Wat

Prayortkeo,

hasa

‘good

neighbourhoodpolicy‘

where

neighbours

are

invitedforfood

anddrinkandvisits

foradvicein

timesoftrouble.

Themonksfromthe

temple

walkfrom

Bonnyrigg

toCabramattaona

weekly

basisontheiralms

round,

which

helps

furtherfamil-

iarizelocalswiththeir

presence.

FairfieldCouncil

recognizes

the

important

roleat

goodqualitypublic

domainsin

facilitating

cross-culturalcommunication.Towards

this
end,

councilisalso

working

towardstheestablishmentofacultural

precinct

inCabmmattaTown

Centre.

tobeknownas‘CabramattaCommon‘.Bankstmlm

City

Councilhas

played

hosttoVesak

(the

Buddha‘s

birthday)

celebrationsinthe

civicmallatBankstown.Asthe
presence

ofcultural

activity

inthe

public

domain

becomesmore
popular.

broader

understanding

ofBuddhism

may

lessenthefear

thatoften
accompaniespeople‘s

negative

reactions.

Morebumble

Buddhist

centres.

suchasthehouse

temple.

are

becoming

more

popular

in

ordinary

suburbanstreets.These

may

nothe

places

of

worship

inthe

senseofthe
largertemples.

butareresidencesformonksornuns

who.

as

teachers,

have
developed

a

following,

andwhere

community

membersvisitformeditation

or
pastoral

careandwherefoodis

prepared

andshared.

Responsesbyneighbours

Sydney.

a

citygrowing

within 93

andcouncils

totheseestablishments

vary

from

hostility

to

acceptance

and

this

iswhere the

real workof

developing good

neighbourhood

relationsleads

to

acceptance

of

cultural

diversity.

Approaching

change

incultureand

urbanform

There is a

growing

awareness

that the

values that established

the

post-war

Australian model

ofsuburban

lifehave limitations.

There

is

recognition

that

growth

determined

purely

by

marketforces

(based

onlimited

needs

assessment

and

mainly

driven

bysupply

ol‘

a

housing

commodity)produces

urban

environ—

ments

lacking

in

variety,

interest

and

vitality.

We

are.

perhaps,

ata

point

where

itis

possible

to

acknowledge

ctiltural

diversity

and

considerbetter

informedand

more

positive

approaches

to

change.

_.

Integrated neighbourhood

scenarios

require

a

willingness

and

ability

to

accommodate

amore

public

life.

accept

diversity

and

its

challenges

and

to

be

open

tonewcustoms.

Itis

important

to

recognize

when

positive

drivers

for

change

arein

place

and

support

these.

The

rc-pattcrning

ot'a

citygrowing

within

itselfneedstobe

informed

by

local

needsand

withlocal

participation.

Anassessment

ofurban

amenity

that

is limited to

maintaining

asuburban

status

quo

or

simply

adopting

a

developer

drivenmodel

may

limitthe

potential

for

change

that

recognizes

local needs

and achieves

health and

wellbelng

outcomes related to

improved

social

connections

and access to

spiritual

practice

in

daily

lite.

InAustralia.

many peoplestruggle

withasuburban

life thatlacks

personal

engagement:

empty

streets.

emptyparks.

quietstrip

centres.fewer

meetingplaces

and

people

living

alone.Austlalia

hassomuch

space.

sofew

people

andsomuch

isolation.The

development

of

Buddhist

temples

insuburban

Sydney

is

pan

ofa

cultural

change

thatis

turning

around

that

emptiness

for

people

thatarefamiliar

withand

enjoy

more

engaging

urbanenvironments.

ina

city

withthe

cultural

diversity

of

Sydney. healthy

growthdepends

on

acknowledgment

and

spatial

representation

ofcultural

diversity.

Forcommunities,

developers

and

agencies

that

regulatechange.

thismeans

greater

recognition

and

strengthened

suppon

ofthe

culturaldimension

of

growth.

Notes

1 FairflcldLGAis 32

kilometressouthwest

of

Sydney

Central

Business

District.There

are

133 differentnationalities

living

thereand 75

per

cent

ofresidentshavea

background

language

other

than

lzngtish..

Bankstown

LGAisinSouth

Western

Sydney

15 kilometres

from

Sydney

CBDandis

comprised

of

people

fromsodifferent

languagegroups.

_ _

3 Cabramatta.a

suburbintheFalrfield

LGA.isa

major

centrefortheVietnamese

dtaspora

inAustralia.

_ y

4 Rossmore

isasemi-rural

areaonthe

edge

ofthe

LtVerpool

LGAinSouth

Western

Sydney.

itcontainsmarket

gardens

and

residential

properties

onmulti-bectare

blocks.

5

Canley

Valeisasuburb

intheFairfieldLGA

Wherethereareseveral‘house

templcs',

LI