Buddhism in Australia Traditions in Change

98 S/iivuVast

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managing

the

dynamics

of

identity

maintenance.ontheone

hand.

andsocial

integration

and

participation.

ontheother

2

and

addressing

thesettlementandwelfare

needsoftheircommunities.

Balancingintegration

with

identity

maintenance

A

challenge

faced

by

ethniccommunitiesin

general

isthe

preservation

oftheir

cultural

identity

and

integrity.

andatthesametime

findingwaysofintegrating

into

thebroader

host

society.

TheCambodianBuddhist

temples

havecontributedtothe

accomplishment

ofthis

challenging

task.

They

offer

regular

meditationclasses.

mcdrt

ion

retreats and dharmaclasses. Khmer

language

classes and cultural

activities

suchas

art.music,

folkdanceand

religious

festivalsare

important

means

oi

fosteringpositive

Cambodianculturalattributes.These

activitiesarecritical

in

keeping

BuddhismandKhmer

language

andculture

alive,especially

forsecond-

and

third-generation

Cambodians.Funherrnore.inthemidstofcultrrniltransition

and

resettlement.

the

temples

areoneofthefewinstitutionsthathaveremained

constantandlend

stability

totheCambodian

community.byproviding

athread

of

religious

andcultural

continuity.

For

many

Cambodianstheestablishmentof

temples

and the

daily

support

ofthemonastic

community

isan

integralpart

of

maintaining

their

ethno—rcligious

identity

asCambodianBuddhistsinAustralia.

Cambodian

Buddhist

temples

play

a

significant

role in

promotingpositive

relationsbetweenCambodiansandthewider

Victorian

community.byemphasizing

the

importance

of

achieving

abalancebetweenthe

maintenanceoftheCambodian

tradition

and

adaptation

toAustralianculture, For

example.they

encourage

the

maintenanceof

customssuchas

respect

forthe

elderly.

Atthesametimethe\

activelypromote

greater

inclusionofthe

youngergeneration;

for

example.

through

placing

them in

positions

of

responsi ility

inthe

temples

thataretraditionalh

reservedforthe

older.

male

community

members.Intheirefi‘ortto

bring

about

greaterintegration

ofthe

Cambodian

community

intothewider

society.

Buddhist

temples

havebeen

activelycollaborating

with

organiutions

suchastheinterfaith

Networkandthelocal

schools.

Examples

ofthiscollaborationincludemeditation

classesandtalkson

Buddhismoffered

by

monksatthelocalschoolsand

offering

toursoftheBuddhist

temples

tostudentsand

specialistgroups.

suchasteachers

and

pastoral

careworkers.

Theseactivitieshave

promoted

mutualtrustandcross~

cultural

understanding

between

Cambodiansandthebroader

community.

Meeting

settlementandwelfareneedsin

communities

Buddhist

temples

continuetobenefitboththeoldand

thenew

generations

intheir

communities.The

greatest

contributionoftheCambodian

Buddhist

temples

inthe

areaofwelfarehasbeentoaddress

theneedsoftwovulnerable

groups.

namely

the

elderly

andthe

youth

(Van

Reyk2005;

Atwelleta],

2006;

Vasi

2008),

Isolationandmental

healthissuesarethe

two

key

ban'ierstowell

being

of

elderly

Cambodians

(Vasi2008),

TheBuddhist

temples

areina

position

toefl'ec—

tively

addressthe

problem

of

isolation

among

the

elderly.byoffering

them

the

ztduplutiun

inCambodian

Buddhist

temples

99

opportunity

toleavetheir

isolatedhomelivesand

socializewithother

community

members. Low levelsof

English

language

skills and

dependency

on

family

members for

transport

contribute

tothe isolation

ofthe

elderly.

Many

ofthe

elderly

lacktheconfidence

touse

public

transport

oreventoleave

homeontheir

own.Cambodian

elderly

luckseniorcitizens'

groups

to

provide

them

withsocial

support.

The

concept

ofrecreational

activities.

suchas

sports.

isan

alien

concept

to

many

ofthem.For

nearly

allofthe

elderly

Cambodiansthe

temple

isthe

only

recreationalandsocialoutlet.

The

majority

ofolder

Cambodiansarrived

inAustraliaas

refugees

inthe 19805

when

they

wereintheir

305 and405.

Many

have

experienced

multiple

traumas;

they

haveenduredthebrutalities

ofthe

Khmer

Rougeregime

and

many

have

also

spent

timeat

refugeecampsprior

to

theirsettlementinAustralia.

Migration

stressorsandisolation

oftenexacerbatethe

impact

ofthe

past

traumas.

Together.

theseare

very

likely

tohaveledto

ongoing

mentalhealthccncems.

However.

they

face

a

range

ofbarriers

in

accessing

and

rising

the

specialist

mentalhealthservices.

To

begin

with

thereisalackofawareness

oftheavailable

mainstreammental

healthservices.Low

ratesof

literacy

inKhmermake

printed

informationinaccessible

to

many.

Even

whenthereisanawareness

ofthe

existing

services.the

elderlyexperience

significant

culturaland

linguistic

barriersto

using

them.The

experience

oftraumaismediated

throughreligious

andculturalinsti-

tutions.beliefsand

practices.

Theoutcomc

oftraumatic

experiencedepends

on

awide

range

ofcultural

beliefsabouttrauma.

lossand

adversity

in

general.

An

awarenessofthese

cultural

categories

is

particularly

relevant

tothetreatmentof

mentalhealthconcerns.

InCambodianculture.

Buddhist

interpretive

frameworks

are

adopted

tounderstand

andaddress

suffering

in

general.

Therefore.

individuals

ofiendealwithmental

anguish

bygoing

totheBuddhist

temples

to

pray.

tomake

offerings

to

gain

merittoavoidsimilar

misfortuneinthe

nextlifeortoseek

help

fromthemonks(Waners2001).

Counselling

offersa

good

example

ofaconventional

methodof

dealing

with

psychological

tmumawhich

may

notbe

culturallyappropriate

in

addressing

the

mentalhealth

needsof

elderly

Cambodians.

The

concept

of

counselling

isalien

to

many

olderCambodians:

hence

they

are

generally

reluctanttoseek

counselling

todealwith

mentalhealthissues.However.

in

dealing

withthese

concerns.they

willingly

seek

theadviceofthe

Buddhistmonks.For

many

Cambodians.

speaking

totheBuddhist

monks

represents

thecultural

equivalent

of

receivingcounselling.

However.it

isnotadvocatedthat

traditional

practices

andtheBuddhistmonks‘

adviceshould

replace

the

specialist

mentalhealthservices.Nonetheless.

resources

suchasthe

temple

community

andthemonksarevaluable

cultural

capital.

which

shouldbeutilized

in

conjunction

withmainstream

servicesto

improve

thewell

being

ofthe

elderly

Cambodians.

The

importance

of

culturallyappropriate

social

outletshasbeen

recognized

as

an

important

well

being

factorfor

elderlyrefugees

in

general:

Being

able

toleavethe

homeandsocialize with

people

whosharetheir

language.

cultureand

experiencesplays

a

huge

role

in

enabling

older

refugees