Australia's Buddhism

I'd like to speak about the rise of Buddhism in Australia in the hope that none of its devotees surrenders to the millennia-old habit of some traditional religions' demands for a state-sanctioned authority, powered through faith-based fear rather than just physical force.

Early English church tradition shaped the habits of village and city dwellers in the acceptance of that institution as an integral, and sometimes legal, part of their life.

Many European nations also sought to regularise orthodox religion's undue influence over of minds and possessions, just as did this British cultural habit. It made their results ruthlessly effective. Faith and authoritarian structure can be a powerful tool for the imposition of behavioural standards.

I suggest that some of the things which our convict antecedents discarded were the religious, as well as class-driven mores of the lifestyle they had left when they began their new existence here.

Now, our local culture, influenced as it has been by Anglo and European traditions, perhaps could unwittingly destabilse our newly emerging custom of Buddhism as a form of selfless lifestyle, if any greed, envy, anger, or hatred is allowed to flourish as a challenge to its existence .

Buddhism has achieved strong Aussie growth, following the arrival of vast numbers of refugees from those south-east Asian countries which had been involved in warfare in the last few decades.

These new arrivals added not only their national traditions to our expanding multi-national society, but many of them also brought practical Buddhism to our shores.

In the 2006 Census, it is marked as the second largest "religion" Australia after Christianity; Buddhism is enjoying considerable expansion here.

It began long ago in the gold rush days when large numbers of Chinese migrated in search of their fortunes; a number of these were Buddhist.

That's not surprising considering that the truths and foundations of Buddhism were revealed to the Nepalese people around two thousand six hundred years ago by its founder, one of their princes possessed of an enquiring mind. Ultimately after many years of striving to understand the nature of existence he became completely enlightened one night during a session of intense meditation. The Sanskrit term for an enlightened being is "Buddha", and that's how the name originated.

This Buddha's revelations and teachings spread rapidly cross India, China, Japan, and South East Asia, and today underpin the lives of many millions right across the world.

In modern Australia, the Buddhist community still has a high Asian make up, yet also a surprisingly large number of home-grown Australian Western-culture adherents.

Language is not as big a problem as might be assumed when the various ceremonial rituals, including chanting sessions, are conducted in the language of a particular temple's mother tongue.

Over countless years, the use of a non-English language has not been an impediment to participation in orthodox religions provided that the nature, intent, and meaning of whatever is being recited is clear and known to those involved.

For example, for many years the Catholic creed conducted its masses in Latin without any real detriment to its followers in Australia. Similarly, many Islamic events now take place in Arabic.

My own particular Order has its origins in Taiwan, and uses Mandarin as its normal language with many of its Asian members speaking fluent English as well. The books used for ritual ceremonies are printed in a display of Chinese characters, Pinyin ( English-spelt text), as well as in straight English, so participants need never feel alienated from the facts being outlined by the messages.

Although it is convenient to brand Buddhism is as a religion, I suggest that this is not so; it is more a lifestyle practice without being faith-driven.

For a start, its basis lies in the appreciation and understanding of its tenets of psychology and philosophy, couched within a context of deep spirituality.

It is an extremely practical way of living based on the principle that every person is totally responsible for the outcomes of his or her life, with the denial of the existence or power of any form of supreme being, or deity.

It is an ethical and moral compass to guide an individual's actions, not the pronouncements of some form of divine commander whose wishes must be followed. In other words, you're the boss of you own life and its outcomes – not anybody else.

Buddhism draws heavily on the ancient Hindu tradition of karma which is essentially action seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation.

I find this early belief explained well by Newton's third law of motion which states that, for every action, there is an equal opposite reaction, meaning do good and you'll enjoy goodness, do bad and you'll suffer badness as an outcome.

Another way that it differs significantly from religions is that Buddhism has no hierarchy.

Sure, there is the need for leadership and co-ordination, but this is done democratically by the decisions of the communities about who will act as an abbott or abbess. Note here the fact that, from its beginning, Buddhism has never recognised any gender supremacy.

Regarding leadership - the Dalai Lama is very much in the news these days, but it would be incorrect to think of him as some kind of authoritative head of Bhuddhism. He refers to himself as just a simple monk who leads the Tibetan school.

Not at all like the Pope who is venerated as the head of the Roman Catholic faith, much as the Archbishop of Canterbury, or the Queen, is deemed to control the Church of England.

I suggest that one of the appeals of Buddhism to Australians comes from their egalitarian nature; they don't like their poppies too tall, particularly religious ones, and the Buddhist tradition has no ascending orders of hierarchy, unlike regimented religions.

Nor does it suffer from the radicalism of some faiths.

The humanistic Buddhist order to which I belong has, as one of its goals, the aim to live as an energetic, enlightened, and endearing person who strives to help all sentient beings liberate themselves.

It focuses on issues of the world rather than on how to leave the world behind; on caring for the living, rather than the dead; on benefiting others, rather than benefiting oneself, and on universal salvation, rather than cultivation for only oneself.

It is based on the fundamental awareness of the interconnectedness of self and others, a state of enlightenment which overrides distinctions between human beings - and focuses on their core "oneness", their humanity.

In Australia this particular group, like many others, has created ways by which our communities can be helped practically by providing Buddhist cultural information about customs, language, by creating and sustaining charities, and assisting the understanding of philosophy, psychology, and spirituality.

Therefore with these intents in mind, recently we opened a massive university to benefit education in the Wollongong region. At heart of all this is the concept of furthering education worldwide on temporal as well as spiritual matters, and the humble act of giving, not taking.

I trust that our everyday lay Buddhists will continue to harmonise with ordained monks, bringing to bear enormous professional and business skills in the furtherance of our Order's ambitions and keeping our massive organisation running smoothly, both here and in the many overseas nations in which we function.

I doubt that our local core movers will not fall for the ready distractions of the economic and political pressures of our advanced society. We have remarkable professional, business, management, scientific and accounting skills within our Australian community. In fact, one of our Asian-born reverends served as a senior inspector with the Taxation Department before her decision to renounce the commercial lifestyle, and train to become an ordained monk. She speaks fluent Mandarin, Vietnamese, and English (and is an enormous benefit as a teacher of English-only students!)

I think that the tenets of Buddhism are so completely a part of our local member's lives, that there is not a great likelihood that practices would slide into the hunger for power and authority which has characterised so many of the world's religions. At least, I hope this is continues to be the case.

The history of the past has such a lot to contribute to the promises of the future, particularly within the realm of personal ethics and the joyful enjoyment of all of life's beauties.

I suggest further that this social culture is fast becoming a new norm in Australia for the understanding of those things outside our immediate, tangible control. The laws of cause and effect can be extremely pleasant, but also immensely unforgiving of behavioural frailty. They need to be understood, thoroughly.

Attendance evidence is revealing that many stressed people are turning to lifestyle courses, such as meditation and tai chi, without feeling any need to commit to spiritual change of belief as part of their practice. This could also be one reason for the increasing acceptance of Buddhism as an integral part of Australian life.

Let's all appreciate this aspect of Australian society, and perhaps one day enjoy meeting a Buddha called Bruce.