The
Unified Vietnamese Buddhist Congregation Of Australia – New Zealand
A Brief History of the
QUANG DUC
BUDDHIST WELFARE ASSOCIATION
105
Lynch Road, Fawkner, Vic. 3060. Tel: (03) 9357 3544 Fax: (03) 9357
3600
Email:
tvquangduc@bigpond.com -
Internet: http://www.quangduc.com
The Quang Duc
Buddhist Welfare Association was established in 1990 in a small
three-roomed house at 30 Bamburg St, Broadmeadows, in the northern
suburbs of the City of Melbourne. The house was used for worship,
religious education and many various Buddhist activities. As time went
by, and as the Buddhist community grew, Ven.Thich Tam Phuong had to find
a new place for a temple which would meet the needs of the Buddhist
community of the northern suburban region.
On 20th
May 1997, thanks to the Buddha's blessing, we were lucky enough to
purchase, from the Victorian Education Department, an old primary school
in the suburb of Fawkner. The land, an area of 7,411m2 was purchased for
AUD $351,200. We also received approval from the local Moreland City
Council to set up a Buddhist Welfare Centre as part of the new Fawkner
temple. This new temple is within easy reach of Melbourne airport and
within easy access of the northern ring road.
The areas our
congregation are drawn from, are the City of Moreland, the City of
Hume, the City of Whitesea, the City of Darebin and the City of
Maribynong
From our
initial establishment in 1990, we have strived to serve the local
Vietnamese communities living in the northern region (including the
suburbs of Broadmeadows, Coburg, Preston, Reservoir, Thomastown,
Bundoora, Epping and Lalor), the western region (including Footscray,
Sunshine and St Albans), the south & east regions (including Richmond
and Springvale).
Contributions of
Quang Duc Buddhist Welfare Association to the society of Australia and
the region:
-
Quang Duc Monastery is the only Buddhist Monastery in Moreland,
its architectural Main Shrine, fence, gates, and Four Kindness Stupa and
all Buddha Statues, etc… combine Eastern and Western Culture which
contributes the beauty, art and spirit for our multicultural country.
-
The non-profit Quang Duc Buddhist Welfare Association of Victoria
has approximately 2,000 members from within the north-west regions of
Melbourne including from the cities of Hume, Darebin and Moreland. Since
1990, we have successfully helped many refugees, given support to those
community members in need and continue to devote much time in delivering
various social services to the Vietnamese and also the general
community.
-
Abbot, Senior Venerable Thich Tam Phuong and Vice-Abbot, Senior
Venerable Thich Nguyen Tang who are both members of the Chaplaincy
Council of Victoria, have contributed their time and skills to visit
Prisons and Hospitals in Victoria to help the both prisoners and
patients.
-
Abbot Senior Venerable Thich Tam Phuong is a JP (Justice of
Peace) who is also a marriage celebrant.
-
Some of the more notable contributions of the Quang Duc Monastery
& Quang Duc Buddhist Welfare Association of Vic. Include:
o
Since
2000 - Working with the Department of Justice to support the ‘Work for
Dole’ program and now the ‘Community work’ program to help the people in
Victoria.
o
2001 -
Together with the Moreland City Council - conducted the memorial
ceremony to pray for the victims of the ‘9/11’ terrorist attack.
o
2002 -
Together with the Moreland City Council - conducted the memorial
ceremony for the victims of the Bali terrorist attack.
o
2004 -
Conducted a memorial service for Tsunami Victims and raised and donated
$ 45,000
o
2009 -
Together with our Head Congregation -
The
Unified Vietnamese Buddhist Congregation of Australia & New Zealand -
conducted a memorial ceremony for Black Saturday Bushfire (7 Feb 2009)
victims and raised and distributed over $200,000 in donations to
individuals and communities to aid in their recovery.
o
2009 –
Displayed the Jade Buddha for Universal Peace and conducted special
services, bringing over 15,000 people together from many faiths, to pray
for peace in our home, our community, our country and our world.
o
2010 -
Conducted a memorial service for Haiti Earthquake victims and raised and
donated $11,000.
o
This
does not include the many fundraising events for relief to victims of
many other natural disasters in the region in general and also within
Vietnam.
Current Quang
Duc Buddhist Welfare Association activities include:
1.
Religious prayer services, every weekend:
§
Prayers
for peace and happiness and lectures for all people, so as to promote
quality of life, peace and happiness in society.
§
Wedding
Services & special prayers for weddings.
§
Memorial
Services.
§
Funeral
Services.
2.
Classes for the teaching both Buddhist and secular subjects:
§
Teaching
doctrines to improve the knowledge of Buddhism and other Religions to
cultivate life knowledge and understanding.
§
Organised entertainment for Aged people.
§
Sundays
- morning tea and discussions about the quality of life.
§
Provide
advice and consultations for parents on family problems.
§
Provide
temporary accommodation and support for people, until they find
stability in life.
§
Provide
counseling services to both problem gamblers and drug-addicted persons.
§
Other
services as required
Our current
activity timetable is as follows:
5:30-7am:
Morning recitation and meditation;
6pm-8pm:
Recitation of Sutras and sitting mediation. This includes
training in meditation from beginners to advanced levels
9am - 4pm:
Activities, including sitting meditation, Sutras recitation,
Vietnamese
Buddhist Youth activities,
Buddhist doctrines, teaching and discussion etc.
Sunday Services
and Special Services as requested..
We welcome all
inquiries, for further information please phone us on (03) 9357 3544 or
Fax: (03) 9357 3600. Email:
tvquangduc@bigpond.com
The Most Venerable Thich Quang Duc
The Quang Duc
Temple and Buddhist Welfare Association are named after Most
Venerable Thich Quang Duc, a Vietnamese monk, who was known
throughout the world by his self-immolation at the age of sixty-seven in
central Saigon. Whilst sitting in the lotus position, with full resolve,
4 metre flames consumed his body. This event happened at midday, on 11th
June 1963, witnessed by thousands of Vietnamese, and through the media,
seen by millions more around the world.
The Most
Venerable Thich Quang Duc,
whose lay name was Lam Van Tuc, was born in 1897 in a small village in a
province in central Vietnam. At the age of seven he entered into the
religious life and became a disciple of the Zen master Hoang Tham. At
the age of twenty, he was ordained as a full Buddhist monk (Bhikkhu).
After ordination he spent many years practicing isolated and extremely
demanding ascetic purification practices in the Ninh Hoa Mountains, near
Nha Trang City.
In 1932 he
started his Buddhist teaching career at Ninh Hoa. He then went to a
central Vietnam province to rebuild temples. By 1943 he had rebuilt
nearly 20 pagodas and in the same year moved to Saigon, South Vietnam.
He lived in the Long Vinh temple finally taking permanent residence in
the Quan The Am temple.
In 1953, he was
appointed Head of the Rituals Committee of the United Vietnamese
Buddhist Congregation, a position that he held until the time of his
death.
In 1963, after
four years of increased oppression by the Diem government towards
Buddhist priests and the Buddhist community the Most Venerable Thich
Quang Duc perfomed his heroic deed to highlight Bhuddhist demands for
religious equality in South Vietnam. This act was literally flashed
around the world by television. At midday, on June 11, 1963, he took a
ride to the intersection of Phan Dinh Phung and Le Van Duyet Streets, in
central Saigon (now Nguyen Dinh Chieu and Cach Mang Thang Tam Street).
Pouring petrol over himself, he sat in the middle of the intersection,
struck a match and immolated himself. His body was consumed and all
that remained was his heart. Later when the Buddhist community tried to
cremate his heart it remained intact. It was subsequently placed in the
Reserve Bank of Vietnam and became the symbol of the Holy Heart.
Millions all
over the globe saw his self sacrifice, and The Most Venerable
Thich Quang Duc became a world-famous figure. Before he passed
away he left a letter to the government of the day, and through them,
for the people of Vietnam. In Vietnamese culture, this letter is now
known as the letter of Heart Blood. The core of his letter was a plea
for all Buddhist believers, monks, nuns and lay people, to unite and
strive for the preservation of Buddhism. His plan was to demonstrate to
the world the injustice that was being perpetrated on the Buddhist
religion and community by a repressive regime and it worked extremely
well. Many nations worldwide brought pressure on the South Vietnamese
government to soften its attitude to the traditional Vietnamese
religion. The Saigon government complied.
Current Developments at Quang Duc
Monastery
At present, the
Quang Duc Monastery has just completed the construction of a Sangha
Accommodation, Temporary Accommodation Shelter and Welfare Office and is
in the midst of the construction of a four level Stupa for the safe care
of the mortal remains of those Sangha and Lay members who have passed
away.
The Quang Duc
Monastery is a major Vietnamese Buddhist Centre for the northern and
western regions of Melbourne. According to the 1996 Census statistics,
there were about 65,000 Vietnamese in Victoria, 80% of that population
being Buddhists. The areas our congregation is drawn from include; the
cities of Moreland, Hume, Whittlesea, Darebin and Maribyrnong, which
share a population of approximately 30,000 Vietnamese within their
boundaries.
It has been
found that, despite this population, there were no specific facilities
for welfare services for the Vietnamese community. We require support
from the various governmental bodies to provide services specifically
for our community members. At present there are no welfare workers at
the Monastery and only three temporary accommodation rooms available for
homeless people.
Approximately
50 Vietnamese families use the Buddhist Centre each week, with personal
counseling services being conducted by the Abbot and other staff
regarding problems such as family breakdown, domestic violence,
substance abuse, gambling and other social problems as well as those
seeking other advice.
In 2009 we
experienced specific counseling cases related to:
-
Gambling per week - 5 to
7
-
Seeking aid or shelter -
including:
-
Young people affected by family breakdown due to gambling - 17.
-
Adults affected by domestic violence or gambling related problems
- 13.
-
Persons affected due to substance abuse problems - 11.
About Quang
Duc Buddhist Welfare Association Website
http://www.quangduc.com
The Quang Duc
homepage is an official Buddhist bilingual website in both Vietnamese &
English situated at the Quang Duc Monastery. It was created in May 1999,
and contains many valuable documents and much educational information
such as:
§
Biography of The Most Venerable Thich Quang Duc.
§
The life
of Lord Buddha & His Teachings
§
Buddhism
throughout the world, news & events on the establishing and developing
of Buddhism on the five continents. especially Buddhism in Vietnam
§
Buddhist
scriptures
§
Buddhist
concepts toward our lives
§
Buddhist
tales
§
Famous
Buddhist People
§
Meaning
of being a Vegetarian
§
Buddhism
& women
§
Writing
about the Buddha's birthday
§
Writing
about the Parent's celebration
§
Writing
about the Buddhist lunar New Year
§
Buddhist
temples in Australia
§
Buddhist
Poetry & Poets
§
Buddhist
painting & Art
We do hope you
and your friends will take time to come and see and enjoy our website.
We also like collect new documents on International Buddhist activities.
Please do not hesitate to send us your contribution..
We wish
enlightenment, peace and happiness to you all.
Yours
sincerely,
By Ven. Thich
Nguyen Tang
Deputy-Chairperson
---o0o---
Update: 01-03-2010
