Quang Duc Monastery ,Fawkner,
Victoria Australia, Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony
Frank Carter and Rilla
Oellien
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On Sunday morning, 10th of December 2000, the Buddhist
monks, nuns and lay Buddhists of Quang Duc Monastery in Fawkner, gathered
together for the Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony of the Meditation Hall
and Youth Activities Hall at the site 105 Lynch Road, Fawkner, Vic. 3060.
Honourable Sangha from left to right, Venerable Thich
Bao Lac, Deputy Chair and Secretary-General of the Unified Vietnamese
Buddhist Congregation, from Phap Bao Temple, Sydney. Most Venerable Thich
Huyen Ton, Member of the Honorary Elders Council of the unified Vietnamese
Buddhist Congregation in Australia and New Zealand, from Melbourne. Most
Venerable Thich Tam Chau, Patriarch of the World Vietnamese Buddhist
Order, from Montreal, Canada. Most Venerable Thich Nhu Hue, Chairperson of
the National Executive Council of the Unified Vietnamese Buddhist
Congregation in Australia and New Zealand, from Adelaide. Most Venerable
Ajhan Viryananda, Abbot of the Buddha Vihara Thai Temple, in Box Hill,
Victoria.
The proceedings began with the Teaching of Buddhist
doctrines by Venerable Thich Nhat Tan, Commissioner for Youth Affairs and
Abbot of Phap Quang Temple in Queensland.
In attendance at the ceremony was:
Most Venerable Thich Tam Chau, Patriarch of the World
Vietnamese Buddhist Order, Montreal, Canada;Most Venerable Thich Huyen
Ton, Member of the Honorary Elders Council of the Unified Vietnamese
Buddhist Congregation in Australia and New Zealand, Melbourne;Most
Venerable Thich Nhu Hue, Chairperson of the National Executive Council, of
the Unified Vietnamese Buddhist Congregation in Australia- New Zealand,
from Adelaide;Most Venerable Ajahn Viriyananda, Abbot of the Buddha Vihara
Thai Temple, in Box Hill, Melbourne; Venerable Santhindrya, Sri Lanka
Buddhist Congregation in Victoria; Venerable Thich Bao Lac, Deputy Chair
and Secretary-General of our Congregation, from Phap Bao Temple, Sydney;
Venerable Thich Tinh Minh, Secretary-General,
Ecclesiastical Council of our Congregation, from Thien Duc Temple,
Melbourne;Venerable Thich Quang Ba, Senior Deputy Chair of the
Congregation, from Sakyamuni Buddhist Centre, Canberra;Venerable Thich
Minh Tri, Abbot Phuoc Tuong Temple, Melbourne; Venerable Thich Bon Dien,
Commissioner for Sangha Affairs of the Congregation, from Huyen Quang
Temple, Sydney; Venerable Thich Nguyen Truc, Deputy Commissioner for
Sangha Affairs, from A Di Da Temple, Sydney;Venerable Thich Minh Hieu,
Abbot, Minh Quang Meditation Centre, Sydney;Venerable Thich Tinh Dao,
Deputy Commissioner for the Laity Affairs of our Congregation, from Linh
Son Temple, Melbourne;Venerable Thich Thien Tam, from Hoa Nghiem Temple,
Melbourne (the United Vietnamese Buddhist Congregation in Australia and
New Zealand);Venerable Thich Vien Chon, Deputy Commissioner for Finance
Affairs of the Congregation, from Vinh Nghiem Temple, Sydney;Venerable
Thich Quang Nghiem, Commissioner for Public Welfare Affairs of the
Congregation, from Phuoc Hau Temple, Sydney;Venerable Thich Quang Hoa, Van
Hanh Monastery, Canberra;
Venerable Thich Nhuan Kim, from Van Hanh Monastery,
Canberra;Venerable Bikkhuni Thich Nu Phuoc Tri, Commissioner for Bikkhuni
Affairs of the Congregation, the Quan Am Temple, Perth;Venerable Bikkhuni
Thich Nu Chon Dao, Deputy Commissioner for Bikkhuni Affairs, Perth;
Venerable Bikkhuni Thich Nu Tam Lac, Deputy Treasurer of the Congregation,
from Lien Hoa Temple, Sydney;
Venerable Bikkhuni Thich Nu Chan Kim, Abbot of Phat
Quang Monastery, Victoria;
Venerable Bikkhuni Thich Nu Nhu Lan, from Phuoc Tri
Nunnery, Victoria;
Venerable Bikkhuni Thich Nu Nguyen Khai from Mebourne,
Venerable Bikkhuni Thich Nu Dieu Anh from Brisbane,
Venerable Bikkhuni Thich Nu Hue Khiet from Sydney,
Venerable Bikkhuni Thich Nu Hanh Nguyen from Melbourne,
Venerable Bikkhuni Thich Nu Phuoc Dat from Melbourne,
Venerable Bikkhuni Thich Hanh Thuong,
and Venerable Bikkhuni Thich Nguyen Chi.
The distinguished guests in attendance at the ceremony
included the Federal Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs,
the Hon. Philip Ruddock MP. Minister Ruddock had visited the Quang Duc
Temple on a previous occasion about 3 years earlier for the Inauguration
Ceremony of the Quang Duc Monastery.
Other distinguished guests in attendance were:Hon. Sang
Nguyen, Member of Legislative Council, Victoria Parliament;Ms Kaye
Darveniza, MLC, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier on Multicultural
Affairs;
Ms Stella Kariofyllidis, Mayor of the City of Moreland;
Mr. Mike Zafiropoulos, Manager, SBS Radio Station,
Melbourne;
Mr. Doan Viet Trung, President of the Vietnamese
Community in Australia;
Mr. Kevin Kinna, Manager - Multicultural Affairs,
Settlement Planning & Information;
Professor and Mrs. Nguyen Ngoc Phach;
Mr Rob Wood, Director of Moral Re-armament Society in
Melbourne;
Mr Chris Knauf, Employment & Training Consultant;
Mr Lam Nhu Tang, Deputy Commissioner for Culture and
Educational Affairs of the Unified Vietnamese Buddhist Congregation in
Australia and New Zealand;
Mrs Rilla Oellien and Mr. Frank Carter from the
Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd., Victoria;
Mr Chris McKeown and Mrs Christine McKeown from the
Tibetan Buddhist Society in Victoria,
Mr Quoc Viet, Head of the Vietnamese Language Program,
SBS Radio, Melbourne;
Mr Bill Chung, the voluntary builder for the Van Duc
Monastery project;
Mr Nguyen Kien Thanh, the Architect; Mr David Nowak and
Mr Young, Civil Engineers for the construction project;
Mr Long Quan, Chief Editor, Human Right Vietnamese
Weekly in Victoria;
Mr. Brendan, Community News of Moreland City Council;
and approximately 500 Vietnamese and Australian
Buddhist laypersons attending.
After the distinguished guests had been introduced and
welcomed the National Anthems of Australia and Vietnam were played. The
opening speech for the occasion was made by Venerable Thich Tam Phuong,
Abbot of the Quang Duc Monastery (in Vietnamese, then English
translation). The Venerable Abbot expressed his wishes for this building
to be for Buddhist Monks, Nuns and Buddhist laypersons in order that they
have a place to practice Buddhism and serve all the community’s
purposes.
The Venerable’s full speech is reprinted below:
From April 1975, which was a turning point of the
Vietnamese history, many million Vietnamese had to leave their homeland to
find freedom. Among these people, there were a lot of Vietnamese Buddhist
monks, nuns and lay people who established a new life abroad, and thus,
the Vietnamese Buddhist Temples were created in these new countries to
meet the religious needs of these people. We, Vietnamese, especially
Buddhist followers, whenever we live, whatever we face, we never lose our
cultural traditions. The most symbolic is a Vietnamese pagoda, where
people can cultivate the spiritual life. The Buddhist pagoda not only
carried a sacred duties to shield the spirit of the Vietnamese, it is also
considered to be an education centre, a place where people can leave evil
and follow the good; to give up the wrong and return to the right; to help
people attain perfection through the three principles: Compassion, Wisdom
and Courage.
Nowadays, in our situation, living far away from our
motherland, the Buddhist Temple has increasingly played an important role
in the preservation and development the Vietnamese culture. The harmonious
way the Vietnamese life has reflected the Buddhist principle in every way.
Throughout Vietnam, every province, every village would have at least one
Buddhist Temple. As you know, The Quang Duc Monastery was established in
1990 in a small three-roomed house for worship, religious education and
many various Buddhist activities at 30 Bamburg St, Broadmeadows. As time
went by, the number of Buddhist believers increased, along with their
basic needs. We tried to find a new place for the temple.On 20 of May
1997, thanks to the Buddha's blessing, we were lucky enough to purchase
from the Education Department an old school, on an area of nearly 8000
square metres for the cost $350,000. As this is an old primary school, we
have had to change a lot of things to turn it into a Buddhist center.
Since the new contemporary temple was established, many community
activities have been organised.These include Buddhist Doctrine classes,
Buddhist youth family, Vietnamese Language school, which all help children
to maintain their Buddhist tradition, spirit and Vietnamese culture …these
classes are held every weekend. In the meantime, the number of Buddhist
followers was increasing , but, the Worship Hall and Youth Activities Hall
have limited space and are not large enough to cater for the needs and
services of Vietnamese and local communities, and these facilities are
steadily deteriorating. We have asked permission to rebuild them and
Moreland City Council has already granted us this permission.
The foundation stone laying ceremony today represents
the successful beginning of the temple. The building will be constructed
in harmony with both the Australian and Vietnamese cultures. The
attributes which we would like to build the temple with are: that it will
suit the Australian environment, meet the needs for activities of the
local Buddhist as well as display Vietnamese Buddhist culture. The total
cost of the building project is 1.2 million Australian dollars.
The second speech was given by the Most Venerable Thich
Nhu Hue, Chairperson of the National Executive Council, of the Unified
Vietnamese Buddhist Congregation in Australia-New Zealand, from Adelaide.
The Chairperson explained the sacrifices made to protect the equal rights
of religion in Vietnam. He said:
It was the First Republic Government who gave the order
to bring down all the Buddhism flags during the Buddha's birthday on May
1963. There were 9 Buddhists killed at the radio broadcasting station in
Hue on that day of the 8th of May, 1963. The Buddhists requested the
government to carry out only five simple and moderate points, the
government of the President Ngô dình Diem showed no attempt to uphold
the request, they tried to endlessly suppress the mass instead.
At the views that Buddhists everywhere were oppressed,
terrorized, people living in fear and under continuous threatening, the
Most Venerable Thích Quang Duc made a vow to burn himself to awaken the
consciousness of the government and also to notify the world that the
Vietnamese Buddhism was being suppressed and maltreated by a Christian
government. The sacred and magical fire from his body brought a bright
light to the whole world. The whole world paid a full respect to him,
especially in the Buddhist countries, he was praised and admired by
everyone. His sacrifice is a great contribution to the modern Vietnamese
Buddhism. Mediating on this event, we find that his determination was not
for the sake of his individual benefit, it originated from the great basic
vow, it was the great compassion which was being soaked in blood, in fire
and in suffering. More meaningfully, he used the torch of wisdom to
lighten the ignorant, to pray for awakening to the government so that they
would not continue to carry out more sins and to avoid the unwholesome
results.
Nowadays, the Venerable Abbot Thích Tâm Phuong and
Thich Nguyen Tang decided to have the name of the above Vietnamese
well-known monk, the monk who fulfilled three virtues: Compassion, Wisdom
and Energy, for this monastery. The monastery is the place for religious
training and studying for the community who follow the footsteps of The
Most Venerable Thích Quang Duc on the way to find out the real truth. It
is a significant work and worthy to be praised. On this occasion, I would
like to advise that all the Buddhists should heartily contribute in
building the Quang Duc Monastery because the former structure was from an
old school which is no longer suitable for the religious activities.
Moreover, the monastery should bear the characteristics of the national
culture, a place of solemn worshipping, a place where those who feel
depressed can find peace, those who are with unwholesome heart can be
transformed better.
After completion, I hope the Quang Duc Monastery will
be one of the Buddhist centers that can provide services throughout
Australia.
In his speech The Hon. Philip Ruddock MP, Minister for
Immigration and Multicultural Affairs commended the development of the
Quang Duc Monastery. He said:
I am delighted to be here for the laying of the
foundation stone of this new temple, it is not the first occasion that I
have been here, I recall well my visit in 1997 and I have been reminded of
it by being presented with delightful photographs for which I thanked the
Abbot. I recall well the visit of the Most Venerables and Venerable
representatives that have come to Australia before but I, like them
delighted to witness the very considerable progress that has made here at
Fawkner with the new garden settings, the traditional gate, the walls and
of course the many very important symbols Buddhism which will make this a
very important and significant site in the future.
This is an occasion to reflect on the future but also
to remember the past. This is an occasion to reflect upon what will be
done here, on this site in building a new temple because here the
community will demonstrate its continuing drive, determination and the
hope as it builds for the future. I know that as Buddhists you will also
demonstrate the virtues of patience and endurance as you strive to raise
the money for this very important new development. But these of course are
attributes which your community demonstrates everyday, through having come
to Australia many of you through the refugees experience. You have been an
example of the way in which people can build their lives afresh and anew.
I am always delighted, not so much as I have to
acknowledged Sang Nguyen as a Labour member of parliament, but when I
acknowledge that you have Vietnamese representatives in our parliament
today. I am delighted at the professionalism that so many have
demonstrated in their new careers here in Australia. The government takes
the opportunity quite frequently to utilise the skills and attributes of
your community.
The next speech was made by Ms. Kaye Darveniza, MLC,
Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier on Multicultural Affairs. She
commended that the Monastery had foreseen the need to develop in
anticipation of the growing needs of its community. They have understood
that the settlement of the Vietnamese community is an on-going process,
requiring forward planning and appropriate solutions, she said:
Today's foundation stone laying ceremony represents the
Monastery's efforts to respond to these challenges. It is pro-active in
meeting the needs of those it serves. It sets a remarkable example to our
many diverse communities in Victoria. The Victorian Government is highly
supportive of our many diverse communities. Today's ceremony is evidence
of our communities shaping their own future. The continuous development of
the Monastery and it’s facilities is a worthwhile and important step
forward for all concerned. In future, the building will provide an
extensive worship hall, youth activities hall, ... in addition to the
existing Buddhist and Vietnamese educational services catering to the
traditional, spiritual and cultural needs of the Vietnamese community. It
is an incredible development in the Monastery's short life. I wish you
well with the progress of the anticipated works and the future of the
Quang Duc Monastery in general.
Ms. Stella Kariofyllidis, Mayor of the City of Moreland
in her speech said:
...that this ceremony is an important celebration for
all citizens of the city of Moreland. Moreland Council has expressed a
strong commitment to the pursuit of justice and multiculturalism. The
local government of Moreland believes that it has a obligatory role to
play in this arena. Moreland will continue to work and help individuals
and groups achieve that aim. As we believe that everyone should be able to
enjoy the freedom to pursue his or her faith, religion or culture. I
commend the work you are doing in the community as being vital for all our
future betterment.
Mr Trung Doan Viet, President of the Vietnamese
Community in Australia thanked Quang Duc Monastery, which he said had
contributed many good things for Australian society. He said:
Having been brought to Australia by the Fraser
Government, and since then having been welcome with opened arms by
governments of all colours, Labour, Liberal and by the whole community of
Australians, I think as an ordinary Australian, I feel that the least we
could do in return is to help and enrich the cultural life of Australia,
and I am sure you would all agree with me that Quang Duc monastery has
been, is and after the Foundation Laying Ceremony today will continue to
be a very very significant part of that effort of our community.
At the conclusion of the speeches the twenty-three
Buddhist Monks and eight Nuns stood together before the Buddha altar and
chanted Buddhist prayers and blessings for the security and protection of
the new Monastery buildings and for the well being of the assembly.
Finally, the Foundation Stone for the new Monastery was
jointly laid by Most Venerable Thich Nhu Hue, The Head of the Buddhist
Congregation; Honorable Philip Ruddock, Federal Minister of Immigration;
Mrs. Stella Kariofyllidis, Mayor of Moreland City Council; and Venerable
Thich Tam Phuong, Abbot of Quang Duc Monastery.
The first ten of bricks of the new building were
jointly laid by the following ten people: Most Venerable Thich Tam Chau;
Most Venerable Thich Huyen Ton; Most Venerable Ajahn Viryananda; Mr. Minh
Duc Le van Hoi, representative for Vietnamese Buddhist Community; Ms. Kaye
Darveniza, MLC; Mr. Mike Zafiropoulos, SBS Radio; Mr. Doan Viet Trung; Mr.
Rob Wood; Mr. Quoc Viet, SBS Radio; Mr. Long Quan, Human Right Vietnamese
Weekly.
The Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony to build the
Meditation Hall and Youth Activity was successfully completed in the midst
of the dragon dance and Buddhist entertainment.
The Vice-Abbot Thich Nguyen Tang said that the
construction the Quang Duc Monastery will be officially breaking soil on
Sunday 4th February, 2001. The construction will be managed by architect
Nguyen Kien Thanh and engineer David Nowak. The total cost of construction
will be one million two hundred thousand Australian dollars $1,200,000.
This is an enormous project for the Buddhist community in Victoria, both
in size and financial terms, hence it needs all the contributions and
good-hearted willingless from the community in helping to successfully
complete this great project.
This article was
written by the Venerable Thich Nguyen Tang, Deputy Secretary-General of
the Unified Vietnamese Buddhist Congregation, from Quang Duc Monastery,
Melbourne, assisted by Frank Carter and Rilla Oellien of the Buddhist
Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. Edited by Frank Carter, Pennie White and
Evelin Halls.
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Last
update: 01-02-2002
