A brief introduction to the development of Buddhism in Australia

Population of Australia: in June 2000, it was 6.5438+0.92 million, of which more than 6.5438+0.4 million were descendants of Britain and Ireland; 940,000 Asians, including about 450,000 Chinese and overseas Chinese; There are about 375,000 indigenous people.

Religion: Roman Catholic 26.4%, Anglican 20.5%, other Christians 20.5%, Buddhism 1.9%, Islam 1.5%, other 1.2%, unspecified 12.7%, none.

Buddhism is the fastest growing religion in Australia.

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The history of Buddhism in Australia dates back to 1848. The first record is that miners from China came to Australia, and they brought China's Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism culture and beliefs.

/kloc-Buddhism was introduced into Australia with Ceylon (Sri Lanka) merchant immigrants during the gold rush in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China in the 0 ~ (th) century, but Buddhism did not spread widely because of its small number. It was not until the 20th century that Buddhism gradually attracted the attention of westerners in Europe, and more and more westerners studied Buddhism. After some westerners who studied Buddhism immigrated to Australia, some westerners who studied Buddhism began to spread Buddhism in the mainstream society of Australia. Proficient in English, they were able to convey the essence of Buddhism to Europeans in Australia, which played an enlightening and foundation role in the wide spread of modern Buddhism in Australia. Australian Buddhists have diverse beliefs. Most white people go to Nanchuan Temple because they like to explore Buddhist philosophy. On the other hand, Australia's geographical environment is close to Southeast Asia, and most people who go to temples hope to find a teacher to guide meditation.

With the gradual increase of Asian immigrants, a community dominated by Asian Buddhist believers and a few Australian westerners has gradually formed. 19 10, U Sasana Dhaja, a British monk who became a monk in Myanmar, came to Australia and became the first mage in Australia to promote Buddhism. Sister Damadina, who was born in the United States and later became a monk in Ceylon, first came to Australia to preach at the age of 70 in 195 1 and was one of the earliest pioneers of Australian Buddhism. 1952, Master Tina of Dharma went to Australia to lecture again. When she first arrived in Australia, she was tutoring students. Buddhist textbooks are all shipped from Sri Lanka and written by a German monk (he is a German Buddhist monk who has lived in Sri Lanka for many years and has many German believers. Master Damotina also teaches at his monk's Dojo. )。 1953, several people interested in Buddhism established the Victorian Buddhist Association in Melbourne and the New South Wales Buddhist Association in Sydney. At the same time, Mr. Leo Bekele and Mr. Mary Besville byers, Dutch, moved to Australia successively, which played a positive role in the spread of Buddhism in Australia. From 65438 to 0956, under the sponsorship of Leo Berkeley, two Thai wizards established the first Buddhist meditation center in Australia. In the next few years, other groups were established in major towns in various States, such as 1959 "Australian Buddhist Federation" established in Sydney, and so on. In the history of more than 100 years, no China Master has been to Australia, and the content of Buddhism is limited to Southern Buddhism.

In recent decades, Australia has absorbed many immigrants from Southeast Asia, Hongkong and Taiwan Province Province. Many of them are devout Buddhists, and many are folk believers who worship Buddha and burn incense. They organize Buddhist groups, hold Buddhist activities or build temples to promote Buddhism. Therefore, various cities in Australia have successively established Buddhist groups of different nationalities. For example, 1973, the Chinese organized the Australian Chinese Buddhism Research Association in Sydney. 198 1 Vietnamese Buddhist Federation established by Vietnamese immigrants; 1974 Tibetan Buddhism, mainly composed of Nishino Lama and Zoba Rinpoche, has also begun to develop in various parts of Australia. In addition to teaching Tibetan Buddhism courses, seminars, retreats and spiritual practices are also held. Although there are different schools of Buddhism in Australia, such as spreading to the south, spreading to the north and Tibetan, it is a characteristic of Australia's multiculturalism to promote Buddhism with mutual respect and tolerance, and Buddhism is the religion with the highest growth rate of faith. People will face many difficulties in life, whether at work or at home, such as people, things and things. Following the teachings of the Buddha, the Buddhist community in Australia, according to the actual situation in Australia, discusses how to guide the public to face the influence of family, school, society, teenagers and crime correctly, and how to drive the public to face difficulties correctly and find solutions. Give direction and hope to mankind with the wisdom and compassion of Buddhism, and purify people's hearts with Buddhism. While trying to promote Buddhism, the four disciples of the Australian Buddhist community also actively participated in various social activities related to public welfare, culture and education organized by government agencies and community dignitaries. Buddhist groups are very concerned about the young generation's basic understanding of Buddhism, and through various activities, Buddhism has closer contact with the public. Thanks to their efforts, Buddhism has become the fastest growing religion in Australia, ranking second among the five major religions, second only to Christianity. According to a survey conducted by the Immigration Multicultural and Demographic Research Bureau of the Australian Federal Government 199 1, the number of Buddhists in Australia has tripled in ten years. According to statistics, there are 167 Buddhist groups in 1996. In April 2004, there were 378 in Australia, an increase of 126% in just six years. Among them, Mahayana Buddhism accounts for 36.5%; Southern Buddhism accounts for 24%; Tibetan Buddhism accounts for 24.5%; Other sects 15%.

The Development of Modern Buddhism in Australia

Since the 1990s, there have been many Buddhists among the immigrants from Asia. They organized Buddhist groups and held activities to promote Buddhism in Australia, which really promoted the rapid development of Buddhism in Australia. From 65438 to 0977, Master Zanghui immigrated to Australia and founded Huazang Temple, becoming the first China monk to settle in Australia and spread Mahayana Buddhism. In the early 1990s, the great Buddhist Zen master of China led Master China to preach Buddhism in Australia for many times, which contributed to the development of Buddhism in Australia. Wang Yongping's visit to Queensland laid the foundation for Queensland's Mahayana patriarchal clan system. The visit of Zen master and awakened one to Sydney opened the door to Buddhist exchanges between China and Australia. It is hoped that Australian Buddhism will create brilliant achievements in the 2nd/kloc-0th century, and that China masters in Australia will make greater contributions to the promotion of Australian Buddhism. In recent years, Buddhism in Australia has developed on a relatively large scale, such as Zhongtian Temple in Brisben, Nantian Temple in Sydney and lecture hall in Western Australia. The International Buddha Light Association has also set up branches all over Australia. 1995, "Jing Zong Institution and Jing Zong College" were also established all over Australia under the impetus of Master Kong Jing, and actively supported and integrated into Australia's multicultural system. Under the impetus of the two major Buddhist groups, Mahayana Buddhism in China has made great contributions to Australian culture and society, making Buddhism highly recognized and concerned in the local area. Their achievements have promoted Buddhism to become the fastest growing religion in Australia in recent years.