[Buddha-l] Is Australia a Buddhist Country?

[Eric Nelson]

Buddhism Spreads Down Under as Asians Change Australia
by Andrew Lam, Pacific News Service, Jun 30, 2005
Once oriented toward Europe, Australia today describes itself as part
of Asia, a change reflected in many Australians' embrace of Buddhism,
the second-largest religion in the country. But tensions resulting
from Asian immigration remain.

SYDNEY, Australia -- In West Sydney, the smoke one sees drifting over
from a neighbor's fence may not be the shrimp sizzling on the old
barbie, but drifting incense. Buddhism is rising fast here in the land
Down Under, and is now the second-largest religion after Christianity.

Immigrants can constitute up to half of the population in certain West
Sydney districts. Citywide, more than 50 temples dot the landscape,
and in New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, there are
more than 150. They range from the enormous Chinese Mingyue temple
that sits on three acres to the tiny, converted private residence that
is now the Vietnamese Thien Hoa Nunnery. Buddhism is changing a
country whose compass had once steadfastly pointed toward Europe.

In the posh Mingyue compound, which boasts a handful of the largest
temples in the southern hemisphere, the visitor gets the feeling of
being in Beijing or Taipei. Golden statues of Buddha and Bodhisattva
line the walls, while throngs of worshippers bow and chant in Chinese
amid drifting incense.

In the Cambodian or Vietnamese temple, on the other hand, one is
surrounded by children's laughter and old folks cooking in the
courtyard. It's typical of immigrants' temples, doubling up as a place
where children come to study, do their homework, learn temple music,
dance and speak their own language.

According to Cuong Le, an Asian Art expert for the Liverpool
Powerhouse Art Center, which will curate the exhibition "Buddha in
Suburbia" for the Fall 2006, there's a tour "mostly for Australians"
that visits Buddhist temples in West Sydney, because so many have
sprung up so quickly there. "I myself keep finding more temples, more
variations, and the exhibition is getting much bigger than I'd
expected," Le says.

Australia, once a homogenous Western country founded by convicts sent
from England in the late 18th century, had traditionally kept its
doors closed to immigrants from Asia. But in the mid-1970s, the doors
slowly opened to Asian immigrants as trade with Asia increased. These
days, the continent publicly describes itself as "part of Asia." Asian
immigrants now make up 10 percent of the population of 22 million.
Asians are expected to reach a quarter of the population in 2020.

Buddhism is an inevitable outcome of the demographic shift. Yet, not
all is well in the country whose favorite line is "No worries, mate!"
Fear of Asianization has caused some political leaders to have second
thoughts about Australian hospitality toward Asia, and hate crimes are
not unknown here.

According to the documentary "Over the Fence," shown on public
television recently, Buddha is apparently not welcome in every suburb.
Some neighbors of a Cambodian Buddhist temple complained that the
chanting was frightening their horses. In another neighborhood,
residents called the police because the Buddhist chanting was too loud
and the number of cars on weekends was creating traffic in the small
street.

While the government is still committed to cultural diversity, there's
a growing backlash fueled by the fear that multiculturalism will put
an end to Australia's national identity.

For instance, Pauline Hanson, a one-time independent member of
Australia's parliament, vaulted into the international limelight by
delivering anti-immigrant diatribes. "I believe we are in danger of
being swamped by Asians -- if I can invite who I want into my home,
then I should have the right to have a say in who comes into my
country," she once declared.

But for isolationists, perhaps it's too late. The influx of Asian has
changed Australia radically, and according to some, for the better. In
a recent article on Buddhism in Australia, art historian B.N. Goswamy,
wrote: "The number of distinguished Australians -- scholars, members
of the business community, bureaucrats -- who are not only drawn
towards Buddhism, but are practicing Buddhists, comes, at least to the
outsiders, as a surprise."

Yet, Buddhism first came to Australia not through recent Asian
immigration but a via Dutch migrant named Leo Berkeley, who came into
contact with a Sri Lankan monk and was instructed into the Dharma --
Buddhist teachings -- 50 years ago. Berkeley went on to found the
Buddhist Society of New South Wales, which continues to flourish
today.

Cambodian monk Achang E, at Wat Khemarangsaram, says there's no real
problem with the temples' neighbors. "When we have big events, we go
around the neighborhood to ask permission and to ask them to join in.
I find people are generous and tolerant in general."

It also helps that non-Asians are converting en masse. John Brown, an
artist, has been a practitioner of feng shui and Buddhism for 15
years. "I love everything about Buddhism. From ceremonies to the idea
of enlightenment to the idea of being compassionate to others and all
living beings," he says.

Perhaps Buddhism, a traditionally non-proselytizing religion, is
thriving in places like Australia because it is, in many ways,
compatible with the needs of living in an increasingly global society.
Barrie Unsworth, former premier of New South Wales, once addressed the
Buddhist community thus: "As followers of [Buddha's] Path, you bring
to your new life in New South Wales that same spirit of tolerance and
gentleness and kindness that has continued through more than two and a
half thousand years of your culture. That spirit is entirely
complementary to the path of multiculturalism that I see as the future
of this state."

But for Cuong Le, who hails from Vietnam and is himself a Buddhist,
the "Buddha In Suburbia" exhibition has proved anything but calming.
"It's been exhausting trying to coordinate with all the monks and
artists."

Still, Le has plans for something that seems obvious but potentially
explosive as a follow-up exhibit -- the influence of Asian culture on
Australia. "We'll call it 'All Things Asians Are Becoming Us.'"

Andrew Lam is a PNS editor and the author of "Perfume Dreams:
Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora," forthcoming from Heyday Books
this fall.