TAASA Review Issues

Comment by Jackie Menzies

Buddhism is the fastest growing religion in Australia, growing by 74% in the five years from the 1986 to the 1991 Census, and the Buddhist community totalling 199,812 by the time of the 1996 Census. This increase is due not only to the migration of Buddhists from overseas, but also to the growing number of Australian-born people attracted to the teachings of Buddhism. Buddhism is becoming integral to our society and culture and we felt it important to try to document some of this change. Those TAASA members who came on our memorable 1995 bus tour (which included the Homebush Chinese monastery and the Vietnamese temple at Wetherill Park included in this issue) were impressed then with the extent of Buddhist activity which has developed significantly since.

I was delighted when Buddhist experts Dr Adrian and Dr Judith Snodgrass joined the editorial team for this issue. While Judith is a current TAASA Committee member, Adrian was awarded Honorary Life Membership for the advice and expertise he has offered in the past and continues to give. Not only have they contributed their own articles to this issue, sharing with us their extraordinary depth of knowledge of many facets of Buddhism, they have also advised on other contributions.

The focus of this issue is the larger or more recent temples, and in the compilation we have been helped by many people. I want to thank warmly the many participants who so willingly and freely gave of their knowledge and time, sharing their understanding of the communities and projects with which they were involved. Particularly I want to thank Graeme Lyall who arranged for us to visit temples around Sydney, and who was unfailingly generous with his time and knowledge of the various Buddhist groups. Graeme was instrumental in the establishment in 1985 of the Buddhist Council of New South Wales which helps the different ethnic Buddhist communities, and has the respect and support of State and Commonwealth governments. I am also grateful to Brian Ashen who showed me around Melbourne temples, and to photographer Jenni Carter whose photographs are the majority of the illustrations in the main article on Buddhist temples.

As we progressed, we realised the project was far bigger than one issue of TAASA Review. To those individuals and groups who are not included, my apologies. This issue is but a prelude to the bigger study still waiting to be done. This issue also contains articles on some of the Buddhist art in public and private collections, but again this topic too requires a bigger study.

Finally I wish to thank The Myer Foundation which is the sponsor for this issue of the Review. As readers are aware, one of the aims of TAASA is to document the impact of Asia on Australian culture, and the Myer support has enabled us to demonstrate to a small degree the growing importance of Buddhism within the Australian community.