Buddhist Culture of Peace in Australian Society

As a spiritual system and philosophy, Buddhism is essentially rooted in the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama known to the world as the Buddha. Since its origin around 2500 years ago, Buddhism has emerged today as a universal religion following its steady growth and spread over a long period of time. It has been growing at a rapid pace in the Occident, especially in countries like Australia.

Australia is a multi-cultural country with numerous diversities in terms of ethnicity and faith. People from different countries have been immigrating for hundreds of years to live together harmoniously as part of the pluralistic Australian society. It has already been stated in one of the previous chapters of this thesis that Buddhism is the largest religion of Australia next only to Christianity. It is worthwhile to remember that Christianity arrived in Australia for the first time not before 1788 when the white settlers reached there. The arrival of Buddhism to Australian is relatively recent. According to the philosopher Crougher (1988), the earliest known Buddhist settlers in Australia were the Chinese migrants who arrived in the 1860s during the gold rushes in the Eastern States. Incidentally, most of the researches on Buddhism in Australia conducted so far focus their attention on the migrant Buddhists from South East Asia and their experiences.

Approaches to social suffering, illustrated by the precepts and Peacemaker orders and the lives of the engaged Buddhists, promote open–mindedness, creativity, resourcefulness, solidarity, and a search for common ground and consensus among the actors in social conflicts. Traditional virtues such as loving kindness, compassion, patience, tolerance, impartiality, and the unquestionable commitment to non-violence are practiced in the context of mutuality and noncompetitiveness, even regarding ideology and cultural values^[1] . That is why the festival days are the best time to visit temples, yielding opportunities to learn about the Buddha and Dharma from the members of the Sangha. It is also owing to the fact that they give a comprehensive insight into the culture of the people residing in Australia. To the people of other countries, Buddhists living in Australia are no exception in this regard. Festivals, especially those celebrated by the Buddhist community, are a major attraction throughout the country and are worth seeing, participating and enjoying.

King Ajatasattu of Magadh, tormented by remorse over a terrible crime, once asked the Buddha about visible fruits of a life of a recluse. “Bhante, the various craftsmen and workers enjoy here and now the visible fruits of their skills, bringing themselves and their families’ pleasure and joy, and supporting monks, which leads to happiness in heaven. Is it possible, Bhante, to point out such a fruit of the contemplative life apparent here and now, pertaining to this life?” _The Buddha addressed his disciples in order to answer the question asked by Ajtasattu king.^[2]

All beings want to be happy and avoid suffering. The state of happiness and non-suffering can be attained when beneficial and harmful actions are judged not by the way they seem but by the altruistic or selfish intention behind them and the happiness and suffering that they bring about^[3] . The Buddha also advised his followers that if they were to thrive they should ‘meet regularly and in large numbers^[4] . That probably explains why festivals are so central to the life of the Buddhist community. These festivals provide an opportunity for celebration and expression of devotion and gratitude to the Buddha and his teachings. The principal of Buddhist festivals celebrate ‘the Three Jewels’, the Buddha, the Dharma (the Buddhist Teaching), and the Sangha (the spiritual community).

Besides, there are also many special or holidays held throughout the year. Many of these are celebrated on the birthdays of the Bodhisattvas in the Mahayana tradition or on other significant dates in the Buddhist calendar. The most significant celebration takes place every May on the night of the full moon, when Buddhist all over the world celebrates the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha over 2,500 years ago. It has come to be known as the Buddha Day.

Buddhist Festivals are occasions of joy. Typically, on a festival day, lay people go to the local temple or monastery and offer food to the monks, take the Five Precepts and listen to a Dharma talk. In the afternoon, they distribute food to

the poor to make merit and in the evening, join in a ceremony of circumambulating a Stupa three times as a sign of respect to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha. The day will conclude with evening chanting of the Buddha's teachings and meditation. Some holy days are specific to specific Buddhist traditions or ethnic groups. There are two aspects to take cognizance of regarding Buddhist festivals. Firstly, most Buddhists, with the exception of the Japanese, use the Lunar Calendar and the dates of Buddhist festivals vary from country to country and between Buddhist traditions. Secondly, Mahayana and Theravada, two main branches of Buddhism have unique collection of canonical texts, have developed different practices and observe different Buddhist festivals.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Charles, S, Prebish &Martin Baumann, eds. Westward Dharma Buddhism Beyond Asia, California, 2002.

[2]:

http://www.buddhanet.net.au.

[3]:

J. F. Revel & M. Ricard, The Monk and the Philosopher: A Father and son discuss the meaning of life, America, 1999.

[4]:

http://www.buddhanet.net.au/cultural.