Melbourne Linh Son Buddhist Congregation

by Kathleen Gregory

The Melbourne Linh Son Buddhist Temple is situated in Radford Road, Reservoir, in the midst of an industrial build-up. The Temple is situated on a property that used to be the local primary school (the secondary college is still functioning next door), which was purchased during the school closures of the Kennett era of Liberal Government. It is six acres in total, with the original building still remaining to the left of the Temple. The Temple itself is a large structure with shrine rooms, a spacious kitchen and many rooms for accommodation and various other activities. However, it is while appreciating the grounds themselves that one begins to realise that this is a truly Buddhist structure. A traditional gateway has been erected across the entrance and there is an enormous statue of Kuan Ying standing in the centre of a lotus pond. Towards the back of the grounds there are larger-than-life statues of the Buddha and disciples listening to his teachings under a tree. In crates as yet unopened, there are more statues awaiting a location. The gardens around the property are themselves in their infancy, but one can get a sense of the shape that they will take in the future. All of these developments are taking place under the careful guidance and inspiration of the Spiritual Director of the temple, the Venerable Master Ty Kheo Thich Tinh Dao.

Kathleen Gregory: Could you say how the temple began?

Master Dao: My Master, the Most Venerable Thich Huyen Vi, who is originally from Vietnam, went to India and studied in Nalanda University. After that he established the Linh Son Buddhist Monastery in Paris. He is now nearly eighty years old. He has had over a hundred Vietnamese monks and nuns live in America and there are around fifteen to eighteen Linh Son temples there. There are also Linh Son temples in Europe and in London. In Australia, the Linh Son temples are in Melbourne and Brisbane. I have been in Australia for twelve years.

At first, I lived in North Richmond near the Housing Commission, where there are a lot of Vietnamese refugees. I stayed there about two to three years. Near the city there is no parking and it is very close to neighbours, so it was very hard to develop Buddhist meditation and study. Therefore, we tried to look for a large area of land near the city, which would be easy for people to come to and learn about Buddhism. We also keep the traditional cultural activities going, because Buddhism has been in Vietnam for 2,000 years. So Buddhism and the life of Vietnamese culture are very closely joined together; you cannot separate them. We try to keep both traditional Buddhism and the traditional culture together.

KG: How many members do you have?

MD: Visiting members to the temple would be up to 5,000 people. This is because, in Vietnamese Buddhism, people will come to the temple on the Buddha's birthday and other feast days. For example, we have Thanksgiving Day, which is when we give thanks to our parents and to our society, because the Buddha taught that this is most important. So we do not forget it. We try to develop the compassionate mind this way, as we remember that other people are suffering too.

KG: What other regular activities do you have?

MD: We also have Happy New Year Festival, where maybe a few thousand people will come. We have weekly meditation and chanting in Vietnamese. Some western people come to learn too, but we need more Buddhist monks to contribute toward making the community stronger. With only one or two Buddhist monks it is very hard.

KG: Do you have any nuns?

MD: Yes, we have two monks and one nun. Sometimes, a Buddhist monk comes from overseas and stays three to four months, but still we work hard!

KG: Would you like to have more monks and nuns?

MD: Yes. The life of a Buddhist monk or nun in my country is an easy and simple life. Here, it is very busy and complicated, because you must be involved with such things as ABN numbers, tax and everything! You have to follow the system in Australia so that the temple is in the system! This is more complicated! If you organise a big congregation within a big community, then it is much harder to manage, and there are only twenty-four hours in the day, not twenty-five hours!

KG: How did you find this property?

MD: I brought this property when the Department of Education was selling off schools. We had support from the Taiwanese Buddhist Association, the Venerable Thich Quang Tam, to buy this property for $300,000, eight years ago. We were lucky to have this donation, because the members in Australia have had to start their lives over again, so we would have had to wait a long time to save this sort of money.

KG: What are some of the cultural activities that you do here?

MD: We have martial arts for the Vietnamese youth and we have Vietnamese language classes for the children. We also conduct funerals for the community. Sometimes I visit elderly or sick people in the community and look after the members in this way. All the time busy!

KG: Can you talk about the tradition of Buddhism that the Linh Son temples follow?

MD: Linh Son Buddhist temples practise Pure Land meditation as well as both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism, because these are not different, they support together, they are relatives.

KG: What are the sutras that you study?

MD: Panna Sutra, Diamond Sutra, Heart Sutra and we also practise Vipassana. After you practise Vipassana, you understand the sutras; it is only then that you can have the whole and complete understanding. If you look at only one corner of the room, that's all you will see, you must stand back to see all the views.

KG: In the future, what plans do you have?

MD: We are still looking for and trying to meet the needs of the community; when we know it, we follow that. Through the Vietnamese language, we teach people about Buddhism and we can go to hospitals, visit elderly people and look after them and also help the young people. Elderly people have problems with being elderly, sick people with sickness and young people have their stress of suffering and worry. We try to contribute a little to them.

KG: Do you have many lay people helping you?

MD: No, not really, but my wish is to teach and develop Buddhism for western people and local people. The language is still difficult as we still teach Buddhism in Vietnamese. I wish that Buddhism will develop and help people through English, because we can't keep Buddhism in Vietnamese culture for much longer. Maybe only for ten years more, because all the old people will pass away and all the young people who were born and grow up here don't know about Vietnam.

KG: It sounds like you are trying to do both - to teach Buddhism and Vietnamese culture together?

MD: Yes, I must look after both like this. This is not easy and it is a very heavy job on my shoulders!

KG: Would this be the same problem in most Linh Son temples around the world?

MD: Yes, but we also have the computer systems and technology so we can easily learn Buddhism this way. We need the people here to help this happen.

KG: Does your Master send monks or nuns here?

MD: Sometimes we have contact with the overseas Buddhist monks, but often the level of training or qualities are not quite right. Some of the Buddhist monks live in Vietnam and they can do everything there. But when they come here, it is very hard for them to serve people, because it is so different for them here.

KG: Where do the monks and nuns do their training?

MD: The training is in Paris. We try to look for people from the local Vietnamese community so that they have lived here and know everything here, so that when they become a monk or a nun it is easy for them.

KG: Do you have connections with other Buddhist centres in Melbourne?

MD: Yes, sometimes. We come together for feast days. I think same cultures stay together because it is easier; it is hard with different language, culture, psychology and everything. When western people understand Buddhism more, they can help and teach other Australians. For now, I want to serve and help western people so that they can understand Buddhism. That is what I want.

KG: Thank you, Master Dao.