Learn the Buddhist secrets s to serenity
From a smuggled seed an expansive tree has grown to shade the grounds of Darwin’s International Buddhist Centre. Under its canopy, the Buddhist Society of the NT has also blossomed
Ashin Thawbana is in the business of making people happy. Barefoot and bundled in blazing saffron robes, he seems more relaxed than even the most laid-back Territorian, and it’s in his job description to pass that sense of peace on to others.
“A monk’s duty is helping others to be happy and at peace,” he says.
Venerable Thawbana is a visiting monk, his temporary home Darwin’s International Buddhist Centre in Leanyer.
There are centres like this nationwide, catering to people from all over the world who practice Buddhism, the most common non-Christian religion in Australia according to the 2011 census.
But Darwin’s centre is unique because here you can find people from different countries, cultures and even different streams of Buddhism.
FROM LITTLE THINGS...
On May 24, 1986, a small group gathered on a patch of bare, crumbling earth in Darwin’s northern suburbs to plant a small tree grown from a seed brought to Australia illegally from India.
Founding member Shreeni Ranasinghe, 82, says the sapling of what is now the Bodhi tree, which stands at the heart of the International Buddhist Centre, was sent to them from a monk in NSW.
It was given to him by a Chinese-Burmese-Australian woman who collected seeds from under the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya in India, and smuggled them back to Australia.
Mrs Ranasinghe remembers those days when endless food stalls were held to raise money to build the centre.
Three years before the land was cleared, the Buddhist Society of the NT was formed to fill a gap in Darwin’s multicultural society.
In those early years they operated out of the Migrant Resources and Settlement Centre, but sought their own land because they could see potential to expand.
They were right. In the NT around 3688 people identify as Buddhist, around 1.8 per cent of the population. This is more than the followers of Hinduism, Islam and Judaism combined.
In most cities separate Buddhist temples exist for different nationalities, not only for language and cultural reasons, but also for the three different streams of Buddhism — Theravada, Mahayana and Zen.
In Darwin, people from all three use the same temple. Thiha Tun, former president of the society, says this inclusiveness was largely born out of Darwin’s small population, and has many benefits.
“The Buddhist Centre I went to in Canberra catered only for the Burmese community. Other communities had their own centres,” he says. “Here, we are all together, and that’s our strength. We accept and support each other. It’s quite unique.”
The centre now has around 600 members and activities every day, from meditation and chanting to tai chi and a dhamma school for children.
FINDING BUDDHA
The five precepts of Buddhism are a pretty stock-standard list of rules: no lying, no stealing, no killing, no substance abuse, no sexual misconduct. But it’s the overall message of doing good that seems to get people on board.
Mr Tun, CEO of the Balunu Foundation, has been a Buddhist monk on three occasions so far this lifetime. The first stint was for three days when he was eight.
“In Burma, it is more or less compulsory to become a monk at least once in your life,” he says. He was born into a Theravada Buddhist family, and defines Buddhism as a set of beliefs rather than a religion.
“It teaches you to do good in life,” he says. “Buddhism teaches patience, forgiveness, empathy, understanding and tolerance.”
Retired computer programmer Quang Pham agrees Buddhism has an attractive message.
He spent years researching religion before settling on Mahayana Buddhism when he was 48.
“I did a lot of reading ... and after a while I thought Buddhism seemed like the best choice,” he says.
Although born into a Buddhist family, Mr Pham says it wasn’t until years after he escaped Vietnam in 1979, fleeing to Malaysia by boat and later resettling in the US, that he began to investigate religion.
“In the US, I was part of a minority group and I spent time with a lot of other Vietnamese, some Buddhist, some Catholic,” he says.
Eventually the message of Buddhism won him over, helping him find purpose in life and death.
“Death is breathing out and not breathing in again. Simple. This is certain. What we don’t know is when or how. To amass money is not the point of life. If you don’t breathe in again, what can you take with you?” he says.
A calm mind and healthy body are important to Buddhists, and so too is karma.
“You reap what you sow — you do good, you will get good back, you do bad, you get bad back, sorry, there’s no way around it,” Mr Pham says.
Venerable Thawbana describes it thus: “If we want our life in the future to be beautiful, we need to practise being good in this life.”
KEEP CALM AND MEDITATE
While the concept of karma is certainly popular in online forums, Buddhism’s biggest champion is meditation. The ultimate aim of meditation is to achieve enlightenment, but there are many benefits, whether you are Buddhist or not.
Venerable Thawbana meditates for two hours each morning and night.
“For me, meditation is like a battery charger,” he says. “If the body becomes flat, we need to recharge it. If we do meditation, we get power. It’s good for people who want to live happily and peacefully in this life.”
Although he’s been doing it since he was a boy, Mr Tun admits meditation doesn’t always come easily.
“Clearing your mind is very difficult. I end up thinking about work, my car rego that’s due next week, a test my daughter has coming up at school,” he says.
“To do it properly you have to be completely free of the everyday. You need to concentrate on your breath as it passes the tip of your nose, but it’s easier said than done.”
Mrs Ranasinghe recommends walking meditation for those who can’t clear their mind.
“Set yourself a space and concentrate on the movement of your feet and legs,” she says.
“Meditating on movement is so much easier. For example, at the gym you can concentrate on how your body moves.
“You’re fixing your mind on something you are doing and not on extraneous things. Just do whatever you are doing with your full attention.”
MEET THE MONKS
To guide Darwin’s Buddhists on their peaceful paths the centre usually has at least one visiting monk, and often a resident monk. At the moment there is one from Myanmar and two from Sri Lanka.
Venerable Thawbana was 16 when he did a mandatory sevenday stint as a novice monk at his local temple in Myanmar.
During the week he found his mind had grown peaceful, so he chose to continue as a monk rather than return to school.
He says there are many rules for monks to follow, including shaving their heads and not eating after midday.
“The first two or three days, that was very hard. I was very hungry, but after that it was fine. Now if I eat after midday, it’s a problem,” he says.
He first came to Australia in 1999 to start a Burmese Buddhist community in Brisbane. The following year he came to Darwin for a visit.
“The temple was already here, but they had only one monk. There were many Thai people, and they were happy I could speak Thai and English, so I stayed on.”
He has lived at the temple on and off ever since, and loves the Top End.
“Australians, compared to other countries, are peaceful, calm and friendly,” he says.
“The people in Darwin are the most friendly, more than any other city.”
His neighbour is Venerable Koggala Gnanakiththi, 61, from Sri Lanka. He was 14 when he made the decision to give up all worldly things. Back home he teaches at a Buddhist school for monks.
In Darwin — his home for three months — he leads dhamma talks, chanting and meditation.
When they’re not teaching, both monks are often out in the community offering blessings for deaths, births, pregnancies, weddings and other special occasions.
Their spare time is spent reading or listening to dhamma and meditating.
“Life is simple,” Venerable Gnanakiththi says.
“You reap what you sow — you do good, you will get good back”