DEVELOPMENTS IN AUSTRALIAN BUDDHISM
This book addresses questions about Buddhisms development in Australia within the broader context of Buddhisms development in other Westernised countries. It reveals how Buddhism has adapted to the Australian context, illustrating both the seemingly logical adaptations as well as the incongruities. Having raised questions regarding the process that has given rise to this hybridised tradition, the book provides a history of Buddhisms development, before focusing on field-work based data on the adaptation of the Diamond Sangha Zen Buddhist groups in Australia. Michelle Spuler compares this information with the academic data on other Western Buddhist groups, and compares the adaptation process with existing models of cross-cultural acculturation. She concludes that models used for studying the adaptation of Buddhism to the West could in fact be synthesised with other approaches to provide more comprehensive understandings.
This book is timely in providing a much-needed update on Buddhism in Australia, which is vital for international comparative studies with Buddhism in other countries. As scholars begin to write about Western Buddhism, this book argues that it would be more useful to identify whether there are overriding themes that are common to Western countries, rather than assuming that those of North America exemplify the whole of Buddhism in the West. Developments in Australian Buddhism also includes previously unpublished information on the Diamond Sangha Zen Buddhist organisation which is one of the largest Zen lineages in the West, and whose founding teacher is often cited as the key figure in the history of Western Zen. It provides valuable insights for Buddhist practitioners as well as academics both in Australia and internationally.
Michelle Spuler is the former editor of the Journal of Global Buddhism and has held positions at universities in the USA, New Zealand and Australia. She is widely respected as an expert on Buddhism in Australia and has presented on this topic at international forums and in leading international journals.
THE ROUTLEDGECURZON CRITICAL STUDIES IN BUDDHISM SERIES
General Editors: Charles S. Prebish and Damien Keown
The RoutledgeCurzon Critical Studies in Buddhism Series is a comprehensive study of the Buddhist tradition. The series explores this complex and extensive tradition from a variety of perspectives, using a range of different methodologies.
The Series is diverse in its focus, including historical studies, textual translations and commentaries, sociological investigations, bibliographic studies, and considerations of religious practice as an expression of Buddhisms integral religiosity. It also presents materials on modern intellectual historical studies, including the role of Buddhist thought and scholarship in a contemporary, critical context and in the light of current social issues. The series is expansive and imaginative in scope, spanning more than two and a half millennia of Buddhist history. It is receptive to all research works that inform and advance our knowledge and understanding of the Buddhist tradition.
THE REFLEXIVE NATURE OF AWARENESS
Paul Williams
BUDDHISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Edited by Damien Keown, Charles S. Prebish, Wayne Husted
ALTRUISM AND REALITY
Paul Williams
WOMEN IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE BUDDHA
Kathryn R. Blackstone
THE RESONANCE OF EMPTINESS
Gay Watson
IMAGING WISDOM
Jacob N. Kinnard
AMERICAN BUDDHISM
Edited by Duncan Ryuken Williams and Christopher Queen
PAIN AND ITS ENDING
Carol S. Anderson
THE SOUND OF LIBERATING TRUTH
Edited by Sallie B. King and Paul O. Ingram
BUDDHIST THEOLOGY
Edited by Roger R. Jackson and John J. Makransky
EMPTINESS APPRAISED
David F. Burton
THE GLORIOUS DEEDS OF PRA
Joel Tatelman
CONTEMPORARY BUDDHIST ETHICS
Edited by Damien Keown
INNOVATIVE BUDDHIST WOMEN
Edited by Karma Lekshe Tsomo
TEACHING BUDDHISM IN THE WEST
Edited by V.S. Hori, R.P. Hayes and J.M. Shields
EMPTY VISION
David L. McMahan
SELF, REALITY AND REASON IN TIBETAN PHILOSOPHY
Thupten Jinpa
DEVELOPMENTS IN AUSTRALIAN BUDDHISM
Facets of the diamond
Michelle Spuler
First published 2003 by RoutledgeCurzon
Published 2013 by Routledge
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Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
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2003 Michelle Spuler
Typeset in Sabon by LaserScript Ltd, Mitcham, Surrey
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Spuler, Michelle, 1971
Developments in Australian Buddhism : facets of the diamond / Michelle Spuler.
p. cm. (Curzon critical studies in Buddhism)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Buddhism-Australia. I. Title. Il. Series.
BQ772 S68 2002
294.30994-dc21 2002073400
ISBN 0700715827
CONTENTS
There are many people who have deserve credit for their contributions to this work. Professor Charles Prebish, Professor Martin Baumann, Dr Rod Bucknell and Dr Lynne Hume have given endless invaluable help, as have Shiva Vasi and Enid Adam in sharing their knowledge of the Australian situation. Special thanks to Mike Barker, Cristina Rocha, Dr Rachelle Allen, Dr Yvette Flanigan, Dr Sheridan Kearnan, Patrick Kearney, Marie Porter, Dr Roselyn Stone and my parents for their support and encouragement, and to Jonette Crysell and Dr Duncan Campbell for their warm generosity. And finally, I would like to thank all the Diamond Sangha practitioners and teachers world-wide for their co-operation and participation in this study.
AZG | Adelaide Zen Group |
BPF | Buddhist Peace Fellowship |
CZG | Canberra Zen Group |
KYMC | Kuan Yin Meditation Centre |
MZG | Melbourne Zen Group |
NRM | New Religious Movement |
PAZG | Princeton Area Zen Group |
SZC | Sydney Zen Centre |
ZGWA | Zen Group of Western Australia |
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Aitken, Robert: (1917) Teacher in the Sanbo Kyodan lineage, and founder of the Diamond Sangha.
Assistant Teacher: English translation of Sensei (Japanese). Diamond Sangha teaching level below Zen Master.