A brief summary telling the amazing history of the council and how it has made and continues to make its valuable contributions to Buddhism in Australia.

History

Background Setting

The Buddhist Council of Queensland came into being in 1999, as a sequel to a number of somewhat unexpected events, one flowing from the other. There was an element of good fortune or rather the result of our good past kamma.

In early 1999, Mr.Rahu Sarath-Chandra, founder president of the Sri Lanka Buddhist Monastery in Ellen Grove, and his wife Mrs.Vin Sarath-Chandra, past president of the Thai Monastery in Brisbane, both of whom were closely associated with the setting up or promotion of several other Buddhist organisations, went in delegation to meet the Honourable Gordon Nuttall, then Minister assisting the Premier of Queensland, in relation to multi-cultural affairs. The minister was assisted by a number of departmental officers. The discussion was carefully planned, but brief, and it covered many key areas.

Topics covered included the fact that Buddhism needs to be recognised fully as a religion, legally and administratively at all levels, that Buddhism was spreading fast, that there were no clear and proper channels of communication between the government and the Buddhist community, that there was no single recognised hierarchy in Buddhism, and that large numbers of migrants were Buddhists, and that the government owed certain duties to the Buddhist community, and Buddhists owed certain duties towards the government and the wider community, if peace, harmony, freedom and progress were to be ensured.

The minister was very happy to initiate action on the part of the government and he requested the delegation to impress upon the Buddhist community as to its duties and obligations in connection with the matters raised.

Subsequently the department in charge of multi-cultural affairs had communicated with its counterparts in NSW and Victoria, and also with the federal Attorney-General's Department. As a step towards administrative recognition of Buddhism, the latter wrote back suggesting arrangements necessary to have Buddhist marriage celebrants registered, provided a representative body was willing to take responsibility regarding recommendations. The Buddhist councils in NSW and Victoria had been contacted by the respective authorities in connection with the need for umbrella bodies and joint representation at the national level.

Inauguration

Mr.Brian Ashen, President of the Buddhist Council of Victoria, wrote to about 40 Buddhist organisations in Queensland inviting them to a meeting in Mt.Gravatt on the 17th of July 1999. The participants, 20 or so, included the Director of Multi-Cultural Affairs, Mr.Uri Themal who described how everything came about, as summarised above, and commended the idea of a Buddhist Council for Queensland. Mr.Graeme Lyall, President of the Buddhist Council of NSW supported the idea. A resolution was unanimously passed, to set up a Buddhist Council of Queensland. Mr.Themal personally thanked the individuals behind the Queensland initiative which prompted a series of follow up actions, resulting in the meeting, and in fact with a lot more to come in the future.

A Steering Committee was set up consisting of Rahu Sarath-Chandra, Sally Dudgeon, Victor Gunasekera, David Pullen, and Shan Huang; Brian Ashen asked Sally Dudgeon to function as convenor of the Steering Committee. The main task given to the committee was to arrange for a second general meeting in December, and to gradually formalise and consolidate the council.

The second general meeting was held at Yungabba, Kangaroo Point, by courtesy of the government, on the 4th of December 1999, to which 55 groups were invited. The result was the adoption of a draft constitution for use as a working document, and the formation of a management committee as follows:

  • Rahu Sarath-Chandra: President
  • Jan McNicol: Secretary
  • Katrina Hergstrom: Treasurer
  • Victor Heyde: Committee Member
  • Jayantha Maharage: Committee Member and Editor of the Newsletter

The third general meeting was held in March 2000 at the Amitabha Buddhist Association Temple at 11 Toona Place, Calamvale. A Work Program for the next two years and an updated version of the draft constitution were presented at this meeting. A decision to incorporate the council was unanimously adopted. Mr.Themal's support was valuable in this connection.

Incorporation

The first annual general meeting was held in June 2000 at the Chung Tian Temple, on Underwood Road, in Priestdale. A new committee of management was set up with Dr.Peter Nai as President.

The constitution was finalised at a general meeting held in October 2000, at which the model rules provided under the Associations Incorporation Act were adopted with the objects taken from the draft constitution. Membership rules were modified to suit incorporation. The council was incorporated on 6 December 2000

During Dr. Nai's long periods of absence, Mr.Rahu Sarath-Chandra acted as president. At the fourth annual general meeting held at Wat Thai Buddharam in Forestdale, in March 2003, Mr.Terry O'Connor was elected president. He was re-elected to the same position in March 2004, at the fifth annual general meeting held at the Brisbane Buddhist Vihara, Lovat Road, Ellen Grove.

The sixth annual general meeting was held at Karuna Hospice Services' magnificent premises on May 27, 2005 and Mr Jim Ferguson was elected to head a new committee of eight centre representatives spanning all the traditions operating in Queensland. Lynn O'Connor continued as Secretary.

The Council dedicated themselves to restoring lost connections with groups and connecting with new groups that deliver dharma in Queensland, directly participating in centre, government and other initiatives and encouraging communication between the various centres and temples. This has proven to be successful with a revitalised Council actively engaging in and with the broader Buddhist community and frequently being called upon to represent Buddhism in this state to a diverse range of organisations and people.

With the strong support of the Pureland College in Toowoomba, the Council staged it's first major community activity, an information stall at the Roma Street Qld. Multicultural Festival, during which several thousand free dharma books and materials were handed out to the public, confirming the strong interst in Buddhism is Queensland. The Council's role as a contact point for people seeking information on and connecting with Buddhism since then has been continually increasing.

Significant changes took place during the year, with the Council establishing an Operations Manual to guide all dealings, all committee members acquired CCYPCG Blue Cards (as required under new legislation) and most importantly, sought from the membership and was endorsed to amend the Council's Constitution to allow smaller centres (less than eight members) and Individual members to jon the Council and be represented. The financial membership of the Council now stands in excess of seventy and is expected to continue to grow.

At the seventh Annual General Meeting, held again at Karuna, on May 27, 2006, Jim Ferguson was again elected unopposed as President, Rachel Hannam as Secretary, and Kim Hollow as Treasurer, together with another strong committee elected, to continue the work of the Council.

At the eighth Annual General Meeting, which was held at Karuna House on May 26, 2007, the entire committee was re-elected to their same positions and two new members, Lorraine Moyes and Jenny Leneuve were welcomed on board as well.

With the ninth Annual General Meeting now concluded, which was again held at Karuna House on May 10, 2008, the former committee, less Donna Imeri who could not restand this year, was re-elected to some re-ordered positions and two new members, Ven. Lozang Lhagsam and Maree Apolloni were welcomed on board as well. This will help ensure theat the groundwork already put into place, shall continue building closer and better relationships between centres and temples and the community generally.

The Council Today

The committe elected this year continues the trend evidenced from the past three years focus on open and equal support for all traditions. It stands for the continued interactions with all the traditions found in Queensland and strives to make the Buddhist philosophy more available to everyone. To keep up to date with what is happening, please consult our what's new page.

The Buddhist Council of Queensland continues to represent the Buddhist perspective in such forums as the Religious Education Advisory Committee, that serves the Minister for Educations; and the Multi-Faith Health Care Council that advises the Minister for Health in matters of chaplaincy and pastoral care. It also works with other government bodies where advice on Buddhist matters is sought.

Services Rendered to Buddhist Groups

From day one the council has been providing services to Buddhist groups. A brochure outlining services provided has been issued to all Buddhist groups. Such services included assistance in obtaining visas for monks and religious artisans for temples, resolution of town planning problems, providing support to monasteries in taxation matters, liaison with government, providing general help to upcoming Buddhist centres, teaching of Buddhism in high schools, information through newsletters and websites, to mention a few.

Federation of Astralian Buddhist Councils

A major common milestone was the formation of the Federation of Australian Buddhist Councils . The inaugural meeting was hosted by the Buddhist Council of Queensland with the active support of the Amitabha Buddhist Association Temple, and Ms. Shan Huang and Mr.Graeme Lyall. The active leadership of the NSW and Victorian Buddhist Councils which had decades of history behind them, is gratefully acknowledged in this regard. The federation has since been incorporated in NSW.

The first bi-annual general meeting of the Federation was held at the Atisha Buddhist Centre in Bendigo. (One must visit this centre to see what it is going to be!). The Queensland delegation consisted of Terry O'Connor and Mr.Rahu Sarath-Chandra, both former Presidents of the BCQ. The latter presented a series of papers having in mind the future development of Buddhism in Australia. An undertaking was given to discuss remaining issues with the councils. Buddhist Councils of Western Australia and South Australia were later admitted as new members of the federation.

The present respresentatives to the FABC are Jim Ferguson and Kim Hollow, with Kim now also elected as Vice President of the FABC. The major initiative being undertaken by the FABC is the proposed staging of the 2008 Buddhist Policy Forum, to be held in Canberra net April. White Papers are now being sought on a number of major themes , each of which contain a diverse range of topics. All Buddhists and kindred-minds are invited to submit papers on these topics throughout 2007. It is hoped that this forum will also engage prominent members of theAustralian community and government. The outcomes will be a defined set of policy statements that will represent a common voice on the Buddhist perspective on day-to-day issues that affect us all, and the showcasing to the Australian public of how relevant the 2,550 year old philosophy of Buddhism fits into our modern lives.

Australian Sangha Association

The councils always felt the need for the Sangha to get organised; this was in fact mentioned in our constitutions. The Sangha has taken the initiative to set up the Australian Sangha Association (ASA). The second meeting was held June 2005. There is a close understanding between the Federation of Australian Buddhist Councils Inc. (FABC) and the ASA. The ASA has now formed it's own governing body, producing a newsletter and is working towards fair and equal representation of all sangha irrespective of their tradition or colour of their robes.

It is sincerely hoped that the two organisations will work and develop in unison for the good of all Buddhists and Buddhist organisations in Australia.

The Queensland Buddhist Council will do its utmost to support this Third Precious Jewel of Buddhism.