Just to let you know that the ASA conference has been carried out,
with an amazing level of agreement and support.
I joked with one of the Tibetan monks present that maybe we should
first resolve all the philosophical disputes in Buddhist doctrine to
everyone's satisfaction, then proceed to cooperate in supporting
each other!
In fact our major platforms were not disputed at all: mutual respect
for all traditions, democratic principles, full participation of
nuns, etc. About fifty monks and nuns from all traditions were
present. We believe that it is the first organization of its kind in
the world, and hope we can continue to work to support and sustain
the sasana for a long time.
Specifically, we have done the following:
1. Form an association with members.
2. Set up a management committee of ten Sangha with an executive of
4: Ajahn Brahm, chair; Sister Chi Kwang Sunim, vice-chair; Sister
Miao You, Treasurer; myself, secretary.
3. Appoint a 'Council of Elders' for Australia, consisting of 15
senior monks and nuns from all traditions in Australia.
4. Appoint Sangha Officers to look after various fields, such as
education, legal, communications, etc.
5. Agree on the principles of a constitution guaranteeing the basic
structure of the ASA. This ensures pan-sectarian representation on
both the Management Committee and the Council of Elders, and also
uses affirmative action to guarantee the place of nuns.
6. Agree on the definition of 'Sangha' for the purposes of the ASA:
a celibate Buddhist monastic ordained in a recognized tradition of
Buddhism. In cases where there are 'grey areas' (for example, when
some traditions have a series of stages of novitiate leading up to
pabbajja or upasampada), it will be left to the Elders of that
tradition to decide where the dividing line between 'Sangha'
and 'lay' falls, as long as it is within the above description.
We can now operate in every way as an Association, except we cannot
hold property until officially incorporated, which we plan for next
year.
I think everyone left the conference on a high, with a tremendous
amount of good-will and hope. We are really just benefitting from
the long-term work done by some of our great local monks, such as
Chao Kuhn Maha Samai, who have worked for many years to ensure
harmony and understanding among the traditions. At a conference in
Melbourne last year, i was impressed to see Chao Kuhn Samai, a very
senior Thai monk, asking some of the Mahayana monks about their
Dhamma, seeing how their concepts meshed with the ideas he is
familiar with in Theravada, so that he could communicate better with
them in future. It is with such guidance and leadership that we look
to a wonderful future for Sangha in Australia.