Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu, bhante!

Australia is very fortunately indeed.

Piya.
 
 

Bhante Sujato wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> 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.
>
> Yours in Dhamma
>
> Venerable Sujato
>
>
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