Dear Piya,

Happy New Year to you!

I don't live in Melbourne but I've visited there several times and I
have visited the following two places which I could recommend to your
friend.

1. Bodhivana Monastery
780 Woods Point Road, East Warburton, VIC 3799
Tel: (03) 5966 5999, Fax: (03) 5966 5998
Tradition: Theravada
Affiliation: Ajahn Chah lineage
Spiritual Director: Ajahn Kalyano

Bodhivana is a forest monastery about an hour's drive (if I remember
correctly - maybe a bit more) east of Melbourne that was started by
monks from Ajahn Brahm's monastery in Western Australia. I visited
there for a weekend dana and dharma talk and found the people there
very friendly. I think Ajahn Sujato was there for a while and he
could certainly say more about it when he gets back from retreat.

2. Buddhist Society of Victoria
71-73 Darling Road, East Malvern, VIC 3145
Tel: (03) 9571 6409, Fax: 9571 3904
Email: bsvmelb@...
Web site: www.bsv.net.au
Tradition: Theravada
Contact: Cora Thomas (Hon. Secretary)
Teachers: Resident monks and nuns, and visiting teachers

This place, run by lay westerners in a close-in suburb of Melbourne
has a good schedule of talks for beginners and non-beginners alike. I
think monks from Bodhivana regularly come in to talk there too.

I don't know anything about the place Bodhikusuma where your student
had a bad experience, and I'm saddened to hear it too, but that is in
Sydney anyway.

With metta,
John

--- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, Piya Tan <libris@...> wrote:
>
> Dear Yong Peng & friends,
>
> A Very Happy New Year!
>
> One of the students in my meditation classes will be going to Melbourne
> next month for further studies (Engineering, microelectronics) and
is keen
> to meet meditation teachers. I recommended that he meet one of Ajahn
> Chah's disciples, possibly Ajahn Brahm or Ajahn Sujato to build up his
> practice as he is still a beginner.
>
> On a sadder level, another friend (a devout Buddhist retiree) only last
> week told me that his daughter (new to Buddhism), after visiting
> Bodhikusuma in Australia, could not meet any "warm" person, there
and by
> the grace of her Presbyterian host, is seriously considering to join
the
> latter. This deeply saddens me (thanks, but I do not need comforting.)
>
> I think meeting the right teacher at the right time is so vital to
> spiritual growth.
>
> Could you (or anyone) let me know where in Melbourne, one could meet a
> practising monk?
>
> Sukhi
>
> Piya
>
>
>
> Piya Tan
> Lecturer & Instructor
> Brahm Education Centre
> Singapore
> website: www.brahmec.com
>