After five years as Chair, I will be retiring this year. It has been a pleasure and an honour to lead the Buddhist Council and work with the Buddhist community, but it is now time for a new person with fresh energy. At the same time, Ann MacArthur, our operations manager and chaplaincy program manager is taking on a new role in looking after communications, while also continuing to manage Special Religious Education.  We are a small organisation with a big job! We need people with both ideas and practical skills to contribute to the development of Buddhism in NSW. Could this be you? In ..read more

More than 70 prominent religious leaders representing all major faiths signed a declaration last November with the NSW Government to help end domestic violence.  The declaration was developed in consultation with leaders from the Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh communities. It included commitments drafted and agreed to by the interfaith group to address, respond to and speak out against acts of domestic violence and better support victims. Minister for Women’s Safety and the Prevention of Domestic and Sexual Violence Natalie Ward said “This declaration by senior faith ..read more

Are you looking for a way to connect with other Buddhists who share your values and vision? Do you want to support Buddhist organisations that are making a positive impact in the world? If so, you might want to check out Metta Connections, an online platform that connects lay people with Buddhist professionals and organisations. Metta Connections is a pilot program launched by Buddhist Council member organisation Metta Centre, a non-profit organisation that aims to promote the teachings and practice of Buddhism in Australia and beyond. Metta Connections is designed to create a community of ..read more

Having faith in the teachings of the Buddha is essential in the path of Buddhism, and utilising Buddhist psychology is crucial to achieving spiritual growth. Without faith, our minds become closed, and we are unable to cultivate the essential factors that lead to spiritual growth and freedom.       In times of difficulty, having faith can dispel doubts and motivate us to seek out solutions. This faith should not be blind or based solely on the teachings of the Buddha but must be developed through personal investigation and practice. The Buddha himself advised his followers to t ..read more

This year, Australians will be asked to vote in a referendum to give our first nations people a Voice to Parliament. This will create constitutional change to give aboriginal people an advisory role in matters which affect them. The BCNSW is playing a leading role in the Buddhist community to help inform our diverse member organisations about the referendum process and why it matters. The Voice to Parliament came out of the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart, which set out the reasons for enshrining a first nations voice in our constitution. Following this statement, in 2023, a series of es ..read more

Earlier this year, on an auspicious afternoon in January, three BCNSW member organisations met up in central western NSW: Central West Buddhists, Little Dust Buddhist Community, and Tharpa Choeling Australia. The location was Wellington, the home of Tharpa Choeling Australia, also known as the Wellington Buddhist Centre. The three nuns and one monk who live there have created a spiritual oasis of calm and peace in an unlikely spot along the highway in this small regional town. The feeling of sanctuary extends beyond the buildings to the lush green gardens surrounding the centre. Bhante Akalik ..read more

In March this year, Sydney World Pride put a rainbow spotlight on our city to celebrate our diverse community and welcome LGBTQIA people from around the world. BCNSW member, Rainbodhi LGBTQIA+ Buddhist Community, held a morning meditation and picnic at the Botanical Gardens to connect visiting and local queer Buddhists for spiritual friendship and community practice.   It was a gorgeously warm and sunny day. The gardens were pulsing with vitality and the harbour was sparkling in the sunshine. Over 30 people attended, including folks from all across the rainbow spectrum, with people from ..read more

The Buddhist Council’s newest member is Little Dust, a new Dhamma project led by monk and BCNSW Board member, Bhante Akaliko.   Bhante was inspired to start Little Dust through his work with BCNSW, meeting Buddhists in areas where there is little infrastructure to support individuals and communities to practice, such as temple, centres or monastics. Noting the difference between spiritual support in major metropolitan areas compared with regional areas, Bhante Akaliko says, Little Dust aims to make Buddhism available to everyone, especially in regional and country areas where access to t ..read more

A group of Buddhist friends including Daniel Troyak from Buddhist Counselling and Ada Lee from Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association have joined together to address loneliness and social isolation in our community. This is by no means an easy feat, but this enthusiastic and committed group believe they can make changes through cooperation and empowerment.   Social Buddy volunteers make friendship phone calls and video calls to people that need someone. A group of volunteers have been trained in deep listening and social skills to strengthen their connection with individuals. Thr ..read more

Dane Millanta and Trish Nguyen have together spent 22 years as Buddhist chaplains at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Camperdown. Since the Buddhist Council of NSW was awarded an additional subsidy in 2021 they each increased their hours, so we now have a presence in the hospital four days a week. We asked them both to let us know a bit more about hospital chaplaincy.  In hospital people find themselves in an unfamiliar setting whilst being confronted by unforeseen circumstances. Dane’s vision is to be a compassionate and peaceful presence in a time of chaos. Trish notes that every patien ..read more