2009 Special Edition

First of all a BIG THANK YOU to everyone in the sangha who has contributed towards our appeal over the last two years. Your generous donations were gratefully received and very well spent on our wonderful asset: Sudaya.

This year our aim is to raise $24,000 to support Sudaya and her work for the next 12 months. As most of you may already know, Sudaya is our only fulltime Order Member working at the Melbourne Buddhist Centre and her contributions are many and varied. (I do not know what we would do without her.) Her responsibilities range from being the Chair of our Management Committee to facilitating study groups, maintaining our website, leading retreats, teaching regular classes, courses and seminars as well as supporting women training for ordination into the Western Buddhist Order and many, many more tasks which help to keep our Centre running.

This year, thanks to advances in technology, we are able to make the donations process very, very simple indeed. All you need to do is to go to the Sudaya Appeal section of our website after 1st November and make contributions on-line using Paypal. The link to this page will be open on that day, so mark it on your calendar. Paypal is so much more straight-forward than sending a cheque or going to the bank to make a payment, therefore we are not asking for pledges this year. If you would like to contribute, you can simply make a one off donation or a series of donations, or even make a donation whenever you have some spare funds available. The Paypal system will identify the payment as being for Sudaya so you can be assured that all the money goes to supporting Sudaya.

For those of you who would prefer making a donation by cheque, it can be make payable to Melbourne Buddhist Centre with ‘Sudaya Appeal' written on the reverse and posted to Attention: Jivita, Melbourne Buddhist Centre,1 Pitt Street, Brunwick, 3056.

For those of you who would like to make a direct deposit into our bank account, it can be paid into the following: Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (Melbourne) Inc,  Commonwealth Bank -Collingwood, Victoria, BSB No.: 063123, Account No.:10359281, transaction reference: SYAL- and your name, so that we can ensure the payment is correctly allocated.

If anyone has any questions or would like to discuss any of this further please feel free to contact me (Jivita) via the Centre email address.

So once again THANK YOU very much for your past generosity and for your future generosity.

Jivita (Secretary)

David Spotswood (Acting Treasurer)

News from Sudaya:

Firstly I'd like to thank all those who have made my work for the Melbourne Buddhist Centre possible by generously donating towards my support. Without your donations the Centre would struggle to continue offering the many events and services that are now in the calendar.

The best news of my year came in March when my application for permanent residency was approved. This has allowed me to commit  to working for the Centre for the next three years. I am delighted to be able to offer my service to the Centre and its work of spreading the Dharma in Melbourne.

In July and August this year I spent several weeks in the UK. Firstly I attended the Chairs Assembly, a meeting of chairmen and chairwomen of our Buddhist Centres all around the world. It was lovely to meet and talk with other Order Members doing similar work in Centres from Brazil to Oslo. I found it very inspiring to compare notes and ideas, to relax together and to meditate together. The meeting concluded with a five day retreat, during which we had some excellent meditation instruction from great teachers like Subhuti, Parami and Dhammarati.

After that event I attended the European Order Conventions, which are held every two years in a large boarding school in the Norfolk countryside. These events were an excellent opportunity for me to meet with old friends as well as learn more about the current debates in our Order.

The Combined Convention, held over five days was attended by over 300 Order Members. I found it so inspiring to practise in such a large gathering, meditating and doing puja with this number of people. There were several symposia of talks on topics such as discipleship,  the coherence of the Order, and our meditation practices.

The Women's Convention followed the Combined Convention; a week of meeting with women Order Members, to workshop, study and practise together. The theme was moving from effective Going for Refuge to real Going for Refuge. During this event I gave a talk on my work for the Melbourne Buddhist Centre, that was very well received.

My four weeks of Order meetings was followed by a week of family visits around England, a lovely way to end my overseas trip. Now back at work in Melbourne I am, with the management committee, planning the 2010 programme of events, courses and retreats. I am excited by the range and quality of ideas we have for the year ahead.

A Dharma Quote:

From Chandrakirti's Madhyamavatara, the Introduction to the Middle Way, written in the 7th century CE.

'Those pledged to others' welfare will soon gain happiness through their generosity'