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Theravada Buddhism In Australia

Decent Essays

In Australian society, Theravada Buddhism’s are generally accepted as their beliefs, rituals and ethics are accepted since Australia common attitudes is to accept different cultures as a multicultural society, as a result Buddhism has become the second largest religion in Australia. The youth of Theravada Buddhism is accepted within society as there are programs and organisations which promote the religious education of Theravada in Australia.

Theravada Buddhism is a strict branch of Buddhism, “Theravada Buddhism holds firmly to the original teachings and themes of Buddha, which are the beliefs that human existence is full of suffering and that nothing on Earth is ever permanent” (Whittemore, 2015). As, Theravada Buddhist believe in Buddha …show more content…

Some of the rituals that are practiced are meditation, chanting and vegetarianism. The purpose of meditation is to “improved mental ability, and happiness. It is primarily the ability to understand and control the mind and its use for practices that lead to enlightenment that is considered the most important” (Buddhism Practices, 2015). Additionally, the practice of chanting is important as it focuses on good intentions and to purifying the mind of immoral views and understandings. Lastly a majority of Theravadas are vegetarian as it is a ritual to purification of the mind is a main principle to a Theravada. A significant event which all Theravada Buddhism celebrate is Vesak this event is “celebrated annually on the full moon of the lunar month of Vesakha, which usually falls in May. Vesak is the major Buddhist festival of the year as it celebrates the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha on the one day” (Festivals and Special Days, 2015). This is an important event for all Theravada as it allows Buddhist to commemorate the birth of the Buddha and allow enlightenment and purity. Many of the Buddhist celebrate this event by lighting lanterns this represent all the stories that the Buddha went on this is incorporated into Australian society as some Buddhist temples in …show more content…

Through this the culture has changed and adapted to the different cultures. As such, Buddhism practices change depending upon the tradition and society” (Buddhism Practices, 2015). Australian Theravada Buddhism included ethnic and cultural diversity, as well as diversity of practice. Some Buddhist practices have been difficult to import into Australia. With Buddhists widely spread through many suburbs, it is not possible for some practices. Traditional practices have survived centuries and some others have emerged recently due to the conditions of contemporary Australian society. In today’s society young Buddhist people are accepted as there remain some Buddhist schools in Australia as well as a large amount of Theravada Buddhist groups in Australia. The Buddhist Council of New South Wales is in place to “represent the Buddhist community to government departments, media, and religious groups and promote the understanding and practice of Buddhist teachings” (Buddhist Council of NSW, 2015). “According to the Department of Education the Buddhist Council is responsible for Buddhist SRE in New South Wales. This requires that the Buddhist Council to” (Buddhist Council of NSW, 2015) provide teachings of the Buddhism religion in a number in schools with the community and support Buddhism to be taught in government school. The young people following

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