Chan Academy is a registered trading name of the
Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd.
33 Brooking Street, Upwey, Victoria, Australia, 3158
Founded by John D. Hughes 1930 - 2003
A.C.N. 005 701 806 A.B.N. 42 611 496 488
Tel/Fax: +61 3 9754 3334
e-mail: chanacademy@bdcu.org.au
website: www.bdcu.org.au
NAMO TASSA BHAGAVATO ARAHATO SAMMASAMBUDDHASSA
President’s Annual Report
Presented to the
Annual General Meeting of the
Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd
2.00pm Saturday 5th August 2006
33 Brooking Street, Upwey 3158
"All things are not self" -
when one sees this wisdom,
one turns away from suffering,
This is the path to purification.
Dhammapada 279.
Venerable Sangha, the Chief Deva of the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd and his retinue, Devas, Devatas and the Heavenly Assembly of Protectors.
Venerable Abbott Anita Carter, Directors, Members and Friends.
Welcome to this 26th Annual General Meeting of the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd.
May this holy place founded by John D. Hughes continue to be a place of Buddha Dhamma teaching, learning, realisation and practice for humans and devas for the next 500 years.
It is with the utmost joy that as President I welcome you all and wish for each of you the greatest happiness and peace.
In this past twelve months we have laid many great milestones, as a Temple in our work to put more light into the world, and as individual practitioners, putting to work our practice as guided by our Teacher.
Those things we have done and achieved are myriad in there number and their good causes made.
Im sure that if we were to write down each and every blessing generated in just this year alone upon a single continuous ribbon and laid that ribbon around the perimeter of this Temple it would go around again and again to create a wall of protection for all who come here.
In October we moved to our new radio station in Emerald, Mountain District Radio 3MDR 97.1 FM. Through the good causes made since our first weekly broadcast in 1998 at Hillside FM Bayswater, we now reach out across Melbourne, with chanting, Dhamma talks and Teachings such as the Kariyanametta Sutta spoken by Venerable Mahinda. Thank you to all who helped create the causes for the Buddhist Hour. May it continue to flourish.
The Temple has been blessed by the Sangha on many occasions. Venerable Kentrul Rinpoche taught weekly program on the precious Preliminary Teachings of the Kalachakra. Thankyou Rinpoche.
In November 2005 we began our weekly Tuesday night Dhamma Teachings at the Dandenong Ranges Community Cultural Centre in Upwey. Thank you to the Venerable Sangha who blessed the teachings wit their presence for the Dhamma to be taught. Thank you to Anita Carter, Frank Carter, Alec Sloman and all those who helped to bring the talks into the world each week.
The Tuesday night teachings have produced a resource of many weeks of written Dhamma papers: 'Lifetimes of Learning – A Do It Yourself Approach to Happiness', introducing students to the Noble Eightfold Path and the Ten Perfections, becoming scripts for the weekly Buddhist Hour.
Evelin Halls and son Ryan Halls returned home in May this year after almost one year during which time Ryan gained a new heart, a new life at the Royal Childrens Hospital. Thank to all those who helped and supported Ryan and Evelin through this time. May they both live long healthy and happy lives.
Our Members participated in events run by other Temples including the Buddhas Day in May 2006 held by the Buddhas Light International, Versak Celebrations at Kar bay aye Burmese Buddhist Temple in Noble Park and ceremonies at Wat Dhammaram in Springvale, Yun Yang Temple in Narre Warren.
In February we began construction of our new Monument to the Dhamma, the John D. Hughes Dhamma Cetiya – Meditation Hall and Library. Thank you to our Founder for his energy and wisdom in generating the good causes for this place to be built. Thank you to our builders George Costas and Jeff Radford for their generosity of time and skillful guidance of Members and Friends in building. Thank you to all our friends who have come so joyfully to lend a helping hand. May this building be completed in good time where the Dhamma shall be taught, realised and practised.
In April a delegation of five travelled to Kaoshing, Taipei to meet once again with friends from around the world at The World Fellowship of Buddhists 42nd General Conference. May we continue to help the World Fellowship of Buddhists.
Today from our small caravan in the driveway at Upwey the World Buddhist Radio sends its programs onto the world wide web and around the globe. Well done to our Junior Vice President Alec Sloman for his hard work and joyful dedication in bringing the Gift of Dhamma to the world wide web. You're bound to succeed.
Through our Members efforts and the generosity of many persons we raised over two thousand dollars for our friends at the Dhammarajika Orphanage in Bangladesh. May the Buddha Dhamma shine light upon every dark place. Thank you to the hundreds of donors throughout the year, may they be free from all suffering.
The launch of our 1000 Buddhas Offerings will bless many beings with the installation of 1000 Buddha images within the new hall, and through sponsorship we shall fund the completion of the new hall.
Our Members produced new Buddhist blessing flags, worked on creating precious thangka paintings, generated Chan artworks of bamboo and painting of nature, planted flowers in the heavenly garden, repaired the Australia pond and many more projects.
Thankyou to Master Andre Sollier and Chan Teacher Melba Nielson and the students of the Chan Academy School of the Four Seasons. May the Way of the Brush continue to be taught here for the next 500 years.
In the year to come we shall continue unabated. We shall be writing a series of introductory training courses on the way we do things around here. The courses are: Chan and the Way of the Brush; An Introduction to Abhidhamma; Serving others; Our Five Styles; How we write Buddha Dhamma and An Introduction to Buddhism. May we make the causes for Buddhist University here in Melbourne in the future.
We are committed to developing Teachings and Dhamma talk content for the World Buddhist Radio. We shall be implementing the World Buddhist Art Exhibition fully online following its presentation at this year’s World Fellowship of Buddhists Conference.
We shall this year finish our number one priority for 2006 - the John D. Hughes Dhamma Cetiya.
In February 2007 we shall begin our new series of Tuesday night teachings.
These things outlined here are all the causes that build fellowship, friendship, true companionship.
On the qualities of a good friend the Blessed One declared to Ananda:
“Good companionship is the whole of the holy life.”
Therefore, one should search for the pre-eminently good man or good woman and make him or her the good friend.
This Presidents Annual Report is dedicated to our Founder and Guru John D. Hughes.
May I invite you all to continue to come here to this place of Buddha Dhamma again and again.
May we gather in harmony, meet in harmony and depart in harmony.
May your refuge in Buddha Dhamma Sangha be irreversible.
May you be well and happy.
Thankyou very much.
Julian Bamford BA App Rec.
President
Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd.
File: PresReportAGM06.rtf Created 4 Aug 2006