Dhammaloka in Malaysia II

Last week we reported that Dhammaloka is currently travelling in Malaysia and China. He sends us this report from Penang, Malaysia:

“For the past three days I’ve been a guest at the Than Hsiang Temple, in Penang in Northern Malaysia. It's my fourth or fifth visit here, and I have never regretted visiting so often. For me, the Temple is one of the most inspiring places of 'engaged' Buddhism I've ever been to. It comes very close to what I imagine to be FWBO to be at its best ... and in certain ways more.

“To call Than Hsiang a 'temple' may be slightly misleading since, besides some of the meditation halls images that one would expect to find in a temple from the Chinese Mahayana tradition, it includes a number of welfare and right livelihood projects as well, all integrated into one large building. Among other things there’s a kindergarten, an old folks home, a centre for counselling, and a vegetarian canteen. The Than Hsiang foundation is headed by the Venerable Wei Wu who, as a student in New Zealand, had some contact with the FWBO – and later, when Urgyen Sangharakshita visited Malaysia, translated for him.

“Over the last few years, the foundation has expanded rapidly. It now includes a number of Buddhist student hostels (which they call Kalyana Mitra homes), urban and retreat centres in various parts of Malaysia, and even a Buddhist College across the border in Thailand – across the border because Malaysia is a constitutionally Muslim country, and so no permission would be given to establish a Buddhist college in Malaysia itself. The approach to studies at the college is clearly ecumenical, with one major objective being to train monks and lay people from mainland China and other countries to work as Dharmadutas, or messengers of the Dharma.

“People here are very interested in the FWBO approach - they feel they can learn from us, in particular from our experience in building Sangha and our approach to Team Based Right Livelihood. Not surprisingly, I was invited to meet various groups of volunteers for some input followed by lively discussions. For our part, there is a lot we can learn from Than Hsiang and the people working there — not the least in the area of communication with the wider society and hence finding support for our work.

“I'm here for another three days, including a weekend seminar on psychological type and Dharma practice, and then I'll be off to Beijing. It’s been very hot, with tremendous rain – but now there’s a lovely breeze with drizzle drifting in the air and mist hanging at the mountain slopes”.

An Urban Retreat in Malaysia

Dhammaloka, a German Order Member, has for many years been visiting both China and Malaysia, in both places slowly creating groups interested in the FWBO. He has recently left on anther tour, and sends us this report from Malaysia –

“Two days ago some 15 or 18 friends from Malacca, ranging in age from the late 20s to the 60s, embarked on an "Urban Retreat", probably the first ever to be held in Malaysia. Most of these friends have been practising in various contexts, and often for a good number of years. There are some experienced meditators amongst them, while others have done little sitting practice. We did a weekend retreat to introduce the practice, and then began the urban retreat proper. I'll be curious to see how they respond...

Since most of them do their reports to one another in Chinese, its a little difficult for me to see how well they are getting on. They certainly seem to enjoy it so far...!

My impressions so far are that most of them found the idea of daily check-ins with a "Dharma buddy" a little threatening, all the more so when I suggested they did it with another member of the group rather than their spouses! Over the next few days, in the evenings, we will be meeting up for Dharma discussion and study, exploring aspects of the 'unity of Buddhism'.!"

Click here for background information about Urban Retreats, as compiled by the Sheffield Buddhist Centre.

Dhammaloka will soon be visiting China, and we hope to bring you news from there as well.