#50Days50Ways - #28 - Approving, supporting and promoting Dharma Realm Buddhist Temple
Division 9 is a diverse place, with residents from all around the world. Over the past decade, one group, hidden away in the bonogin hinterland have taken a very simple set of small halls and community buildings into a state of the art Buddhist Temple, the envy of many from here and abroad. Gold Coast Dharma Realm has slowly been developing their centre, lodging excellent development applications and progressing their growth lawfully and appropriately, under the oversight of Reverend Heng Sure, one of the most senior Buddhist leaders in Oceania and China (he’s been ordained for 47 years). The Dharma Realm is driven as part of a broader international temple network with it’s head office in California, USA. Rev Heng Sure has recently been approved for Australian Citizenship and we hope to see him at one of our ceremonies very soon.
For Chinese New Year, I was invited to join the team at the Dharma Realm, with quite a few visitors and give a short address to welcome “The Year of the Dragon”.
Here’s the transcript of my speech;
Cr Glenn Tozer with Cliff and Kevin
Thank you for inviting me here today.
I want to start, as I try to do wherever I address a gathering, to acknowledge the Kombumerri people who are the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet. I want to pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging. I know a number of the local elders and I know they would also want me to pass on that same respect to cultural leaders and elders from within the Dharma Realm and your broader Buddhist communities. If you would like to find out more about the local Kombumerri people and First Nations history on the coast one place you can go is just a few hundred metres up the road at the Kalwun Day Respite Centre. Feel free to duck in there and say g’day and find out more.
Today is a celebration of New Year. It’s an exciting time where we can say goodbye to the things that have troubled us in the year past and look forward to focussing on new challenges and experiences in the year to come. There will be things we are glad to leave behind but also some things we have come to know and love, from learning and experience and understanding that has shaped us over the past year, that we hold onto and take with us.
That’s the beauty of New Year… working out which is which.
There’s an election coming up in about 30 days though so I hope you don’t mind me joking that it would be very nice if you all kept me with you as your Councillor. For the coming year or four…. I would appreciate that kindness.
Reverend Heng Sure
One thing I love about Rev Heng Sure, my host here today, is his love of kind deeds and his love of music, both being elements of a peaceful life. I’ve been a recipient of those kind deeds and hospitality and I’m very much looking forward to some music from him tonight. I also love that his dharma radio partners promote that idea of good deeds being important.
One thing that I do think is sometimes overlooked, but that dharma radio emphasises, is that it is important to share your story as well. In the 12 years I have served our city and this area, I have come across many good deeds. People have been very generous and love to share joy and kindness with one another. But one thing we are working on which we have room to improve is the sharing of those stories that inspire and connect us. We can always do more of that as we set a standard for behaviour that infects and impacts everyone around us, building momentum that is so valuable to wellbeing.
Maybe, as we enter the year of the dragon we can draw on the confidence and charisma of our dragon friends to share boldly good deeds we have done, and those we have seen done by others, celebrating with one another the wonder and beauty of our lives and how we hope and aspire to make our community even better.
Best wishes and a very happy New Year to all of you.