group listings obtained from Internet sites and publications focusing on speci® c
Buddhist traditions and lineages or geographical areas, and from the Internet
sites of Australian Buddhist groups (Spuler, 1994; Adam, 1995; Hasslacher, 1995;
Mohr, 1997; BuddhaNet, 1998). This resulted in the identi® cation of 308 Buddhist
groups, almost double the ® gures of 1995 and 1996. However, it is dif® cult to
determine the accuracy of this information. My database is a synthesis of
numerous sources whose continuing accuracy is questionableÐ directories
quickly become outdated. Consequently, it is dif® cult to know whether all the
groups still exist or whether duplicate listings have occurred owing to organisational
name or address changes. Furthermore, in some cases the `organisation’
listed may be an individual who provides a contact point for a particular
lineage, rather than a practising group.
Table 1 classi® es the 308 Australian Buddhist groups identi® ed in my research
by tradition/lineage and state or territory.4
The classi® cations used in this table re¯ ect those employed by the various
studies that were combined to yield this information. The classi® cation of `other
non-sectarian’ used in Table 1 includes ecumenical groups, communication
networks, hospices, social action groups, libraries, bookstores, and journals.
However, the classi® cation of `other’ has been used in the remaining categories
whenever a more detailed lineage classi® cation was unavailable, and it does not
necessarily indicate that those groups cannot be classi® ed further.
Buddhism in Australia 31
Table 1. Buddhist Organisations in Australia in January 1998
Tradition/Lineage ACT NSW NT Qld SA Tas Vic WA Total
Theravada: (86)
Cambodian 0 3 0 2 1 0 3 1 10
Lao 1 5 0 1 0 0 2 0 9
Malaysian 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Myanmar 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 4
Sri Lankan 1 2 0 3 1 0 3 1 11
Thai 1 6 0 1 1 0 4 2 15
Vipassana 2 5 0 5 1 2 3 2 20
Other Theravada 0 3 0 3 0 2 7 0 15
Mahayana: (103)
Chinese/Taiwanese: Fo Kuang Shan 0 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 7
Other Chinese/Taiwanese 0 12 0 3 2 0 3 0 20
Japanese: Jodo Shinshu 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 3
Japanese: Soka Gakkai 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 5
Japanese: Zen 1 6 0 2 1 1 2 1 14
Other Japanese 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Korean: Zen 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Other Korean 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 5
Vietnamese 0 11 0 4 1 1 18 4 39
Other Mahayana 0 1 0 0 0 1 5 1 8
Vajrayana (Tibetan): (79)
Gelug 0 14 1 7 2 2 5 7 38
Karma Kagyu 2 3 0 0 0 2 1 3 11
Nyingma (Dzogchen) 2 7 0 1 0 0 2 1 13
Sakya 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 3
Other Vajrayana 1 7 1 0 4 0 1 0 14
Triyana (Western Buddhist): (7)
Friends of the Western Buddhist Order 0 5 0 0 0 0 2 0 7
Non-sectarian: (33)
Student Societies 1 6 0 0 0 0 3 0 10
Other Non-sectarian 1 9 2 2 1 2 5 1 23
State Totals 15 121 4 40 16 13 71 28 308
The percentages of Buddhist groups represented by the main traditions and
lineages are shown in Table 2.
Despite the large increase in the number of Australian Buddhist groups since
the study by Adam and Hughes in 1996, there has been very little change in
either the percentage of groups representing the major traditions and lineages or
the geographical distribution of the groups, as indicated by Table 3.
Table 3 also demonstrates that there is a high correlation between the state
distribution of Buddhist groups and the Buddhist population, as might be
expected.
The census data and statistics on Buddhist organisations have been shown to
provide some essential information on Buddhism in Australia. However, there
are no available statistics to provide information, such as: breakdown of lay and
monastic practitioners; number of teachers (and whether they are lay or mon32
M. Spuler
Table 2. Comparison of Traditions/Lineages Represented by Australian Buddhist
Groups in 1996 and 1998
Tradition/Lineage Adam & Hughes, 1996 Spuler, 1998
Theravada 29% 28%
Mahayana 31% 34%
Vajrayana 22% 25%
Triyana (Western Buddhist) 2% 2%
Non-sectarian 13% 11%
Other 3% Ð
astic); the extent of individuals’ involvement in their Buddhist community;
group demographics; organisational structures; group activities (such as meditation,
rituals, social activities and community work); and facilities (such as
monasteries and retreat centres).
Occasionally, some of this information can be gleaned from sociological
studies. For example, Adam and Hughes note that of the Buddhist groups in
Western Australia contacted for details of their activities, most offered Dharma
talks, workshops or seminars, and meditation courses, and many had cultural
festivals. Half of the groups had one or more ordained leaders in residence,
usually monks, and most had lay leaders (Adam & Hughes, 1996: 62± 63). This
information indicates the breadth of activities occurring in the Buddhist community
and gives clues about the number of monastics resident in Western
Australia; however, it is evident that more detailed research is required on these