America concentrate on the American-convert experience, examining how primarily
non-Asian Buddhist practitioners will forge a new ªAmerican Buddhismº
(Numrich, 1996: xxii). Similarly, Fields presents evidence that it is mainly `white’
Buddhists who are doing the de® ning in discussions on emergent American
Buddhism (Fields, 1994: 55).
Historical Periodisation
In order to determine key characteristics of contemporary Buddhism in Australia
it would be useful to identify the signi® cant periods in the development of
Buddhism in this country and to compare the current situation with the
characteristics of earlier periods. Baumann has used this approach to identify the
processes and strategies involved in the transplantation of Buddhism to Germany,
using historical data to provide information on religious adaptation
(Baumann, 1994; Baumann, 1995a; Baumann, 1996). A number of historical
accounts of Buddhism in Australia are available, most notably that by Croucher
(Croucher, 1989; McDonnell & Bucknell, 1988; Bucknell, 1992; Adam, 1995;
Humphreys & Ward, 1995; Adam & Hughes, 1996). Although these chronicles
generally discuss the same key events, there has been no attempt at periodisation
or analysis comparable to that undertaken by Baumann.
In order to test the usefulness of an analysis based on historical periodisation
of Australian Buddhism, I have undertaken a brief survey of these historical
publications and identi® ed six key periods: 1) immigrant origins, 2) the ® rst
organisations, 3) the ® rst visits by teachers, 4) the ® rst residential teachers and
establishment of monasteries, 5) rapid Asian immigration and increasing diversi
® cation of traditions present in Australia, and 6) the emergence of ecumenical
Buddhist societies. Despite the cursory nature of my examination of the
historical data, characteristics of these different periods are beginning to emerge,
con® rming the need for a more detailed study. Croucher’s in-depth historical
study of Buddhism in Australia from 1848 to 1988 provides many excellent
examples that reveal such characteristics; however, it does not draw attention to
commonalties or identify trends.
1) Immigrant origins: Buddhism probably ® rst reached Australia in 1848, with the
arrival of Chinese immigrants to work in the gold ® elds. However, Chinese
religion is highly syncretic and the initial Buddhist in¯ uence was only slight. In
approximately 1870, a number of Sri Lankan immigrants, most of whom were
Buddhist, settled in the Mackay area of Queensland. As early as 1876, a large
group of Sri Lankans also settled on Thursday Island; by the 1890s, the
community totalled about 500 people.
2) First organisations: The ® rst documented Buddhist organisation in Australia
was the Little Circle of Dharma, founded in Melbourne in 1925 by convert
Buddhists who had gained experience of Buddhism in Burma. In 1938, a second
Buddhism in Australia 35
group, the Buddhist Study Group, formed in Melbourne, aiming ª to promote
interest in Buddhism as a workable psychology adaptable for modern problemsº
(quoted from a pamphlet distributed by the group; Croucher, 1989: 28). This is
the ® rst evidence of secularisation of Buddhism in Australia, a characteristic
shared with contemporary American and European Buddhism. Khantipalo
Thera notes in his Foreword to Croucher’s book that ª Early Australian
Buddhists, and sympathisers of Buddhism, were mostly attracted to the rationalhumanistic
side of the teachings or to their artistic manifestationsº (Khantipalo,
1989).
3) First visits by teachers: In 1952, an American-born Buddhist nun, Sister
Dhammadinna, was funded by the World Fellowship of Buddhists to visit
Australia. Her visit caused the ® rst enduring Buddhist society to form, the
Buddhist Society of New South Wales, which was established in 1952. The ® rst
fully ordained Buddhist monk, U Thittila, a Burmese Theravada monk, visited
in 1954. In 1958, the Buddhist Federation of Australia formed as the ® rst
ecumenical group and became a regional member of the World Federation of
Buddhists. While early Australian interest in Buddhism had focused mainly on
Theravada, interest in other traditions and lineages was beginning to develop,
with teachers visiting from a variety of traditions. For example, the ® rst Soka
Gakkai group formed in 1964 after a visit from the international president,
Daisaku Ikeda.
Women played a key role in Australian Buddhism during this timeÐ another
characteristic shared with Buddhism in America and Europe. One prominent
woman Buddhist was Marie Byles who had begun disseminating her Buddhist
beliefs through articles and books after World War II. Another was Natasha
Jackson of whom Croucher writes: ªAs the editor of the bimonthly journal,
Metta: The Journal of the Buddhist Federation of Australia, Natasha Jackson was the