Bodhinyana is a

Theravada ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

in the Thai Forest Tradition located in Serpentine, about 60 minutes' drive south-east of

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia. Established in 1983, it is operated by the Buddhist Society of Western Australia.

History

Establishment

A delegation of Buddhists representing the Buddhist Society of Western Australia (BSWA) travelled in 1981 to northeast Thailand to invite monks of the Thai Forest Tradition to relocate to

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. The trip resulted in two Australian monks, Ajahn Jagaro (then abbot of Wat Nanachat in Ubon Ratchathani) and Venerable Puriso relocating to Perth in 1982. Between their arrival to Perth and the establishment of Bodhinyana, the two monks operated out of North Perth. In 1983, Ajahn Brahm was also invited by BSWA to come to Perth from Thailand. In 1983, BSWA purchased rural land near Serpentine in the forests of the Darling Scarp. Bodhinyana was then established on December 1, 1983. The monastery is named after Ajahn Chah, who was the teacher of Ajahn Jagaro and Venerable Puriso, and is derived from his monastic title Phra Bodhiñāṇathera ( Thai: พระโพธิญาณเถร).Bodhinyana Monastery - monk Ajahn Jagaro speaks of the recently built monastery at Serpentine and the Buddhist religion

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

, 22 October 1985, p.5 Construction of the monastery's buildings was assisted by monks, such as the plumbing being done by Ajahn Jagaro and Ajahn Brahm.

Growth

Initially, the monastery was intended to be a retreat centre for both monks and lay people. However, Ajahn Jagaro changed the monastery to be more focused on monks and monastic life rather than being for lay people. Notable monks who were trained at Bodhinyana include Ajahn Dhammasiha, who became the first abbot of Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage in Brisbane after establishing it in 2007. The first abbot of Bodhinyana was Ajahn Jagaro up until 1995 when he was disrobed. The role of abbot passed on to his deputy, Ajahn Brahm, who remains the abbot of Bodhinyana. In 1987, Bodhinyana received an official sanctification from senior monks in Thailand, allowing them to conduct higher ordinations. The monastery has since gained interest from the media in Perth over time. It has also been threatened by

bushfires A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

, with a fire in 1991 devastating the monastery. Currently, the monastery has a total fire and smoking ban. Bodhinyana became a Shire of Serpentine–Jarrahdale heritage-listed place on 1 June 2000. A 2010 study by

Murdoch University Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its ...

on the relation of renewable energy and Buddhist monasteries used Bodhinyana as its case study.

Bhikkhuni controversy

On 22 October 2009 Brahm facilitated an

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

ceremony for bhikkhunis where four female Buddhists, Venerable Ajahn Vayama, and Venerables Nirodha, Seri and Hasapanna, were ordained into the Western

bhikkhuni

sangha Sangha or saṃgha () is a term meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community". In a political context, it was historically used to denote a governing assembly in a republic or a kingdom, and for a long time, it has been used b ...

. The question of fully ordaining nuns is controversial in Buddhism, where

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...

and

essentialism Essentialism is the view that objects have a set of attributes that are necessary to their Identity (philosophy), identity. In early Western thought, Platonic idealism held that all things have such an "essence"—an Theory of forms, "idea" or "f ...

vis-à-vis narrow

gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...

role expectation is increasingly highlighted and adhered to in traditional practices. The ordination ceremony took place at Ajahn Brahm's Bodhinyana Monastery. For his actions of 22 October 2009, on 1 November 2009, at a meeting of senior members of the Thai monastic sangha, held at Wat Pah Pong, Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand, Brahm was removed from the Ajahn Chah Forest Sangha lineage and is no longer associated with the main monastery in Thailand, Wat Pah Pong, nor with any of the other Western Forest Sangha branch monasteries of the Ajahn Chah tradition. Bodhinyana Buddha Statue

Activities

Bodhinyana, a branch monastery in the tradition of Ajahn Chah until 2009, was established to provide a training facility for monks and to make possible the traditional reciprocal relationship between monks and

laity In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all Church membership, members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-Ordination, ordained members of religious orders, e ...

. Limited numbers of guests are able to stay at the monastery, to practise meditation and to generally assist. Food is provided by alms-givers and there is no monetary charge. According to Ajahn Brahmali (a senior monk at the monastery) in 2010, the number of visitors to Bodhinyana each day varies between 10 and 2,000 people, with the average being around 20. Visitor numbers usually peak during Buddhist holidays such as Visakha Bucha.

References

External links

* {{Buddhism topics Asian-Australian culture in Western Australia Buddhist temples and monasteries of the Thai Forest Tradition Buddhist monasteries in Australia Religious buildings and structures in Western Australia Thai-Australian culture