The Brooking Street Bugle

Issue No. 120 (New Series)
ISSN 1321 - 1463

Publication Date: 11 February, 2005

Published and Printed by the Chan Academy Australia.
Chan Academy is a registered business name of the
Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd.
A.C.N. 005 701 806 A.B.N. 42 611 496 488
33 Brooking Street, Upwey, Victoria 3158 Australia
Telephone and Fax: +61 3 9754 3334
E-mail address: wbu@bdcu.org.au
World Fellowship of Buddhists Regional Centre
Associated Institution of the World Buddhist University





Lifetimes of Learning
and the cultivation of Friendliness, Practicality, Professionalism,
Cultural Adaptability and Scholarship

Our websites:

www.bdcu.org.au
www.bddronline.net.au
www.bdcublessings.net.au
www.bsbonline.com.au
www.buyresolved.com.au

Editor: Leanne Eames, B.A., M.A.
Assistant Editor: Anita M. Hughes, RN Div 1

Chan Academy Australia
Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. Disclaimer

As we, the Chan Academy Australia, Chan Academy being a registered business name of the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd., do not control the actions of our service providers from time to time, make no warranty as to the continuous operation of our web site(s). Also, we make no assertion as to the veracity of any of the information included in any of the links with our web sites, or any other source accessed through our website(s).

Accordingly, we accept no liability to any user or subsequent third party, either expressed or implied, whether or not caused by error or omission on either our part, and member, employee or other person associated with the Chan Academy Australia, Chan Academy being a registered business name of the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd.

May You Be Well and Happy.

The Purposes of this Publication

The purposes of this publication are to:

Inform Members and others of coming events.

Report on monitoring of current activities and policies.

Help Members and friends understand the benefits of using technology in our organisation for Teaching Buddha Dhamma.

Write in a style recognisable by those who use English as a second language.

Provide glossaries and definitions for key terms used for teaching Buddha Dhamma.

Improve, report and develop cash generating activities to promote Buddha Dhamma.

Show examples of Buddha Dhamma education within our five styles of cultivation in action.

Provide timely advice on Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S).

Declare, celebrate and record scheduled Buddhist educational events.

Provide accurate information via our websites on how we educate on Buddha Dhamma legally in Victoria, Australia.

Provide opportunities for Buddha Dhamma activities and ceremonies.

Assist our globalisation of Buddha Dhamma education policy.

Provide text for our online version of the Brooking Street Bugle at www.bsbonline.com.au.

Index

1. Glossary
2. Sangha News
3. Coming Events
4. Company Structure
5. Keynote Opportunities
6. Appeals and Special Projects
7. Current Research and Development Interests
8. Information Technology News
9. Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S)
10. Corporate Governance & Reporting (CGR)
11. International Dhamma Activities (IDA)
12. Local Area Planning & Asset Management (LAPAM)
13. Members' News
14. Funds Appeal
15. Photographs
16. Transferring of Merit

Copyright Provisions

The Brooking Street Bugle is for free distribution. It contains Buddha Dhamma material and is provided for the purposes of research and study. It is also published online with colour photographs at www.bsbonline.com.au. Brooking Street Bugle On Line is a registered Business Name in the state of Victoria. Permission is given to make printouts of this publication for free distribution only with acknowledgements of the source, Australian Company Number ACN, Australian Business Number ABN and publication address. Please keep it in a clean place.

"The gift of Dhamma excels all other gifts".
© 2002, Copyright. Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd.

1. Glossary

2. Sangha News

Weekly Theravada Teachings on Monday Evenings

Venerable Vimalananda and Venerable Upatissa from the Sakyamuni Buddha Vihara in Berwick continue guide meditation at our Temple every Monday evening from 7.30pm. Please arrive by 7.15pm.

We thank the Venerables from the Sakyamuni Buddha Vihara for their ongoing teaching program.

3. Coming Events

Vietnamese Visitors for the Chinese New Year

Approximately 53 Vietnamese visitors will visit our Centre BDCU on Saturday 12 February at around 4:30 pm. They come in celebration of the Chinese New Year, and we will serve them drinks and other refreshments.

If you have any questions please talk with Anita Hughes, or if you need to talk to a representative of the Vietnamese group you can contact Heu on 0403 485 488.

Buddha Dhamma Teaching Program

We invite Members of the Sangha to come to our Temple to give Dhamma talks on Monday and Friday evenings as part of our Buddha Dhamma Teaching Program for 2004. Classes commence at 7.30pm.

We thank the Venerable Sangha for blessing our Temple, and Members and Friends and accepting our request.

May the Buddha Dhamma be taught at our Temple.

Members and students are welcome to attend and are requested to bring suitable offerings such as flowers, daily necessities and books as dana for the Sangha.

On Friday evenings from 7.30pm teachings are held from the Mahayana tradition. Sessions so far have included the playing of videotaped teachings of the late Master John D. Hughes on the Prajna Paramita (The Perfection of Wisdom) We have also listened to the CD series "Mahamudra" by Geshe Michael Roach.

Currently we are listening to taped teachings by the late Master John D. Hughes on Friday evenings.

Please feel free to invite Buddha Dhamma Teachers in the Mahayana tradition to come and give Teachings on Friday evenings.

Students and Members are invited to bring suitable offerings such as flowers, food, water, paper, and Buddha Dhamma texts as offerings.

We thank Mrs. Anita M. Hughes for initiating this program of Buddha Dhamma teachings at our Temple.

May Anita M. Hughes be well and happy.

Abhidhamma Classes

Abhidhamma classes continue every Tuesday evening at 7.30pm. Chanting takes place in our Hall of Assembly prior to the class at 7.15pm. All Members and Friends are welcome.

Our current Abhidhamma studies are based on "The Essence of Buddha Abhidhamma" by Dr. Mehm Tin Mon. Classes are free of charge.

Students are requested to bring suitable offerings each week to the Abhidhamma Teachings, including flowers, Basmati rice and two reams of Reflex A4 paper. Recycled paper is not suitable as it jams in our printers.

Life Skills Workshop for Youth

The first life skills workshop for youth was held at the Centre on Saturday 29 January, 2005.

Seven participants aged from 12 to 18 discussed the aims of the group, and held discussions based on materials on "The Ten Rules for Being Human", expressing your emotions, the "Awareness Wheel" and letting go. Participants identified fear as the major obstacle to their personal progress.

The next workshop will be held at 1pm on Saturday February 19.

Coming Events at Other Centres

We have a white folder titled "Coming Events at Other Organisations".

Persons who are interested in these events can find the folder in the Sariputta Room, shelf next to PC1A.

Some coming events at other organisations are also published in the Brooking Street Bugle and uploaded onto our websites.

It is suggested that all Members keep track of what is happening at other organisations so that they know which are the important events to attend.

This will also help us to step up our PR programs. We want to continue to provide our Temple for future students so that they can learn the Buddha Dhamma for at least the next 500 years.

Visit of Ven Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche - Discovering Mahamudra - 25 - 27 February, 2005

Mahamudra, or chag gya chen po in Tibetan, is a term that indicates the nature of reality itself. It is used to refer both to the nature of the mind - described as a luminous emptiness, and to the great (maha) seal (mudra) which stamps all of conditioned existence with the seal of emptiness - "the underlying groundlessness, spaciousness and indeterminancy that imbues all of our experiences".
Mahamudra is also the name given to the system of meditation on the nature of mind that enables the practitioner to experience that nature for themselves.
In this weekend course Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche will introduce participants to the meaning and practice of Mahamudra.

Venerable Dzigar Kongtrül Rinpoche was born in the Northern Indian province of Himachal Pradesh to Tibetan parents and grew up in a monastic environment. Recognized as an incarnation of Jamgon Kongtrül Lodro Thaye, he received extensive training in all aspects of Buddhist doctrine. In particular he received the teachings of the Nyingma lineage, especially that of the Longchen Nyingthik from his root teacher, H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Rinpoche also studied extensively under Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Nyöshul Khen Rinpoche and the great scholar Khenpo Rinchen.

In 1989 Rinpoche moved to the United States with his family and in 1990 began a five-year tenure as a professor of Buddhist philosophy at the Naropa Institute. Rinpoche also founded Mangala Shri Bhuti at this time, an organization established with the vision of furthering the wisdom and practice of the Longchen Nyingthik lineage. Later, Rinpoche moved to southern Colorado and established the mountain retreat center, Longchen Jigme Samten Ling. Rinpoche currently spends much of his time there in retreat and guides students in long-term retreat practice. When not in retreat, Rinpoche travels widely throughout the world teaching and furthering his own education.

Cost: Full Members $115, Others: $130
Time: Commences Friday 7.30pm and ends 12noon Sunday
Venue: Maitripa Contemplative Centre, Healesville
For registration and inquiries ph 9387 0422 or fax 9380 8296
Email: e_vam@smartchat.net.au
Website: http://ww.evaminstitute.org.au

Tibetan Medicine Tour 2004-2005

The Dzogchen Community of Namgyalgar, in collaboration with the Medical Department of the Shang Shung Institute in Merigar, is pleased to announce the current visit of Dr. Nida Chenagtsang to Australia in February 2005. Dr. Nida will be conducting a range of courses on Tibetan medicine, including Mantra Healing as well as Dream Analysis. For inquiries and registration, contact Dammika Mills on 07 4055 3677, or email at: taracitta@iig.com.au.

Please refer to the white folder labelled "Coming Events at Other Centres" for further details about these and other events.

4. Company Structure

Our Company Office Bearers and Management Team
(as of 7 August 2004)

Founder
The late John D. Hughes Dip. App. Chem. T.T.T.C. GDAIE

Resident Practitioner
Anita Hughes R.N.Div1

Abbot
Anita Hughes R.N.Div1

Assistant Abbots
Julie O'Donnell
Evelin Halls B.A.

Directors of the Centre
Anita M. Hughes, RN Div 1
Evelin Halls B.A.
Julie O'Donnell

President
Julian Bamford B.A. App. Rec.

Secretary
Anita Hughes RN Div 1.

Assistant Secretary
Julie O'Donnell

Joint Treasurers
Peter Boswell CPA and David Igracki

Financial Controller
Peter Boswell CPA

Assistant Treasurer
Frank Carter B.Ec.

Vice Presidents
Corporate Governance & Reporting
Evelin Halls B.A.
International Dhamma Activities
Pennie White B.A.Dip.Ed.
Local Area Planning & Asset Management
Frank Carter B.Ec.
Fundraising
David Ley, Architect (UK), BBlgs
Assistant Manager, Local Area Planning & Asset Management
Paul Tyrrell
Joint Managers, Occupation Health & Safety
Anita Hughes R.N. Div1
Frank Carter B.Ec.

Fuel Manager
David Igracki

Catering Manager
Leila Igracki

Chief Information Officer
Leanne Eames B.A., M.A.

Librarian
Anita M. Hughes R.N.Div1
Assistant Librarian
Julie O'Donnell

Editors Buddha Dhyana Dana Review
Evelin Halls B.A.
Pennie White B.A. Dip. Ed.
Assistant Editor Buddha Dhyana Dana Review
Julian Bamford B.A. App. Rec.

Editors Longhair Australia News
Julian Bamford B.A. App. Rec.
Leanne Eames B.A. M.A.
Evelin Halls B.A.
Pennie White B.A. Dip. Ed.

Editor Brooking Street Bugle
Leanne Eames B.A. M.A.

Executive Producer Buddhist Hour Broadcast
Julian Bamford B.A. App. Rec.

Producer Buddhist Hour Broadcast
Pennie White B.A. Dip. Ed.

Assistant Producers Buddhist Hour Broadcast
Julian Bamford B.A. App. Rec.
Evelin Halls B.A.
Leanne Eames B.A. M.A.
Lainie Smallwood B.A. Business, B.A. Comm.

Director of Abhidhamma Teachings
Evelin Halls B.A.

Assistants of Abhidhamma Teachings
Leanne Eames B.A.M.A.
Pennie White B.A. Dip.Ed

Manager Enterprise Technology
Evelin Halls B.A.

IT Development Engineer
John Watson Senior CTS Engineer

IT Technical Support
Kamfatt Lin B.Sc (Eng),MCP, CNA, MCSE, MCDBA

5. Keynote Opportunities

Immigration officer contact

On 30 January 2005 Frank Carter visited Wat Dhammaram at 53 Balmoral Avenue, Springvale, to attend a meeting with Ven. Liv Peo, Bunary Soch and an officer of the Department of Immigration and Multiculturalism and Indigenous Affairs.

The meeting was in connection with an application the Temple is making to sponsor a Cambodian Monk to be granted permanent residence in Australia.

The immigration officer who attended is responsible for handling applications from the Buddhist community in Melbourne and keeps in close contact with many of the various Buddhist communities by attending their special religious functions from time to time.

The officer is Mr. Wilson R. Johnson,
Department of Immigration and Multiculturalism and Indigenous Affairs
2 Lonsdale St, Melbourne, 3001
GPO Box 241, Melbourne 3001
Phone: 9235 3290
email: wilson.johnson@immi.gov.au

Mr. Johnson said we are welcome to contact him at any time with any queries we may have with regard to immigration matters and he said he would like to visit our Temple when we are having a major celebration.

He is well situated to provide us with information and advice about the various visa and residence processes. The process being used by the Wat to obtain permanent residence is under the Employer Nomination Scheme. The application is referred to as "Application for Employer Sponsored Migration to Australia".

The initial fee is $335 with a second payment of approximately $1000 required at later stages of the application.

Sumi-e Program 2005

Dates for sumi-e classes for 2005 with Master Andre Sollier are:

19 February, 19 March, 22 April, 21 May, 18 June, 16 August, 17 September, 15 October, 19 November, 10 December

Each sumi-e class commences at 10am and runs until 3pm with a one hour break for lunch. Students are welcome to bring food for lunch, and flowers for offering to the Teacher.

Students should arrive at the Centre by 9.30am to be seated in the hall ready for the class to commence at 10am.

Student fees are $66 per class (including GST) with all painting materials supplied.

Payments should be made in cash or cheque made payable to Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd.

For bookings please telephone Mr Julian Bamford on 0400 267 330 or call the Chan Academy Australia on 03 9754 3334.

PhotoLAN near completion

On Friday 4 February, Tiraj Adikari demonstrated the Beta version of our new PhotoLAN application. The application is loaded to the bdcu.org.au website for testing and development purposes. It is not presently accessible for public use.

We thank Tiraj Adikari for his generosity, skills and dedication over the past year in working to design and write the software and bring the PhotoLAN software application to fruition.

Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu.

We aim to complete the software application by 12 February 2005.

On Saturday 5 February, the application was demonstrated to our IT maintenance and development team consisting of Frank Carter, Evelin Halls, Vladimir Karnovik, Julian Bamford, Lee Robilliard and Alec Sloman.

Tasks to be carried out over the next three weeks include:

1. Building of PhotoLAN server and loading of PhotoLAN software.
2. Beta testing the PhotoLAN software application.
3. Finalising design and content for PhotoLAN/website
within our image and style guidelines.

The PhotoLAN server is being built by Vladimir Karnovik. Users of PhotoLAN will access photos through our internal web browser in a similar manner to the way we access internal email.

The public version of PhotoLAN will be located on our new website to be called: www.buddhaview.org. The web version of PhotoLAN and our Internal PhotoLAN will be identical.

The DNS for this website will be run from the bdcu.org.au website in the same mode as the www.edharma.org website. We shall request Owen Smith for his assistance in setting up this domain name and website DNS.

The internal PhotoLAN and the www.buddhaview.org website will be managed by Alec Sloman as webmaster. Photos and text will be loaded to our internal PhotoLAN first and then uploaded to the website.

As webmaster, Alec will train interested members in using the application to upload photos and text to the internal PhotoLAN and website.

Chan Painting Teachings

Melba Nielsen is teaching the basics of Chan Painting to those who wish to learn. Class participants are learning to paint the Four Friends - bamboo, chrysanthemum, plum blossom and the orchid.

The 2005 Chan Program is uploaded on our website www.bdcu.org.au. You can find it by clicking on the link "2005 Chan Painting Program" on the home page.

Thangka Painting Classes

Thangka painting classes are held at our Centre every second Saturday evening, commencing from 7.30 pm. Subjects include Green Tara, Vajrasattva and Padmasambhava. Members are enjoying learning the techniques of thangka painting, guided by senior Members and referring to some of our library resources on this subject, as well as the joy and the merit of this activity.

The next class will be held on February 12, 2005. Please contact Julie O'Donnell for details on 9754-3334.

Decorate Your Homes for Vesak 2005

The following email was received recently, and we would like to share its contents with our readers:

Dear Friends/Venerables,

Decorate Your Homes for Vesak 2005

Vesak is the most important event of the year for all Buddhists around the world. For Vesak people build lanterns and hang lines of lights and lamps in and around their homes. Sadly, the situation in Australia is quite contrary to this and at most Vesak decorations are only visible in temples during this important time.

During the Christmas season, Buddhist children take part in decorating their homes according to Christian traditions, but they do not decorate their homes during Vesak. Given this situation our children will never get a true understanding of the meaning behind Vesak. If parents took part and encouraged their children to get involved in decorating their homes as they do during Christmas, the children would begin to understand the value of Vesak, and this would also pave the way for them to better understand Buddhist principles.

The coming New Year brings a great opportunity for the Buddhist community in Australia, and we ask that all Buddhists decorate their homes for Vesak with lights, lamps and Vesak lanterns, especially with decorating lights becoming half-priced straight after Christmas. This will allow everyone, including non-Buddhists, to participate and enjoy Vesak celebrations. Happy Vesak!

Ven Bhikkhu Wimalananda
Sakyamuni Sambuddha Vihara
Homestead Road, Berwick.

6. Appeals and Special Projects

APPEAL - LET US HELP TSUNAMI VICTIMS IN SRI LANKA

Dear Friends,

LET US HELP TSUNAMI VICTIMS IN SRI LANKA

To help and relief those who are in grief is a thought of Bodhisattvas. We have now got an opportunity to practise this good thought and earn more merits for our future happiness.

The most devastated and helpless people in Sri Lanka are seeking help from others. They have lost their parents, children, relatives and their beloved. Their entire livelihood is destroyed by the TSUNAMI impact. Please open your generous heart and give these people a hand in their struggle for survival. For immediate relief we are sending money to our main temple in Colombo to distribute food and medications among those poor people. You can send your donation to :

Buddhist Vihara Victoria Inc,
125, Homestead Road,
Berwick, Vic. 3806,

OR deposit in our account.:

SAKYAMUNI SAMBUDDHA VIHARA TSUNAMI RELIEF FUND,
BANK: WESTPAC- KEYSBOROUGH BRANCH
ACCOUNT NUMBER: BSB: 033380
ACCOUNT NO: 259639

May you all be happy,

With Metta,

Bhikkhu Wimalananda

APPEAL - A REQUEST FROM THE WORLD BUDDHIST COMMUNITY

Well over, two thirds of the coast line of Sri Lanka is hit hard and every 1 in 20 people are homeless out of 20 million people in this Island. Just speechless. A train was found with about 1000 bodies in it. One village is gone with 1500 villages. There are so many parents without their kids, kids without parents. 70% of the victims are Buddhists. We are still in shock.

However we are setting aside our emotions and trying to help the victims. We need medicine, dry food, and on top of all drinking water in short term. Long term we are planning to help the homeless. There is no concept of insurance among these poor folks. They have lost everything. I do not need to go on as you may have seen in the news as Sri Lanka is the worst hit and the death toll is over 40,000 and still rising. There is lot more we can do to help them.

If you are willing to help us please make whatever your donations by going to www.karunalanka.org, an NGO that we are actively involved. All of your donations will go directly to the victims and all the administration costs will be born by us. Also you can donate via Paypal (to helplanka@karunalanka.org).

https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=helplanka%40karunalanka.org&no_shipping=0&no_note=1&tax=0&currency_code=USD

Will keep, everyone who is interested, posted. Also please do not hesitate to forward this to anyone who may be interested.

Herewith we have attached the plan of the proposed house that we will going to build. Each house will going to cost US $.1500/=. Our target is to build at least 500 houses.

With the blessings of the Dhamma!
Mahinda Karunaratne
Chairman
Karuna Trust

The Camberwell Market Stall held on Sunday 30 of January 2005 generated the following returns.

Profit $161.25, Raffle $140, Bangladesh Stand $10.30.

The sales team for the day was David Ley, Julian Bamford, Frank Carter, Peter Boswell and Alec Sloman.

The Camberwell Market Stall held on Sunday 5 February 2005 generated the following returns.

Profit $199.50, Raffle $178, Bangladesh Stand $29.30.

The sales team for the day was David Ley, Julian Bamford, Frank Carter, Peter Boswell and Amber Svensson.

The next Camberwell market stall will be at site number 30 on 13 February 2005.

Valentine's Day Flower Stall

Our Valentine's Day Flower stall will be held on Monday 14 February 2005 on an area of the front lawn at the Mobil petrol station at 619 Boronia Road, Wantirna. The station manager's name is Stacey and the phone number of the petrol station is 9738 1155.

The site is on the North side of Boronia Road which is the side most used by traffic returning from the city and inner suburbs.

Setup will start at 11.30am in time for sales to begin at 12.30pm, finishing at 7 pm.

Our projected profit target for the day is $600.00.

Volunteers are required to prepare posies from 4 to 5pm on Sunday 13 February.
Other sites are still required for our Easter and Mother's Day Flower Stalls.

7. Current Research and Development Interests

JDH Digitisation Project

The Digitisation Paper on digitisation of the John D. Hughes Collection of audio recordings is currently being developed. See the Information Technology section for details.

Information Communication Technologies at the WBU

Ms Pennie White will be reporting on the research hconducted at the World Buddhist University on their use of Information and Communication Technologies.

8. Information Technology News

New 100 Mbs switch installed

On 5 February 2005, Vladimir Karnovik installed a new switch on our network.

The switch is a Bay Networks Baystack 350T 16 Port Switch.

This switch transfers data ten times faster than our old hub and will be better suited for our PhotoLAN server.

Next VET update due 27 March 2004

It is recommended to update our LAN machines at least every 3 months with the latest update files.

Next VET update due: 27 March 2004

PC13A, PC5A and PC15A have also been updated with the latest VET - now we have all computers running the latest VET.

NOTE: Our Internet machine automatically updates itself whenever we are online.

9. Occupational Health and Safety News (OH&S)

Hazards Identified­ Potential and actual

Seal the main house roof from possums and rats.
Refit the wire mesh around the underside of the main house.
Extend the retaining wall at the East end of the Chan Hall.
Repair the sensor light at Suite 10A
Remove the metal strips on steps leading up to the kitchen dining room.
Prune the rose bush in the driveway.

10. Corporate Governance & Reporting (CGR)

Colour Code: Red
CGR Manager: Pennie White
CGR Vice President: Evelin Halls
CGR Task Unit Members: Julian Bamford, Peter Boswell, Frank Carter, Leanne Eames, Lenore Hamilton, Lisa Nelson, Lainie Smallwood, Anita Hughes, Amber Svensson.

CGR Task Unit Responsibilities: Adhere to legal requirements of corporate affairs; accounts; communicate with Federal, State and Local government departments; organise GST payments; supply Australian Tax Office with Business Activity Statements; provide timely managerial information to ensure profits are made; provide monthly Profit and Loss Activity Statements; arrange for the audit of accounts at a professional level to meet the Statutory requirements of the Gaming Commission of New South Wales (NSW).; arrange General meetings and maintain statutory minutes for these meetings; monitor and adhere to Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) policy; provide first aid facilities; organise attendants for staffing the Centre; correspondence; schedule events for our Teacher; structure new databases and train persons to maintain them; train personnel to operate CGR functions; refreshment supply; fund and organise Dana for the Sangha visiting the Centre; create goodwill with our neighbours; and with local newspapers to advise the community of upcoming events.

General Meetings Held Last Friday of Each Month

The next General Meeting will be held on Friday 25 February, 2004 at 8.00pm. All Members are encouraged to attend.

11. International Dhamma Activities (IDA)

IDA Colour Code: Yellow
IDA Manager: Evelin Halls
IDA Vice-President: Pennie White
IDA Task Unit Members: Anita M. Hughes, Julian Bamford, Peter Boswell, Helen Costas, Leanne Eames, Leila Igracki, Julie O'Donnell, David Ley, Lainie Smallwood, Amber Svensson, Paul Tyrrell, Celestina Guiliano.

IDA Task Unit Responsibilities:

To maintain WFB liaison; to maintain WBU liaison; to arrange Abhidhamma Teachings; chanting, pujas, translations; to maintain and preserve the John D. Hughes Collection; to organise audio and video recordings of teachings and events; to develop and maintain the Centre's IT systems, data warehouse, LAN and web sites; to train Members to become Webmasters; to develop e-commerce; to produce, edit, publish and distribute the BDDR and BSB, to write and broadcast "Buddhist Hour" radio scripts; to organise and teach Chan classes.

JDH Collection Audio Tape Digitisation Project

Members continue to transcribe and check teachings by Master John D. Hughes. An archive version is created from each tape, which is then edited for uploading onto our http://www.edharma.org website. Click on the link to "Teachings" to find the audio files in mp3 format ready for download.

The teachings are also used as the basis for our weekly radio broadcasts on the Buddhist Hour at 88.0FM.

We are currently working on Tape 7 of this series.

We are planning to load many more audio and text files of the Teachings of John D. Hughes.

John Hughes' Teachings audio files on Internet

Mp3 files with John D. Hughes Buddha Dhamma teachings are loaded on our website www.edharma.org.

You can find the audio files by clicking on the "Teachings" link. Persons can download the mp3 files onto their computers and burn them onto CDs. You can also listen to the teachings online.

PC4 at the Centre is equipped for online listening. Just click on the particular mp3 file, and the Windows Media player will automatically open and you can hear the teachings. With our new broadband connection and the upgraded PC, the audio quality is high.

Any person who has access to the Internet with a PC set up to listen to audio files can now hear John's teachings.

Thank you to all beings, humans, devas and devatas who have helped to make this possible. Please continue to help us.

Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu

Articles for the BDDR

All Members please help us to write articles about Dhamma activities that we can use for the BDDR.
If you come across any material that would be suitable for inclusion in the BDDR, please pass it along to our webmasters.

Thank you to all who have helped with our websites, and please continue to help.

New Chan Brochure for 2005 Completed

On Friday the 4th of February the new Chan Brochure for 2005 was completed.

It includes a historical background of Chan tradition, details of Chan practices, the Chan Painting and Sumi-e program for 2005, as well as information regarding exhibitions of students work.

The project was carried out by Alec Sloman, Melba Nielsen and Julian Bamford.

12. Local Area Planning & Asset Management (LAPAM)

Colour Code: Green
LAPAM Manager: Frank Carter
LAPAM Vice President: Frank Carter
LAPAM Task Unit Members: Julian Bamford, Peter Boswell, Frank Carter, Evelin Halls, David Igracki, David Ley, Brent Kerr, Lisa Nelson, Amber Svensson.

LAPAM Task Unit Responsibilities: To maintain and develop the buildings and gardens of the Centre; to undertake new construction works; to refurbish the Centre buildings; and to look after equipment and supplies.

Fire Refuges

Designated fire refuges do not exist in our area anymore.

However, we were advised by the local fire authority, that we have the option to go to the DRCCC, as our Centre is very close to it, even if it is not a designated fire refuge.

We were advised to listen to the local radio and read the local papers for advice. If there is a fire, we must watch out for amber drops especially on high wind days.

13. Members' News

Member to undertake Diploma of Education studies

This year Evelin Halls will undertake a Postgraduate Diploma of Education (full time) at Monash University, Clayton. Evelin will specialise in LOTE (Language other than English) for German and Information Technology/ Computing.

The degree (Dip.Ed.) will fully qualify Evelin to teach German and IT at secondary schools or in adult education.

14. Funds Appeal

Donations

Donations may be sent to:

The Secretary,
Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd.,
33 Brooking Street, Upwey, Victoria, 3158.

Please state your name/organisation, address and indicate whether or not you require a receipt.

Please make all cheques payable to "Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd."

Thank you for your kind contribution.

The gift of Dhamma excels all others.

May you be Well and Happy.

Gifts are not tax deductible.

15. Photographs

Photographs will be uploaded at a later date.

16. Transferring of Merit

We regularly transfer merit to the Mahasangha and local deities. They help us on all our projects.

We offer blessed water and food to the deities at the NAT House.