Eurasia: Buddhism

Dr. Allan Molloy KERRY O'BRIEN: As the spiritual leader of a remote Asian nation, the Dalai Lama certainly casts a long shadow. In just two public events in Australia so far, some 30,000 people have flocked to hear the word of the revered head of the Tibetan Buddhist faith. And while controversy surrounds his role as an activist for Tibet's political future, his advice on how to cope with the pressures of modern life certainly has broad appeal. The advice is given with humility and humour, and if the question's too hard, a candid acknowledgment that he doesn't have an answer for everything. Mick Bunworth reports.

How do people manage spiritual practice with a busy working life? This was one of the questions that were put to Dr. Alan Molloy, long-time resident of Tara Institute in Melbourne, Australia. Alan has witnessed the growth of Buddhism in Australia from the late 1970s to the present and, during the interview, shared some of the highlights of his 17 years as a Buddhist.

Born in England in 1949, Steve migrated to Australia with his parents and two brothers in 1963. Four years later he joined the Australian Army in 1967, serving in Viet Nam from 1969 to 1971. It was there he met his wife of 44 years, Tuyet. Steve has four children and six grand children. He served 26 years in the Army and 8 more years out of the Army, until he retired in 2001 due to ill-health. Steve continued his voluntary work with Vietnam Veterans (Australian & Vietnamese) and with the Vietnamese community in Melbourne. In 2002, Steve and Tuyet (Buddhist name: Nguyên Thiện Hạnh) made their first visit to Quang Duc Monastery and took refuge in Buddhism (with Snr. Ven. Thich Tam Phuong) in 2003.

For almost an hour and half, His Holiness spoke about Mind Training in general and later went through the text of Seven Point Mind Training...

His Holiness told the media people that they have an equal responsibility to promote and create awareness about these basic human values and that they should report unbiasly...

His Holiness began his talk saying 'We're all equal, we all want to have a happy life, and we all have rights to be happy.' His Holiness spoke for more an hour standing...

His Holiness was extremely impressed and touched by the amount of attention paid by the Mexican Buddhists throughout his day-long teaching.

His Holiness said that often we give so much importance to the secondary things and neglect the fundamental thing which is human warm heartedness.