BUDDHIST COUNCIL NEWS
August 8 - Surprise visit to Council Office by Laotian monks
The Council received a pleasant surprise today when 4 Venerables from various Laotian temples came to pay a visit. The 4 Venerables were Ven. Thongsavanh from Wat Prayotkeo temple, Ven. Khamphang from Wat Buddhalavarm, Ven Sang Atipalo and Ven. Sang Khaophone from Wat Sayaphoum. The main purpose of the visit was because the Venerables wanted to offer their organizations’ assistance to the Council to help raise funds in order to sustain the Council’s operations. This offer of help was really unexpected yet so heartening to receive and we are truly grateful to the Venerables and their temples for this kind and generous gesture.
L to R: Ven. Sang Atipalo, Ven. Thongsavanh, Ven. Khamphang, Ven. Sang Khaophone and T.C. Lim
August 16 – Council starts off Exploring Buddhism Course at premises
Thursday 16 August saw the start of the Exploring Buddhism course taught by our own lay Dharma teacher and Council Secretary Mr T.C.Lim. Twenty people curious about Buddhism turned up to hear T.C. give an introductory lecture which used the Kalama Sutta to emphasise how each person must judge the teachings for themselves
T.C. taught an introductory course on Buddhism for many years at the Buddhist Library in Camperdown. The strong response to Exploring Buddhism indicates that there are many potential newcomers to the Buddha's profound teachings. The feedback forms confirmed that T.C. has not lost his gift for clear explanations of the Dharma.
Dharma teacher T.C.Lim conducting the Introductory Buddhism Course.
August 21 – Council presents Buddhist viewpoint at RPAH Seminar
A group of 15 doctors and nurses from the Intensive Care Unit at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital gathered together on 21 August to hear a seminar entitled: “End of Life Care Issues - Involving patients of Buddhist faith”, given by our President, Mr Brian White. This reflects our mission, which is to represent the entire Buddhist community to society and also to promote an understanding of Buddhism. The feedback from the participants was very positive.
Brian in discussion with RPAH doctors and nurses.
August 25 – Council hosts “Social Marketing for Social Good “workshop by Gerard Frape
The Council hosted a very interesting workshop entitled “Social Marketing for Social Good – Communicating about the Dharma”. It was presented by Gerard Frape who has over 30 years of experience in the field of social cause communication and drew 26 participants, some of whom came from as far as Canberra for the workshop.
The workshop highlighted some of the convergences between Buddhist and contemporary communication and attempted to show the differences between social and generic marketing. It also provided a good insight into the social marketing framework and planning process. Gerard gave valuable insights and examples into the research and planning process that went into the design of the Dalai Lama’s 2002 “Happiness in a Material World” tour of Australia.. The participants were then broken into several groups and given a social marketing checklist which they could use on some real situations confronting them.
The feedback from the participants was very positive with most stating that the workshop was well communicated, relevant and practical with some asking for further follow-up courses in the future. The Council would like to express its sincere thanks and gratitude to Gerard for kindly consenting to present this workshop and hope that he will be able to share his experience and expertise with us again.
