Buddhism in Australia Research Team Completes Final Fieldwork Across New South Wales

Fo Guang Shan Nan Tien Buddhist Temple Parramatta
December 10, 2025

The Buddhism in Australia research team returned to New South Wales from 15–17 November 2025 to conduct its sixth and final round of fieldwork. Participants included Prof Anna Halafoff (Deakin University), Prof Cristina Rocha (Western Sydney University), Venerable Dr Juewei and Dr Sioh Yang Tan (Humanistic Buddhism Centre at Nan Tien Institute), and video producer Freeman Trebilcock.

Sponsored by the Hsing Yun Education Foundation, the project explores the history and development of Buddhism in Australia from the 19th century to the present, focusing on the themes of social engagement, belonging, and wellbeing.

The fieldwork began on 15 November with filming of a Mahadana (multi-tradition almsround) in Burwood in inner-west Sydney. Initiated by the Metta Centre as part of its 10th anniversary celebrations, the event brought together 30 monastics from diverse cultural backgrounds and traditions. Venerable Chueh Shan, Abbess of Fo Guang Shan Nan Tien Buddhist Temple Parramatta, and Venerable Dr Juewei were among the invited participants. The peaceful procession of monastics walking mindfully along busy Burwood Road drew warm offerings from the public.

Venerable Juewei later interviewed Tina Ng, founder and current president of Metta Centre, who described the centre’s mission to provide a non-sectarian Dharma learning space for young people and shared her hopes and concerns for the future of Buddhism in Australia.

The team then travelled five hours inland to the town of Cowra in central western New South Wales, the site of the tragic 5 August 1944 breakout, where hundreds of Japanese prisoners of war and several Australian soldiers lost their lives. For decades, local residents quietly tended the Japanese graves— a compassionate act that later inspired the Japanese government to establish a Japanese Garden and Cultural Centre in Cowra, symbolising reconciliation and cross-cultural healing. Interviews were conducted with former Cowra Breakout Association President Lawrence Ryan and Jōdo-shū priest Reverend Watanabe, who spoke about Buddhism’s role in transforming grief and healing historical wounds.

On the third morning, the team visited Jongbopsa in Belfield, the largest Korean Buddhist temple in Australia. Filming captured distinctive elements of Korean Buddhist culture, including temple architecture, colourful hand-folded lotus lanterns, and the stone arhats carved by the temple’s founding teacher, Venerable Gihu.

The final fieldwork site was Fo Guang Shan Nan Tien Buddhist Temple Parramatta, where Anna Halafoff interviewed Venerable Juefang, General Manager of the Hsing Yun Education Foundation. Venerable Juefang shared that the Parramatta temple pre-dates Nan Tien Temple and was Fo Guang Shan’s first Australian branch. She highlighted how Venerable Master Hsing Yun dedicated proceeds from his “One-Stroke Calligraphy” to establish the Foundation, ensuring the continual transmission of Buddhist education. The Foundation offers scholarships, supports research projects at the Humanistic Buddhism Centre, and assists local Buddhist schools such as Pal Buddhist School in Sydney and Hoa Nghiem Buddhist College in Melbourne.

Videographer Freeman Trebilcock noted that interviewing the Foundation marked a fitting conclusion to the 42-day fieldwork journey that spanned across 14 months.

Following the fieldwork, the team reconvened at Nan Tien Institute on 18–19 November for workshops and planning meetings. Online participants included Prof Andrew Singleton, Dr Ruth Fitzpatrick, Dr Kim Lam (Deakin), and Assoc Prof Sue Smith (CDU). Discussions covered progress on the Buddhism in Australia Survey and key activities planned for the project’s third year. Venerable Dr Juewei expressed gratitude for the team’s dedication and looked forward to sharing the project outputs, including academic papers, a digital map of Buddhism in Australia, and educational resources, as a gesture to give back to the diverse Australian Buddhist communities that have supported the project.