On Friday 14th of May, members of Quang Minh Buddhist Temple had organised a visit to Dame Phyllis Frost Centre – the largest women’s prison facility in Victoria – to celebrate with the Vietnamese women prisoners the special occasion of ‘Le Phat Dan’ or ‘Buddha Day’. Before I begin to describe my own experiences of visiting the Vietnamese women prisoners, I would first like to inform you of some useful background information on Vietnamese women in the prison system in Victoria.

Nhớ lại, ngày xưa khi còn là một chú bé ngây thơ, hằng năm, tôi thường theo mẹ tôi đến chùa dự lễ Phật Ðản vào ngày mùng tám tháng tư âm lịch. Hồi đó, ở quê các chùa thuộc hệ phái Phật giáo Bắc Tông đều cử hành đại lễ Phật Ðản vào ngày mùng tám, chớ không phải ngày rằm như hiện nay.

I have suggested that the natural expression of a Buddhist ethical sensitivity is to become a vegetarian: that the natural outcome of a greater awareness of the reality of interconnectedness is that we will experience more compassion. With a deeper experience of compassion, we will want to avoid unnecessary suffering and will stop eating meat. However, I’ve also pointed out that not all Buddhists are vegetarian and that many claim that the Buddha himself ate meat.

QUANG Minh Temple is a hive of activity as volunteers work hard to transform the Braybrook site into not just the largest Vietnamese Buddhist temple complex but also an educational centre on the environment and sustainable living.

BRAYBROOK College students Linh Nguyen and Jason Bao Tran had 2000 reasons to smile this Lunar New Year’s Eve.

The pair was each presented with a full VCE scholarship from Braybrook’s Quang Minh Temple at Saturday’s New Year’s Eve celebrations.