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Founder's Message

According to the Lotus Sutra, the purpose of the Buddha’s birth was to show human beings how “to enlighten and live from awakening seed”. The essential idea is to clearly recognise and to live according to awareness, to clearly see the nature of things and, to create a happy and peaceful life. The presence of Buddhist organisations has no other vision than to nurture the Buddha’s teachings to human beings: to overcome suffering and to live by wisdom, with a peaceful body and mind.

Our children are our future. Education is crucial to give insights to human beings, to become good citizens, practicing clear mind, clear heart and global responsibilities. To foster quality education accessible to the Buddhist communities, it is a strong commitment and dedication. No matter what and how busy a school is, Buddhist philosophy gives insight to true learning, through reflection and practice. “It takes ten years to plant trees, one hundred years to cultivate/transform people.” The educational work of Hoa Nghiem Temple is too early to judge at this scale. However, we are clearly aware that when we work wholeheartedly for our descendants, our children and grandchildren will have a bright future. That is the principle of Cause and Effect in Buddhism.

In 2024, the whole HNBC community has been very active and full of happiness and joy. This was made possible thanks to our decicated educational team! The entire Buddhist community is fortunate to be able to count on educators of the utmost quality of being. It is satisfying to see the evolution of the students in our systemic approach to learning, from well-being to academic growth. The transmission of values, the continuation of practice and even healing are real. Educating children is a holistic life mission and, as the saying goes, ‘it takes a village to raise a child’. One of my greatest joys is to see teachers in tears at graduation ceremonies or school events, crying and smiling at the same time, with deep happiness for what has been achieved. We can say that he vision of “Bi - Tri - Dung” (Compassion - Wisdom - Bravery) has been embraced by to Buddhist school’s community.

Our vision and mission are broad. Over the next few years, the temple will continue to focus on refining and broadening the curriculum, continuing to attract dedicated teachers to be part of our long-term educational project. On that note, the Temple is preparing the construction permits on the new land to open Year 7 - 12 classes in the future, hoping that the full cycle of Buddhist education in the mainstream path will soon be achieved and successful. The accomplishment and success of our Hoa Nghiem Buddhist College give us wings to pursue our vision in Buddhist education.

What we have achieved today at this point in time is the fruit of everyone’s heart, in the interest of the Buddhist education of our children and grandchildren. This is the momentum, the launching pad for today and for the future. It is certain that, building on this positive momentum, our Buddhist community in Australia will have a Buddhist College from year 7 to year 12, in the near future.

Principal

Most Venerable Thich Thien Tam

Founder of Hoa Nghiem Buddhist College