Welcome to the Association of Engaged Buddhists (AEB)

The Association of Engaged Buddhists offers meditation practice and Buddhist teachings at the Buddhist Library in Camperdown, Sydney and also conducts retreats at the Vejjasala Retreat Centre in the Southern Highlands of NSW.

Upcoming Events

Oct 27

10:00 am – 1:00 pm

Dana Day – Sunday October 27th, Buddhist Library

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• An Important Message
  by AEB

  From the Association of Engaged Buddhists Committee

  Dear Friends,
  We hope you are staying safe and well.
  
  Firstly, we wanted to thank everyone who completed our survey to let the Committee know what you would like the Association to do for you and what you think we can do to bring life back into our group. The overall results are available here in summarized form.
  
  We have absorbed and discussed the results and have formulated a draft action plan for the remainder of 2024 and into 2025 which we would like to present at the next Dana Day (Oct 27th 10am-1pm, Buddhist Library, Camperdown). With that in mind, we would also like to make this our Annual General Meeting for the year and give appropriate notice to members. We hope to see as many of our old friends there as possible to discuss the way forward together.
  
  Please find a brief outline of our proposal below so you can have a think about it and how you might like to participate or contribute.
  
  Teaching/Mediation Evenings

  • We are proposing to reinstate Dhamma Talks/Meditation every two weeks on a Thursday night, starting in the new year at the latest.
  • These will be held at a new venue in the inner city area which we feel will address many of the issues faced by members: it is relatively central, has plenty of parking, easy access and a large mediation space. More to come on this at the meeting, some details are still being finalised.
  • Talks with be streamed on Zoom for our remote members

  Dana Days

  • Will be held on a monthly basis (4th Sunday of every month), again at the new venue, starting in November (24th)

  Retreats

  • We believe it’s important to give members and friends as much notice as possible regarding 2025 retreats, so the following dates have been put aside for Association retreats to be led by Bhante Tejadhammo at Vejjasala. Please mark them in your diary if you wish to attend, we will release booking forms in the new year: 
  • Easter 2025 (Thurs 17th April – Mon 21st April) for a longer retreat
  • June long weekend (Fri 6th – Mon 9th)
  • October long weekend (Fri 3rd- Mon 6th)

  We recognize that there has been much disruption and not many regular activities in 2024 but we are hoping to change that in 2025, so in recognition of this we will be extending membership for all existing members to the end of December and starting a new membership year in Jan 2025. Membership will now run in line with calendar years to make it a simpler process. We will also look again at member benefits again such as discounted retreats and informal weekend retreats in the new year.

  ---

  While we believe the above plan is both achievable and in line with members’ wishes for the Association, we need more involvement in order to make it a reality. After two years of great service to the community, our wonderful President, Megan Thorpe, is moving interstate so won’t be able to continue in the role. Committee Members Bill Shepherd and Jeff Newton are also unable to continue. With this in mind we have put together an outline of what we believe is a minimum viable Committee with clear roles and responsibilities, noting current Committee members who are willing to continue and the roles they have volunteered to fill:
  
  President:

  •  Leads the committee, consults with Bhante, sets agenda, other roles as required

  Chris Burgess (current Vice-President and prior President) has volunteered for this role

  Treasurer: 

  • Manages the finances of the Association

  David Wilson (current Treasurer) has volunteered to continue in this role

  Retreat Coordinator

  • Takes responsibility for the organisation of retreats including liaising with external groups, organising ticketing and registrations

  Chris Burgess has volunteered to continue in this role in addition to President

  Vejjasala coordinators

  • Coordinates maintenance and other necessary tasks at VJ including working bees etc.

  David Wilson and Robert Ljubicic (current Committee member) have volunteered to continue to share this role
  
  Volunteers Required

  Secretary

  • Takes minutes at meetings, maintains documentation
  • Maintains member lists
  • Takes responsibility for sending monthly newsletter, updating website as required

  Dhamma Teaching Coordinator (can be shared)

  • In cooperation with Bhante, organises alternate teachers when Bhante is unavailable. We have a good list of alternate teachers already.
  • Attends the fortnightly meditation sessions to make announcements, greet/announce visiting teachers, set up Zoom call etc. or organise for someone else to do so
  • Updates website/social media with teaching schedule

  Dana Day coordinator (can be shared)

  • Ensure the venue is prepared, tidied up, bring necessary items etc.

  Without the roles in blue above being filled by willing volunteers, the plan we have outlined cannot be realised, so please think deeply between now and then if you have the capacity to offer your time and energy to bring new life to the Association of Engaged Buddhists. If you would like to be nominated for the Committee in any of these roles in a sole or shared capacity, please let us know at office@engagedbuddhists.org.au or at the AGM.
  
  We look forward to discussing these ideas with you on October 27th. The AGM will be held directly at the end of Dana Day at approx. 12.30-1pm.
  
  Wishing you every blessing of the Dhamma now and always,
   
  AEB Committee

Our purpose and goals

The Association of Engaged Buddhists is a group of lay Buddhist practitioners and ordained Sangha who are committed to putting the Dhamma into action within their own lives in order to be of benefit to the wider community.

Established in 1993, the Association runs regular evenings of Buddhist teachings and meditation at the Buddhist Library in Camperdown, as well as retreats, workshops and courses at the Association’s retreat centre Vejjasala at Wingello in the Southern Highlands. The Association’s main aim is to share in a non-sectarian way the many benefits of meditation and Dhamma teachings with those in need in the community. The Association is recognised by the Buddhist Council of NSW.

Why ‘Engaged’ Buddhists?

‘Engaged’ Buddhism seeks to address the needs of the wider community through the skilful and practical application of the teachings of the Buddha. We are committed to promoting the development of Buddhism in Australia through active social service. Suffering humanity is our concern. We welcome all who think that they might benefit from learning meditation, who wish to find a different way of looking at life or who seek a supportive community within which to practice the Dhamma.

Resident Teacher

Venerable Tejadhammo Bhikku – Bhante to his community – is the Spiritual Director of the Association of Engaged Buddhists. Bhante teaches most Thursday nights at the Buddhist Library in Camperdownand conducts regular courses and retreats which are open to the general public, and is regularly invited to teach other groups of ordained Sangha. Apart from these teaching and retreat activities, Bhante works with people who are seriously ill in various hospitals, hospices and their homes in and around Sydney, teaching healing meditation, providing spiritual support and assisting people in dealing with the end stages of life.

Venerable Tejadhammo Bhikku was ordained by Venerable Tanchaokhun Phra Visalsalmanagun, Chaokhana Changwat, Phuket, in Thailand. Bhante has a background in Western Philosophy and Theology, and has studied and taught at Silpakorn University, Thailand. Before returning to Australia he taught in Thai universities and jails. Although ordained in the Theravada tradition, he has also studied with Tibetan and Mahayana teachers and has a commitment to the Dharma that he believes encompasses all traditional expressions of it. He is a founding member of Australian Monastic Encounter which seeks to promote inter-religious and inter monastic dialogue.