Nan Tien Buddhist Temple

This past Sunday, Abby and I went to Nan Tien Buddhist Temple, the biggest Buddhist temple in the Southern Hemisphere.  Nan Tien is a Chinese term which means "southern paradise." 

Nan Tien is one of the branch temples of Fo Guang Shan, founded in 1967 by Venerable Master Hsing Yun,which has over 120 branches worldwide. The temple is one of the largest Buddhist temples in the southern hemisphere.

Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Temple complex 3 Tourism 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 External links

 

Fo Guang Shan Buddhism is rooted in the Mahayana tradition which emphasises that Buddhahood is within everyone's potential reach. Fo Guang Shan followers strive to bring Buddhism into daily life and describe their philosophy as "Humanistic Buddhism."

 

It was funded by and constructed under the auspices of the Mahayana Buddhist sect known as Fo Guang Shan, and completed in 1995. The sect itself was founded in Taiwan in 1967 by Venerable Master Hsing Yun, and has 120 branches throughout the world. The site of the Australian branch's temple was reputedly chosen by Hsing Yun due to its proximity to Mount Kembla, which is said to have an auspicious resemblance to a recumbent lion. It overlooks both Mount Keira (I hiked this mountain!) and Mount Kembla. The land was donated by the Australian government.

The Nan Tien complex was built using traditional techniques and materials by Chinese craftsmen, but with numerous modern features. Occupying a semi-rural hillside site several square kilometres in size, and set amidst landscaped gardens.

In addition to various meeting rooms, a museum, cultural, conference and accommodation facilities and a restaurant, the Nan Tien temple complex includes two massive prayer halls (known as the Great Mercy Shrine and the Great Hero Hall) within which are located multiple monumental Buddha and Bodhisattva statues, as well as a 7 level pagoda intended to house the cremated remains of 7000 people. The front hall houses the Thousand Handed Avalokitesvara (known as Kuan Yin in Chinese culture) and the main hall in the back houses the Five Dhyani Buddhas, Amogasiddhi, Ratnasambhava, Vairocana, Amitabha and Akshobhya. Both halls have thousands of tiny statues of Buddha on the walls. The complex also has amenities for monks, nuns and visitors, and a large garden with a pagoda.

The architecture of the complex is notable because it incorporates the features of several styles of Buddhism. The pagoda is distinctly Chinese, with flying eaves and an angular profile. The main temples incorporates features of Tibetan monastic architecture, with multi-storey painted temple buildings set atop high stone platforms (see the Potala Palace). The courtyards feature Japanese-style gardens, while the statues and shrines often incorporate bright, South-East Asian colour schemes, in contrast to the more sombre and austere styles favoured in China. The halls are carpeted, and pilgrims and visitors are required to remove shoes before entering, a practice more common in India, Korea and Japan than China.

The temple is one of Wollongong's major tourist attractions, and conducts regular weekend retreats for visitors interested in Buddhism in general, and Chinese culture in particular. Retreats can involve classes in tai chi, calligraphy and meditation.

Accommodation for retreat participants and members of the general public is available at the Pilgrim Lodge, a 100-room motel-style facility located in the temple grounds adjacent to its large lotus pond (Abby and I accidentally walked into this lodge and one of the monks seemed irritated we had wandered in there... oops).
It is regarded as an "orthodox" Buddhist temple by local Chinese Buddhists, in contrast with some other shrines which worship Buddhist, Taoist, and mystical heroes in the same building. It frequently hosts festivals.

Yes, I got that all from Wikipedia.  It was easier than explaining all about the temple, and I learned a little bit in the process!  Abby and I walked through the Main Shrine, the courtyard, and the pagoda.  When we arrived at the temple, there were several (what we thought were) monks meditating around a pond.  Later, we found out they weren't actually monks, just people on a weekend retreat meditating.  It felt really weird walking near the people who were trying to meditate--this weird space where tourism and personal growth collide.  How should people navigate the line between obnoxious, photo-taking tourist and honest-to-goodness citizen attempting to connect with their good kharma?  I'm not sure... I guess questions like this surround all religious sites that have been turned into major tourist destinations.

Anyway, we actually did run in to a few monks.  One thing that surprised me was I saw mostly female monks and their heads were shaved.  You really only see male monks with shaven heads in the media, so it was sort of strange to see women in the same Buddhist garments with the same lack of hair. 

So now it's exam time and I've started studying for my finals.  And the end is near : (

Happy Birthday Queen of England!

Yesterday, NSW celebrated a territory-wide holiday--the Queen of England's birthday.  Many businesses were closed for the day... the library even shut down at 6:00 p.m. on a week day during exam week (must be a really important holiday then to tell students they can't study in the library!).

Below is an e-mail I received from the Director of Campus East describing the holiday:

Please be reminded that New South Wales celebrates The Queen's Birthday with a Public Holiday on Monday, 13 June, 2011. 

Government departments, business and some services do not operate on that day.  Campus East Administration will be open, as for weekend hours, from 1.00 p.m. to 4.00 p.m.

For international students who may be unfamiliar with this occasion, by way of background, The Queen's (or King's as may be the case) Birthday is usually celebrated in the United Kingdom on the first, second or, rarely, the third weekend in June.  In Australia it is a Public Holiday on the corresponding Monday. 

The Queen's Official Birthday does not coincide with when she was born.  King Edward VII, whose birthday was on 9 November, in autumn, moved the ceremony to summer in the hope of good weather.  Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her actual birthday on 21 April.

The only civic occasion of note associated with the day in Australia is the release of the "Queen's Birthday Honours List," in which new members of the Order of Australia and other Australian honours are named.  In the United Kingdom, the major event is the annual Trooping of the Colour (also known as The Queen's Birthday Parade).  See www.royal.gov.uk if you're keen.

For us at the University of Wollongong, the Public Holiday provides a day off from exams ... so happy studying!

Last Time in Sydney

Yesterday, my roommate, Pat, and my friend, Abby, and I went to Sydney all day yesterday.  We caught the 7:30 a.m. train from Fairy Meadow to Sydney.  After arriving in the beautiful city of Sydney, we went to Paddy's Market, a market frequented by tourists on the hunt for cheap souvenirs.  And I found just what I was looking for!  A few great souvenirs for my family.  After that, we got back on the train to head to a different part of Sydney.  That's something I've learned since I've been here... Sydney is so big, there are several train stops within it.  I've usually stayed on the "Inner City Circle," which brings you to the main part of Sydney.  We got off at "Central" to go to the markets and then we got back on to head to "Circular Quay," where the famous bridge and Opera House are located.  Actually, the train is situated above the roads and is surrounded by tall buildings.  However, after several minutes of riding from Central to Circular Quay, all of a sudden there are no buildings anymore and you can see all across the Sydney harbor... at the sun glinting off the bright water, the metal of the Sydney Bridge beaming, people walking along the boardwalk near the ferries... it's just an incredible sight.  I think that's one of the sights I'm going to miss the most after leaving here.


Anyway, after leaving Paddy's Markets, we went to Circular Quay to go to a different market.  We ended up not being able to find it, so we went to St. Mary's Cathedral instead.  According to Wikipedia, "
The Metropolitan Cathedral of St Mary is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, seat of the Archbishop of Sydney Cardinal George Pell. The cathedral is dedicated to “Mary, Help of Christians”, Patron of Australia. St Mary’s holds the title and dignity of a minor basilica, bestowed upon it by Pope Pius XI in 1930."  Also according to Wikipedia, St. Mary's Cathedral is the biggest cathedral in Australia (although not the tallest).

Abby and I standing in front of the Cathedral.

"Mary Helen MacKillop (15 January 1842 – 8 August 1909), also known as Saint Mary of the Cross,^[1] was an Australian Roman Catholic nun who, together with Father Julian Tenison Woods, founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart and a number of schools and welfare institutions throughout Australasia with an emphasis on education for the poor, particularly in country areas. Since her death she has attracted much veneration in Australia and internationally.  On 17 July 2008, Pope Benedict XVI prayed at her tomb during his visit to Sydney for World Youth Day 2008. On 19 December 2009, Pope Benedict XVI approved the Roman Catholic Church's recognition of a second miracle attributed to her intercession.^[2] She was canonised on 17 October 2010 during a public ceremony in St Peter's Square at the Vatican."  Saint Mary is the only Australian to be recognized by the Roman Catholic Church as a saint.

Inside St. Mary's Cathedral... photo credit to some random photographer off Google images.



Upon leaving the cathedral, we took an hour ferry ride to Sydney Olympic Park (where the 2000 Summer Olympics took place).  Pat told me it took Australia seven years to build the Olympic Park, including all the sporting arenas and a small town, which served as a place for all the athletes to live.  We went to an NRL game (National Rugby League)-- the South Sydney Rabbitohs versus the Melbourne Storm.  It was great!  They played at the stadium used in the Olympics.  Below is some video footage I taped during the game.

Notice the three guys riding the bikes on the sideline... does this happen in American sporting events?  Little warm-up while waiting to get back in the game?

After watching the rugby game, we headed back to Central via a train... the ferry was nice, but the train was faster to get back.  Pat left and Abby and I to go visit his family, so Abby and I hopped on another ferry to go to a Manly, a beautiful suburb of Australia.  Sadly, we had just missed "The Taste of Manly" food festival, which from what I collected, was tons of booths from local restaurants handing out free samples.  Too bad we missed it!  By the time we arrived in Manly it was dark, so we walked along the sidewalk, looking at all the stores.  At the end of the main road was Manly Beach, a beautiful white, sand beach, stretching pretty far down the coast.  On one section of the beach, there were several volleyball nets set up--permanent nets for volleyball games/tournaments.  After eating dinner we got back on the ferry and headed back to Circular Quay.  As we headed in to the harbor, we were greeted by the Sydney Opera House, all lit up for "Vivid Sydney," a festival of "light, music, and ideas."  Huge light projections from across the harbor were beaming light patterns onto the side of the Opera House... swirling patterns, box patterns, dot patterns... all in different colors.  It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen.  All around the harbor, there were small light exhibitions.  One building just outside the train station was my favorite... lights lit up the entire side of the building, changing to make different patterns.  For a few seconds the building looked like it was filling up with water (as blue lights worked its way up the side of the building) and then right after it looked like some giant hand was throwing patches of paint all over the building.  Pretty cool, right?   There was an interactive light show... where kids could stand in front of a massive building... their shadows moved on the building wall, so that kids could pretend they were throwing pain on the wall.. and the building actually looked like it was being covered in paint (in the exact locations the kids were pretending to throw paint at).  There was also an awesome fire show.  You know that Christmas commercial a few years ago... where some Christmas light fanatics set up their house lights to blink on and off to the tune of a rock-style Christmas song (it was the Trans-Siberian Orchestra to be exact).  Well, this show was really similar... shots of fire went in the air to the tune of "Firework," by Katy Perry.  See below : )

Awesome light show!  Wish I had video taped more.

Australian Sport

There are three main sports in Australia... NRL (National Rugby League), ARU (Australian Rugby Union), and AFL (Australian Football League).  All very similar-looking at first glance... but much different upon further examination. 

National Rugby League
http://www.nrl.com/

The National Rugby League (NRL) is the top competition of professional rugby league clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition (known as the Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship), is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand. It is the world's elite rugby league championship and, per season, is the single most viewed and attended rugby football competition in the world.

The National Rugby League is the present-day embodiment of Australia's top-level domestic rugby league competition, which in turn grew from Sydney's club competition, and which has been running continuously since 1908. The NRL formed in the aftermath of the 1990s' Super League war as a joint partnership between the sport's already-existing national governing body, the Australian Rugby League (ARL) and News Corporation-controlled Super League, after both organisations ran premierships parallel to each other in 1997.

NRL matches are played throughout Australia and New Zealand from Autumn until Spring. The season culminates in the premiership deciding game, the NRL Grand Final, traditionally one of Australia's most popular sporting events and one of the largest attended club championship events in the world.  In addition, the NRL champions also play a world-series style contest against the premiers of the European Super League competition in the World Club Challenge.

Each team is given six attempts to make a "try" (or what we might call a touch down).  There are no "downs."  One team will attempt to work the ball up the field, some one will get tackled, and then their second attempt starts.  This continues until they finish their six attempts to score a try.  On their sixth attempt, players can try to score a "try" or they can just kick the ball far down field (upon which the ball is turned over to the other team).  When a team scores a try, they can kick the ball through the field goal for extra points.  A try is worth four points and the extra kick is worth two points.  The ball can only be thrown backwards.  I'm not sure of the particulars concerning out-of-bounds stuff.  Below are the two teams I saw play yesterday!



Australian Rugby Union

http://www.rupa.com.au/

The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) is the governing body of rugby union in Australia. It was founded in 1949 and is a member of the International Rugby Board (IRB) the sport's governing body. It consists of eight member unions, representing each state and territory. It is responsible for the Australia national rugby union team.

Rugby union is played between two teams – the one which scores more points wins the game. Points can be scored in several ways: a try, scored by grounding the ball in the in-goal area, is worth 5 points and a subsequent conversion kick scores 2 points; a successful penalty kick or a drop goal each score 3 points.^[27] The values of each of these scoring methods have been changed over the years.

Each team starts the match with 15 players on the field.^[28] During the match, players may be replaced (for injury) or substituted (for tactical reasons).^[28] A player who has been replaced may not rejoin play unless he was temporarily replaced to have bleeding controlled; a player who has been substituted may return temporarily, to replace a player who has a blood injury, or permanently, if he is replacing a front-row forward.^[28] In international matches, up to seven replacements are allowed; in domestic or cross-border tournaments, at the discretion of the responsible national union(s), the number may be increased to eight, of whom three must be sufficiently trained and experienced to provide cover for the three front row positions.^[29] Players in a team are divided into eight forwards (two more than in rugby league) and seven backs.  Forwards are generally bigger and stronger, and take part in the scrum and lineout, while backs are generally smaller but faster, more agile and often the main points scorers for the team.

The field of play on a rugby pitch is as near as possible to a maximum of 100m long, and 70m wide. There are several lines crossing it, notably the half way line, the goal line/try line (on which the goal posts are located), the "twenty two", which is 22m from the goal line, and the dead ball line, which ideally is at least 10m but not more than 22m behind the goal line.^[5]

At the beginning of the game, the captains and the referee toss a coin to decide which team will kick off first. Play then starts with a drop kick, with the players chasing the ball into the opposition's territory, and the other side trying to retrieve the ball and advance it. If the player with the ball is tackled, frequently a ruck will result.

Forward passing (throwing the ball ahead to another player) is not allowed. The ball can be passed laterally or backwards, but cannot be thrown forward. The ball tends to be moved forward in three ways—by kicking, by a player running with it and passing it to a teammate who continues the run, or within a scrum or maul. Unlike in American football, "blocking" is not allowed, so only the player with the ball may be tackled or rucked. When a ball is knocked forward by a player with his/her arms, a "knock-on" is committed, and play is restarted with a scrum.

When the ball leaves the side of the field, a lineout is awarded against the team which last touched the ball. The lineout is usually awarded at the position where the ball left the field of play but if the ball is kicked directly into touch from outside the "twenty-two", or if a team plays the ball back into its own "twenty-two" and the ball is then kicked directly into touch, the lineout is awarded at a point opposite where the ball was kicked. To form a lineout, players from each team line up in parallel lines, at least 1m apart and at least 5m from the sideline; a player (usually, but not necessarily, the hooker) from the team that was awarded the lineout throws the ball down the gap between the two lines of players, who can jump or be lifted in an attempt to secure possession of the ball. Lineouts are one of the chief differences between the two rugby codes, as they do not occur in rugby league.

Games are divided into 40-minute halves, with a break in the middle. The sides exchange ends of the field after the half-time break. Stoppages for injury or to allow the referee to take disciplinary action, do not count as part of the playing time, so that the elapsed time is usually longer than 80 minutes. The referee is responsible for keeping time, even when—as in many professional tournaments—he is assisted by an official time-keeper. If time expires while the ball is in play, the game continues until the ball is 'dead', and only then will the referee blow the whistle to signal half-time or full-time; but if the referee awards a penalty or free-kick, the game continues.^[31]

Tries are scored between the goal line and the dead ball line. The goal line is treated as part of the in-goal area and a try can be scored if the ball is grounded with any part of it touching the goal line. The dead ball line is out of play, and a ball that touches or crosses the dead ball line, or that is held by a player who touches or crosses the dead ball line, is out of play.

Rugby goalposts are H-shaped, and consist of two poles, 5.6m apart, connected by a horizontal crossbar 3m above the ground. Unlike some other sports there are no goalkeepers, and the section underneath the crossbar has no special meaning. The original pitch dimensions were in imperial units, but have since been converted to the metric system.

There are three match officials: a referee, and two assistant referees. The latter, formerly known as touch judges, had the primary function of indicating when the ball had gone "into touch"; their role has been expanded and they are now expected to assist the referee in a number of areas, such as watching for foul play and checking off-side lines. In addition, for matches in high level competitions, there is often a television match official (TMO; popularly called the "video referee"), to assist with certain decisions, linked up to the referee by radio.^[32] The referees have a system of hand signals to indicate their decisions.

Common offences include tackling above the shoulders, collapsing a scrum, ruck or maul, not releasing the ball when on the ground, or being off-side. The non-offending team has a number of options when awarded a penalty: a "tap" kick, when the ball is kicked a very short distance from hand, allowing the kicker to regather the ball and run with it; a punt, when the ball is kicked a long distance from hand, for field position; a place-kick, when the kicker will attempt to score a goal; or a scrum. Players may be sent off (signalled by a red card) or temporarily suspended ("sin-binned") for ten minutes (yellow card) for foul play or repeated infringements, and may not be replaced.

Australian Football League
http://www.afl.com.au

The Australian Football League (AFL) is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football. The term is sometimes mistakenly used as the name of the code itself.
The AFL premiership season currently consists of 24 home and away rounds, followed by the finals series and the season concludes with the AFL Grand Final at which the winning team receives the premiership cup.

The AFL is the most attended sporting league in Australia^[3] and one of the two most watched sports in Australia.^[4][5] It is also currently the fourth-most attended professional sports league in the world in terms of attendance per match, with an average attendance of 38,417.^[6] It is also the most financially strong sports league in the country due to substantial media and corporate sponsorship arrangements.

See Wikipedia for a full listing of the rules--there's just too many to copy and paste!  I highly suggest looking; it's a pretty interesting game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_Australian_football