The Cambodian Buddhist Society of Western Australia had an open day for its Kelmscott monastery on Tuesday and said it was hoping to get more support and involvement from the community.
With the monastery located in the Kelmscott hills away from the CBD Buddhist Council of WA committee member Tholla Chan said the Perth hills were a good location for it.
“According to Buddhism the monastery should be up in the hillside because it’s secluded away from the noise of the world,” she said.
“People like it, they come here, they feel refreshed and energised.”
The monastery offered meditation sessions free of charge and Ms Chan said they only asked for donations to keep the monks supported.
Buddhists monks were required to wake at four o’clock every morning and finish breakfast and lunch before 12pm.
They were not permitted to eat for the rest of the day nor were they allowed to handle money or cook food.
This meant all support was to be provided by volunteers to the monastery.
Ms Chan said she wanted more people to come and learn about Buddhist culture.
“We’re open to everybody,” she said.
“We have Malaysian, Chinese (who) come here.”
She said there were many Australians who visited the monastery to learn about the culture or to participate in meditation but she wanted to improve community involvement further.
“We want to (operate) during the week, during the day, later on,” she said.
“So people can come – women’s groups, men’s groups, people from the community.”
Gordon Hunter lost his house in the 2011 Roleystone-Kelmscott bushfires and said the monastery had been a big support for some people impacted by it.
“They’ve done a lot of work for the people around here, I really appreciate it,” he said.
The monastery had access to a monk who spoke English for people who only spoke one language.
It was at 56 Scott Road, Kelmscott.
For more information call Ms Chan on 0408 094 078 or email cbswa56@gmail.com.
