Quang Minh Temple

Quang Minh Temple is a Vietnamese Pure Land Mahayana Buddhist temple located in Braybrook, Victoria.¹ As well as serving as the office of the United Vietnamese Buddhist Congregation of Victoria (UVBCV), the temple provides cultural, spiritual, social and educational support to Vietnamese Buddhists and to the community at large. The temple has a rich history, dating back to 1980 when the first Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Venerable Thích Tắc Phước, now known as The Most Venerable Thich Phước Huệ, arrived in Australia and established the UVBCV with a small group of Vietnamese Buddhist refugees. A temporary centre for the Melbourne Vietnamese Buddhist community was then established in Richmond in 1981 by Venerable Thích Huyền Tôn, and later the same year, the Melbourne Vietnamese community relocated to Footscray. At the time, Venerable Thích Huyền Tôn named the temple Đại Bi Quan Âm Temple (Compassionate Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara Temple). The temple then relocated to another site in Footscray, then Sunshine, and its name was shortened to Quan Âm Temple. Following subsequent consultations within the community, the name of the temple was changed to Quang Minh, meaning ‘bright light’. After the tenure of Venerable Thích Huyền Tôn ended in 1985, Venerable Thích Phước Nhơn served as the abbot of Quang Minh Temple until 1987, followed by Thích Tâm Phương until 1992, and Venerable Thích Minh Trí until 1997.

Since 1997, Venerable Thich Phước Tấn OAM has served as the abbot of Quang Minh Temple.² Venerable Thich Phước Tấn is also a Vice President of the World Fellowship of Buddhists, the spiritual advisor of three Vietnamese Buddhist Youth Associations, and Principal of Van Lang Vietnamese Language School. The land for the current temple site in Braybrook was purchased in 1989, and the congregation officially relocated there following the construction of the shrine in 1994. Today, Quang Minh Temple is one of the largest and most recognised Buddhist temples in Australia.³ It provides meditation, spiritual guidance and support to community members, and regularly contributes to health care, disaster relief, humanitarian, environmental, interfaith and intra-faith causes, and aged and youth care. As well as a vegetarian community kitchen, the temple hosts Buddhist youth groups and Vietnamese martial arts (Vovinam) classes on a weekly basis. During Tết (Vietnamese New Year), the temple attracts over 20,000 people to welcome the new year. Quang Minh Temple continues to collaborate with key stakeholders to ensure that its programs and services address the most urgent and ongoing needs of the community.

By: Kim Lam