On the 12th of December it will be 21 years since Venerable Soma Thera passed away. That was in 2003. Venerable Soma is such an important personality in the history of the Sri Lankans in Melbourne, it is sad to think that many have forgotten Venerable Soma and the service he rendered to the Buddhists in Melbourne.
Recently, when attending a Katthina pinkama, one of the visiting monks gave a talk on the growth of Sri Lankan Buddhist temples in Melbourne, saying the monks who have been living for a long time in the various temples around Melbourne should be thanked for providing services to the Buddhist devotees. There was no mention of how Sri Lankan Buddhist temples were first established in Melbourne.
In 1986 there was one temple that Sri Lankans would attend on important days like Vesak or Poson. That was the Buddhist Temple that had been established in Richmond. There was also a Thai temple in Box Hill which Sri Lankans would attend from time to time.
It was in that year that Venerable Gangodawila Soma Thera visited Melbourne and stayed at the premises of the temple in Richmond for four months during the rains retreat. He was invited by Mrs. Elizabeth Bell on the recommendation of Dr. Mervyn Mendis, a devout Buddhist. Venerable Soma could see that while the temple provided a venue where people could come to venerate the Buddha, listen to a Dhamma talk or for a meditation session, there was no one to provide traditional services that Sri Lankans expected of the monks.
Venerable Soma realised that Mahayana practices had a strong foothold in Australia and felt that there was a need for a Vihara where Theravada practices could be followed correctly. While at the Richmond Temple, Venerable Soma encouraged the Sri Lankan community to consider establishing a Buddhist temple to serve them in the traditional manner Many of the prominent members of the community, among whom were doctors, lawyers and other professionals, realised that a Sri Lankan Buddhist Temple was a felt need.
Venerable Soma was invited for another visit to Melbourne in 1989. The devotees had rented a small premises in Springvale. The first Sri Lankan Buddhist temple in Melbourne was established at these premises and known as The Melbourne Sri Lankan Buddhist Vihara. A little later, they moved to a bigger premises so that they could cater to the large crowds that would visit the temple. This property was purchased with donations made by the devotees which was used as the initial deposit. Once the premises were made ready, the most Venerable Madihe Pannaseeha Mahanayaka Thera was invited to participate in the handing over ceremony. The Mahanayaka Thera explained to the committee, what the handing over ceremony meant. The Sangasathu or handing over ceremony meant that the temple was being handed over to the Sasana and not to the incumbent monk. Once the lay devotees chant a stanza, the premises of the temple become the property of the Sangha sasana.
Thus, the first ever Sri Lankan Buddhist Temple was established in Melbourne, Victoria. A Daham Pasela or Sunday School was established with Venerable Soma himself taking some of the classes. Teaching was in Sinhala, so that the children would not forget their mother tongue. The youngsters who attended this school still remember Venerable Soma with love and respect.
One of Venerable Soma’s great qualities was the care he took of his dayakas. He would visit a person who had fallen ill, whether in hospital or at their home to chant pirith or counsel the family on how to deal with the problems they faced.
Soma Thera introduced some traditional practices that were not available at the Temple at Richmond. He taught Mr. Bertram Dias, a Sri Lankan Funeral Director, practices followed at Buddhist Funerals. If there was a death in a family of one of his Dayakas, he would advise them to contact Bertram who would carry out the obsequies. Today Bertram Dias handles all funerals of Buddhists advising the bereaved on what needs to be done, making all the arrangements and even inviting the monks.
Soma Thera also established a seema malaka at the Berwick Temple, a first in Melbourne. The ceremony associated with this was done when the Sakyamuni Sambuddha Vihara was handed over to the sasana. There were about 29 monks from the Temple at Maharagama in Sri Lanka who attended this ceremony.
In 1993, Venerable Soma moved away from The Melbourne Sri Lankan Buddhist Vihara and established a second temple in Noble Park in Melbourne, as an incorporated association known as Buddhist Vihara Victoria Inc. A Dhamma school was established as a first step and soon had many children of different ages attending classes. Before long, the temple at Noble Park was thriving and humming with activity. A monthly newsletter was published to let the community know of the progress of the temple. Religious activities were conducted regularly and important events commemorated with alms giving to which monks from the Buddhist temples, including Mahayana temples were invited.
Venerable Soma moved very closely with the mainstream community. Realising the importance of interacting with other communities, he made the temple a member of the multifaith community in the area. He also moved closely with the monks of the Mahayana temples. Venerable Soma even participated in a panel discussion held by the ABC TV channel appearing with members from three other faiths. He had established contact with not only the multifaith community and other Buddhist communities, but also with politicians of the area and members of the council. Whenever there was an important ceremony at the temple, like a Katthina or similar alms giving, these contacts were invited as honoured guests and they would all attend. Venerable Soma had also made contact with the Buddhist Community in Upwey, led by John Hughes, which was one of the oldest Buddhist communities in Melbourne. Members of this association would also be invited to these important events.
The Chief Incumbent priest of the Vietnamese Temple in Springvale Ven Thiem Tam was a good friend of Soma Thera. So much so, that when the Boxing day tsunami devastated Sri Lanka, the members of the committee of the Vietnamese temple came to the Noble Park temple and handed over a large sum of money to be used for helping those affected. Even though Soma Thera had passed away, they wanted to show the great respect they had for him, by making this donation. When a receipt was issued for the donation, the committee said they would hold a fund-raising vegetarian dinner. This was held at the Vietnamese Temple in Springvale and the Vietnamese community collected over $20,000 dollars, which was donated to the temple. This money was used to reconstruct the preschools run by the temples and some schools in the south of Sri Lanka affected by the Tsunami.
Soma Thera bought a five-acre property in Berwick. He had seen that the Sri Lankan Buddhist community was growing and knew that the small premises at Noble Park would not be able to cater to their needs. The monks’ residence was constructed and the temple moved from Noble Park to Berwick in March 2002 and was called the Sakyamuni Sambuddha Vihara.
While the new temple was under construction, Venerable Soma returned to Sri Lanka for a short stay, but when his father fell ill he extended his stay. After his father passed away, he stayed on in Sri Lanka to help his mother, who was also far from well. During this time, he realised that Buddhists were beginning to follow false practices. He made it a mission to teach people the Dhamma and show them the folly of their ways. Conducting many discussions on television, travelling around the country conducting Dhamma talks at different temples, he was able to open the eyes of the Buddhist youth. His popularity and following grew considerably during this time, with people flocking to listen to his Dhamma talks. Realising that his services were needed more in Sri Lanka, he decided to extend his stay further to carry out this important work. He knew the temple he had established in Melbourne was in safe hands and would continue the good work he had begun there.
By then, many Sri Lankan Buddhist temples had been established in Melbourne. These came up in different areas of Melbourne where there was a high concentration of Sri Lankans, who found it difficult to travel all the way to Berwick. The temple initially established by Soma Thera was also growing and they too purchased a large property in Keysborough and moved there. A new temple had been established in Dandenong, under the guidance of Venerable Sanghananda Thera. In Yuroke, in the Northwest of Melbourne a temple was constructed with the guidance of Venerable Kotte Santhindriya Thera.
As envisioned by Venerable Soma, one by one new Sri Lankan Buddhist temples are being established all around Melbourne, with the foundation laid by Venerable Soma, and today, Sri Lankans have a choice and can go to any temple, just as they would in Sri Lanka.