Karen Buddhist Dhamma Dhutta Foundation

The Karen Buddhist Dhamma Dhutta Foundation (Incorporated) supports Karen Buddhist people and Karen Christian people to follow their traditional religions and culture.

About half of our members are Karen Buddhists and half Karen Christians. We also have some Australian members. As Buddhists and Christians we share values of loving-kindness, compassion, mutual respect and ethical living. Because we share these values we have no problem working together although we are different religions.

Most of our members have recently come to Australia as refugees from refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border.

Bringing more refugees to come to live in Bendigo in Australia, and supporting them after they arrive, is a major part of our work. To show that we do not discriminate by religion it is our policy that half of the refugees we sponsor are Buddhist and half are Christian.

We have started a campaign to lobby the Australian government to bring more Karen refugees to Australia.

Many other Karen organisations say they help all Karen refugees, but we are the only organisation that actually sponsors equal numbers of Christian and Buddhist refugees.

We also hold traditional Buddhist festivals including Full Moon Festival, Kathin (Robe-Offering to Monks) ceremony, and Shin Pyu (ordination of children as novice monks and nuns), and participate in other traditional Karen festivals.

In December 2010 we held our first Karen Christmas festival.

The Karen Buddhist Dhamma Dhutta Foundation has been involved in interfaith initiatives including interfaith prayer services for peace in Burma and interfaith dialogues.

In 2011 an icon of Mary and Jesus was donated to our monastery. The icon was created by Brother Placid at Saint Mark's Benedictine Abbey in Camperdown, Victoria, and blessed by the Very Reverend Peta Sherlock, Dean of St Paul's Anglican Cathedral in Bendigo. The icon has its own shrine in the monastery. Christians are as welcome in our monastery as Buddhists.

The Karen Buddhist Dhamma Dhutta Foundation is based in Bendigo, Australia, and is a member of the Buddhist Council of Victoria (BCV).

The Karen Buddhist monastery in Bendigo is currently seeking an Australian Buddhist monk or nun to join our community. For more information click here.

Click here for PDF flyer about the Karen Buddhist Dhamma Dhutta Foundation.

Click here for KBDDF membership application form.

Our supporters

The Karen Buddhist Dhamma Dhutta Foundation is deeply grateful for the financial, practical, and advocacy support we have received from the following organisations:

Atisha Buddhist Centre & Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery

Bendigo Community Health Service

City of Greater Bendigo

St Andrew's Uniting Church

Westgate Baptist Community