ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³Who was the first Buddhist monk to become a permanent resident in Australia ?³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

 On the 9th of May, 1971, Venerable Ratmalane Somaloka, a Sri Lankan born monk,
arrived in Sydney to become the first permenent resident member of the Buddhist
Sangha in Australia. He ministered mainly to Buddhists of European ethnic
origin. In May, 1973, the Australian Buddhist Vihara was opened at Katoomba, in
the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. This was the first Buddhist temple in New
South Wales and the culmination of a dream of Venerable Somaloka and his
devotees. Despite the Sri Lankan origins of Venerable Somaloka, the local Sri
Lankan community was discouraged from visiting the Vihara. It was only after
the arrival of Venerable Pemananda, another monk from Sri Lanka, who was
invited to assist in the activities of the Vihara, that the Sri Lankan
community was granted limited access. The Bhikkhu (monk) who followed Ven.
Pemananda's stay, Ven. Suganananda, was most unimpressed with the exclusiveness
of the Vihara's policies and threatened to leave unless visitors were granted
freer access. Some Blue Mountain's residents who wished to study the Dhamma
(The Buddha's teachings) and to practice meditation claim that they were
actively discouraged from attending the Vihara.