Monks offer inner peace

Monks offer inner peace

1577
A Cambodian Buddhist Monk at the Monastery in Kelmscott.

Set in a peaceful space, nestled in Kelmscott with views of rolling hills, there is a Cambodian Buddhist Monastery that oozes tranquillity and now they want to share that peacefulness with locals.

The Cambodian Buddhist Monastery in Kelmscott is offering free meditation and mindfulness classes to all members of the community.

Every Monday morning from 7am to 8am the Monastery holds free meditation within the framework of a Buddhist approach, led by monks and qualified lay people.

Visitors to the monastery are often from diverse backgrounds and cultures with regular visitors including Malaysian, Chinese, Cambodians and Australians.

Currently two monks reside at the serene location, one Australian and one Cambodian.

It is required that Monks eat lunch by 12pm, with volunteers attending the monastery with food to offer, which is a age-old custom.

Monks cannot cook for themselves and must be offered food, which is where volunteers come in.

Tholla Chan, committee member at the Cambodian Buddhist Council of WA, said they created a roster so the Monks always had someone to offer food.

“We have a roster and some days we have one person, some days we can have much more,” Mrs Chan said.

“We want to encourage people of all diversity’s to visit the Monastery.”

Prior to COVID-19, the Monastery also worked with a local prison to give prisoners jobs by constructing walls.

“Unfortunately we haven’t had the opportunity to have them back yet, but they will be.”

Prisons often give inmates the opportunity to work to rehabilitate whilst detained and provide experience for work after release.
To find out more about the Monastery visit https://thecbswa.org or go for a drive and take a look for yourself.