Hwa Tsang Monastery

AUSTRALIA, New South Wales, Sydney

This is the first Mahayana Buddhist monastery in Australia. It was founded by the monk Zanghui in 1981 and was moved to its present location in 1985. The monastery was expanded in 1991 and again in 2004.
The monastery is built in a simplified Chinese Tang style and occupies 5,300 sq m. The main building complex consists of the main temple gate, the Great Hero Hall, and the library. The double-eave roof of the gate is covered in green tiles and has a number of ridge ornaments. The Great Hero Hall has its gable wall facing forwards. The pediment has three yellow horizontal stripes, which symbolize the cultivation of the three practices: upholding the precepts, meditation, and wisdom. On the stripes is a Dharma wheel, which represents the Eightfold Path. There is a lotus in the center of the Dharma wheel. There are 3 m high seated statues of Sakyamuni Buddha, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva in the Great Hero Hall. The images are flanked by 2 m high wooden pagodas. A pair of white jade guardian lions is placed at the entrance to the hall. A seated statue of Maitreya Bodhisattva is placed at the front entrance, with a stone statue of Skanda Bodhisattva behind Maitreya. The library and the Great Hero Hall are both surrounded by covered walkways which are constructed out of wood.