Buddhist Missionary Society
Venerable Dhammananda arrived in Malaya in 1952, first stopping in Penang before taking up residence at the Brickfields Temple, Kuala Lumpur. He came at the invitation of the Sasana Abhiwurdhi Wardhana Society (SAWS), which then catered mainly for the Sinhala Buddhist community. Working from this base, he energetically set about bringing Buddhism to Malaysians, mainly the English educated Chinese who began to visit the temple to hear him expound the Dharma. With his missionary zeal he realized that his ideals would be better achieved if he could set up a society to harness the energies of these newcomers to Buddhism.
Thus, in 1962 he established the Buddhist Missionary Society (BMS) at the Buddhist Temple. It is largely responsible for the propagation of Buddhism through publications and the sponsorship of Buddhist seminars, lectures and talks, as well as regular Dharma discussions, youth leadership training and welfare activities. Its role as a missionary society is clearly stated among its "aims and objects" as follows:
- To study and propagate Buddhism
- To encourage, foster and develop the qualities of truth, compassion and to practise the teachings of the Buddha
- To arrange religious lectures wherever possible
- To print Buddhist literature
- To assist in the opening of religious schools and to render assistance to Buddhist organizations where necessary
- To render spiritual assistance/advice to members or any Buddhist in case of sickness and/or death
Even Venerable Dhammananda could not have envisaged the success of the BMS today. Using the Brickfields Temple (now known as the Buddhist Maha Vihara) as its base, working closely with SAWS, the BMS grew by leaps and bounds. It has been very effective in sponsoring the publication of numerous booklets and literature on Buddhism, many of them written by the Venerable himself. Popular titles by other well-known writers were also reprinted. Many of these publications are for free distribution while others are for same at a very nominal price in order to ensure that more people have the opportunity to read the Dharma. Another successful project is the 12-lesson "Buddhism for You" Correspondence Course which was launched in 1979. Within a year more than 500 students had registered for the course.
The BMS, under the spiritual guidance of Venerable Dhammananda, has targeted the younger generation in its many activities. Thus, a BMS Youth Section was established to organize activities for teenagers and those below 40 years, including the "Buddhism for Beginners" course for newcomers to the Dharma at the temple. A BMS Ladies Section has also been established to provide religious and welfare activities. He was instrumental in founding the Society's magazine "The Voice of Buddhism" which today is in its 33rd year of publication. It is distributed free to members as well as readers all over the globe, carrying articles relevant to Buddhism as well as reporting the activities of the BMS and SAWS in the Buddhist Maha Vihara.
Read more about this topic: K. Sri Dhammananda
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