Land bought for monastery

The Buddhist Society of WA has purchased 65ha of land in Elleker to build the first monastery in the Great Southern region.

Head monk Neil Proudfoot, known as Venerable Mudu, last week confirmed the purchase of the land which is situated at 280 Elleker-Grasmere Road in Albany.

“Although plans for a new meditation hall, huts for the monks and other buildings will happen gradually over time, more important is first to grow with the local community and our new neighbours,” he said.

“Development of a weekly schedule of free meditation teachings at venues in town is already under construction and will be announced shortly.”

Venerable Mudu said he was excited to serve at Bodhiyana Great Southern monastery.

He looked forward to getting to know his neighbours.

“We will start with humble beginnings — just a patch of bush, a house, and a water tank — then grow slowly with the community and neighbours before even considering the construction of new monastery buildings,” he said.

During his last trip to Albany, Venerable Mudu visited Albany Regional Prison, Albany’s Senior Citizens Hall and Albany Health Campus, where he organised a meditation at the Acute Psychiatric Unit.

On July 6 and 7, the monks will be cleaning up the area around the property to prepare the area for the first “Entry to Rains” ceremony.

“Our planned move-in date is Saturday, 29th June and I look forward to saying hello to every one of you when you get the chance to come and visit,” he said.