Our Team
The Buddhist Library and Meditation Centre expresses sincere gratitude to all the Board of Trustees, centre staff, volunteers, teachers and guest speakers for their gift of time and energy.
Board of Trustees
Paget Sayers (Chairman of Trustees, Retired Company Director)
Francis I. Murray (Vice Chairman of Trustees, Retired Marketing Executive)
Dr Chien Hoong Gooi (Trustee and Director of Operations, Clinical Psychologist)
Mark Cutler (Trustee, Retired Sales Director)
Peter Kingsford (Trustee, Airline Pilot)
Buddhist Library Staff Members
Rajeendra Perera
Marion Richards
Volunteers
Venerable Sister Sudhira
Yosepha Wong
Project Cambodia
Sydney
Dr Cecelia So (Dental Aid Coordinator, Dentist)
Leonard Cox (Country Advisor)
Cambodia
Hort Seila (Country Manager)
Kin Pheap (Assistant Country Manager)
Dr Kim Yon (Dental Clinic Manager)
Chhor Chinty (Water Tank Manager)
Suon Chanthuch (Education Coordinator)
Hiv Sovann (Dentist)
Say Timsan (Dentist)
Korn Sochetra (Water Tank)
Teachers
Bhante Tejadhammo
Bhante Tejadhammo is the Spiritual Director of the Association of Engaged Buddhists founded in 1993, and senior resident monk at Sangha Lodge, Sydney. Apart from giving Buddhist teachings, he also works with people who are seriously ill in various hospitals, hospices and their homes in and around Sydney. Bhante teaches and conducts regular retreats and is a founding member of the Australian Monastic Encounter, which seeks to promote inter-religious and inter monastic dialogue. Bhante has taught in Thai Universities and jails. He works with people who are seriously ill and dying as well as with prisoners seeking more skillful and beneficial ways to deal with their problems. He also offers teachings for many other Buddhist groups as well as Adult Education groups in Sydney and throughout Australia.
Dr Chien Hoong Gooi
Chien Hoong is a Clinical Psychologist and Buddhist teacher who seeks to integrate western psychology with the practices of Buddhist meditation. He was previously involved in clinical research applying mindfulness practices in the treatment of Generalised Anxiety Disorder at The University of Sydney and also served as the Buddhist Chaplain at the University of New South Wales. He is the Director of Operations and a Trustee of the Buddhist Library and Meditation Centre, a Management Committee member for the Australian Association of Buddhist Counsellors and Psychotherapists (AABCAP) and a regular guest speaker at various Buddhist groups in Sydney. Chien Hoong is currently in private practice and has a role in research and program development at The University of Sydney Counselling and Psychological Services.
Jim Teoh
Jim has been a Buddhist teacher for over fifteen years and was one of the initiators of the earliest structured Buddhist programs presented at the Buddhist Library. He has taught numerous Buddhist courses in various organisations, such as the Buddhist Council of NSW, Buddhist Library, Indonesian Buddhist Society of NSW and Bodhikusuma Buddhist and Meditation Centre. Jim is a regular speaker and meditation workshop facilitator at University Buddhist organisations. He is also trained as a Hospital Buddhist Chaplain.
Giles Barton
Giles Barton is a regular teacher at the Buddhist Library and a Director for Wat Buddha Dhamma at Wiseman’s Ferry. In addition to facilitating a number of retreats for young people, he has presented at the 2000 Australian Suicide prevention conference on a Buddhist approach to suicide prevention and contributed a chapter to the book ‘Spirited Practices’, based on people’s use of spirituality in the helping professions. Professionally Giles was one of the early tertiary trained nurse graduates who went on to specialise in Adolescent Psychiatry. He continues to work in the field of Infant, Child and Adolescent Mental Health as a Clinical Manager for local health services. Giles has a Postgraduate Diploma in child and adolescent development and a Masters in Behavioural Science (Distinction) for research into adolescent spirituality.
Grahame White
Grahame has been involved in Buddhist meditation practice for over 40 years. He began his study in England in 1969 before being ordained as a Buddhist monk for one year in BodhGaya, India in 1971. He took a primary role in the establishment of Vipassana meditation in the tradition of Mahasi Sayadaw in Australia and co-founded the Blue Mountains Insight Meditation Center. He currently leads introductory and day-long courses in Sydney and Wollongong, and also regularly teaches longer intensive retreats in the United States. Grahame has also helped pioneer a workshop format of teaching that enhances the transfer of mindfulness from the formal sitting practice into daily life. He teaches a classical tradition of insight meditation with a relaxed, accessible style.
Associate Teachers
Bhante Sujato
Bhante Sujato took his full ordination in 1994 as a bhikkhu at Wat Nanachat in Thailand. In 1996 he returned to Perth, and spent three years at Bodhinyana Monastery practising under Ajahn Brahm, who he considers his primary teacher. He left Bodhinyana in 1999 and spent three years in isolated hermitages in Malaysia and Thailand. In 2003, Bhante established Santi Forest Monastery, Bundanoon, and has overseen its development. As well as being a meditator and teacher, Bhante is a scholar of early Buddhism, with several books and essays of original and often groundbreaking research. He contributes to Buddhism in Australia through a wide variety of forums and organisations, including the Australian Sangha Association, Federation of Australian Buddhist Councils, Australian Partnership of Religious Organizations, and Australian Religious Response to Climate Change.
John Barclay
John Barclay is a lay teacher in the tradition of Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh. He leads the Wednesday evening Lotus Buds group, which is associated with a number of lay Thich Nhat Hanh sanghas in the wider Sydney region and with the “Entering the Stream” Monastery in Beaufort, Victoria. John began practicing with Lotus Buds in 1995. He received the Lamp Transmission from Thich Nhat Hanh in 2004. He is married and has four children.
Dr Susan Murphy, Roshi
Susan is the founding Zen teacher of Zen Open Circle, Sydney. She is also teacher for the Melbourne Zen Group, conducting a number of sesshin (7-day retreats) in both cities each year. She is the dharma heir of John Tarrant Roshi (Pacific Zen Institute) and Ross Bolleter Roshi (Diamond Sangha - Robert Aitken), in a lay lineage that draws Soto and Rinzai (koan) style of practice together. Susan is a writer, radio producer and film director, as well as teaching and mentoring writing in private consultation and occasional meditation and writing retreats. She taught film for many years at the University of Technology, Sydney, has co-written three books on film, and directs the annual Buddhist Film Festival in Sydney established in 2003. She also teaches embodied dreamwork and imagination for artists, therapists and actors with Dr Robert Bosnak.
Guest Speakers
John Barter
John is a Psychologist, Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, and the Director of WELL-AWARE-NESS. To his work John brings 30 years of continuous personal practice in Mindfulness and Mindfulness based Meditations. Of these John was for over 10 years a Buddhist monk of the Theravada Tradition, living and practicing in Forest Monasteries in Australia; in North ' East Thailand as a student of the well known Meditation Master Ajahn Chah; and in England and Europe with the senior Western disciples of Ajahn Chah. John has worked in Pain Management, consulting to the Pain Management Center of the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney. He is a regular guest speaker and presenter at a number of cancer support groups, and for three years was an Associate Lecturer- Faculty of Medicine at the University of New South Wales.
Jonathan Shearman
Jonathan’s journey with Dharma goes back to a visit to Sri Lanka as a child in the 1960’s where an encounter with Buddhist monastics left a strong impression. At University he studied Philosophy, Anthropology, Comparative Religion and Sanskrit, and discovered Vipassana Meditation. He attended several retreats at Wat Buddha Dhamma, formally took refuge in July 2007 and went on his first 10-day Vipassana Retreat in early 2008. In years past he has given courses in Buddhism at Warringah and Mosman Evening College. He is currently enrolled in the Master of Buddhist Studies course at the University of Sydney. Jonathan works as a technical writer and instructional designer for a professional services company on the North Shore.
Justin Luu
Justin's journey to Buddhism began at university, where he encountered the teachings of Venerable Mahinda at the University of Technology, Sydney's Buddhist Society. Subsequently he has also helped serve the youth Buddhist community in various ways including being a founding member of the Mitra Youth Buddhist Network, co-convenor of the 2007 Mitra Buddhist Conference and he currently serves as the Internal Vice President of Mitra. In his own practice Justin has attended many retreats abroad and locally.
Kok Hong Lau
Kok Hong encountered Buddhism during his time as a student through university Buddhist organisation. Since graduation he continued to be involved with various Buddhist events, youth community and temple group. He has subsequently developed an interest in personal practice and the application of Buddhism as a lay practitioner in a commercial environment. In recent years he began speaking in a number of workshops on Buddhism in between running a professional practice and raising a young family. Kok Hong is a Registered Architect and holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Sydney.
Rosiana Lim
Rosiana is an accountant by profession and a graduate from UNSW. She was previously actively involved in the UNSW Buddhist Society (Unibuds) as an Executive Committee member for two years. She was also responsible for coordinating the Buddhist talks at UNSW. Rosiana has particular interest in meditation and has attended various meditation retreats to deepen her experiential understanding of the Buddha's teachings
Tina Ng
A lawyer by profession, Tina brings the principles of Buddhist morality and practice into her interactions with people faced with criminal charges, family disputes, and children at risk of harm or abuse. She has also a real interest in educating the new generation to think widely and deeply about the life they lead. She has actively participated in the UNSW Buddhist Society during her study there, and is an active member of the Buddhist community generally. She has edited translations of Buddhist Books for Hwa Tsang Monastery, narrated in Sunnataram Forest Monastery's DVD's, and also appeared briefly on television talking about Religion & Sexual Morality.
Tuong-Vi Phan
Being an avid reader, Vi began reading Buddhist books as a teenager, just for fun. She grew up in a Vietnamese Buddhist family and although she went to temple and had an altar at home, her understanding of the dharma only deepened in her years at university where she joined Unibodhi, University of Sydney's Buddhist Society. She served on the Executive committee in various roles throughout University. Since graduating with a Bachelor of Pharmacy, she has helped MITRA Youth Buddhist Network in various capacities and is currently pursuing post-graduate studies in Creative Writing.
Zen Low
Zen came across Buddhism as a university student in New Zealand in 2001 and immediately felt an affinity to the teachings of the Buddha. He worked as a computer programmer and subsequently opened a restaurant business in his home country of Fiji. He attended his first Vipassana meditation retreat in New Zealand in 2008 and was immediately amazed by the immense benefits of combined Buddhist meditation practice and ethics. Since then, he has attended several extended meditation retreats in Australia and has organised two Vipassana courses in Fiji. His main interests include the application of Buddhism in daily life and in business and the propagation of the Buddha's teachings in the Pacific. He is currently completing his Masters of Professional Accounting at University of New South Wales and is a active member of the UNSW Buddhist Society.
