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The abbot, Venerable Tsang Hui started his collection of all sorts of books, when he was in Taiwan. He brought his collection with him, when he arrived in Australia in 1977. These books then travelled around with him, wherever his temporary place of residence happened to be. When his room was too small, the books were stored in many boxes. Some of these boxes were then distributed to the homes of many university students, who were either his students, or his disciples. Venerable Tsang Hui has always had a great thirst for good books, old or new, Chinese or English, on any topic, as long as they are informative. But his greatest collection, of course, consists of Buddhist books.
If one accompanies the Venerable to his favourite bookstore, one will have great difficulty trying to get him out of there, until he fills the shopping trolley full of books. This does not mean that he is extravagant. He just cannot resist all the “good bargains” when it comes to books ! This is how the Hwa Tsang Monastery Library began.
For some years, the Venerable repeatedly asked his devotees to try and sort the books out systematically. But they just looked uncomfortably at the mountains of books, and then solemnly walked away “in deep thoughts !”
When Venerable moved into a townhouse in Greenacre in the early 1980's, the books gained some respectability, by being kept on book shelves. When the Monastery moved into the property in Homebush around 1986, the books also found a new home. These books almost lined every wall, of every room in the house. But they were still far from being organised. Despite that, they were available for borrowing. But it was not until Miss Lim Lee Leng returned from Singapore around 1991, that the books were classified into a more recognisable system, which could be truly called a library.
The Library moved to its present home, into the new buildings in 1992, but the Library Subcommittee was not formed until 1994. While the Main Temple Hall occupies the largest building in the new temple complex, the Library is the second largest. This reflects the relative importance of the Library, among all the activities of the Monastery.
Today, the Library holds what is easily the best collection of Chinese Buddhist texts in Australia. There is also a good collection of Buddhist texts in English, and there are books, and books, which cover every topic imaginable, both in English and Chinese.
Other than books, the Library also holds a great collection of audio cassette tapes containing Dhamma talks by some well-known Venerables. These are in Mandarin, Fukian, and Cantonese, with a small English collection. There are Dhamma talks on video tapes, as well as documentaries on the famous Buddhist temples in China. Audio tapes are available for borrowing.
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Each member may borrow up to a maximum of 4 books, 1 set of audio cassettes,
3 videos, and 1 CD/VCD at a time for 6 weeks. Only one extension for another 3
weeks is permitted. There is a fine for any item that is overdue.
The hours of the Library are as follows:
Monday to Friday 12.00 am to 2.00 pm
Saturday 5.30 pm to 9.30 pm
Sunday 10.00 am to 2.00 pm
The members of the Library Subcommittee for 2006 are;
Ms Patsy Chan (Chief Librarian)
Ms Donna Lam (Assistant)
Ms Connie Ma (Assistant)
Ms Jessica Gar (Assistant)
Ms Katherine Wong (Asssistant)
Ms Wanda Tong (Assistant)
Ms Rita Ku (Assistant)
Ms Ngoc La (Assistant)
There are also many other devotees helping to staff the Library from time to time.
Please note that as the library is within the Monastery compound, visitors should remove their shoes prior to entry.
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For 2548 years, the Sangha (monks and nuns) have memorised the Buddha’s teachings faithfully, and with utmost veneration. In monasteries throughout India and Asia, the teachings have been learned and recited in the original Pali, and later, Chinese languages. This has enabled the monks and nuns to practise wisely, and to find peace.
The Buddha’s Teachings were written down for the first time, in Pali, about 500 years after the Buddha’s Parinibbana. The Teachings were only translated into English around 1890.
The Buddha’s teachings come to us as the “Tipitaka”, which means “three baskets”. It is divided into three sections; (a) the Vinaya Pitika - the rules for the Sangha, (b) the Sutta Pitika - the talks and discourses of the Buddha, and (c) the Abhidhamma Pitika - the philosophy and psychology of Buddhism.
As the Tipitika is so large, - about 100 volumes, it is not translated and published as a continuous volume. This means you will need to look for titles of books covering the individual sutras, nikayas or agamas. You may also find Buddhist books in school, public, or university libraries under the Dewey Library classification of 294.3.
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