Honour … The Venerable Thich Phuoc Tan is being awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia. Picture: MATHIAS HENG.
BRAYBROOK’S Venerable Thich Phuoc Tan has been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours with a Medal of the Order of Australia.
The humble director and abbot of Braybrook’s Quang Minh Temple was yesterday acknowledged for his services to Buddhist and Vietnamese communities and for lending his support to a range of charities.
True to form, the 37-year-old believed the honour should be shared.
“I feel the work we have done here has been acknowledged and the honour should be received by my community as well because without them I could not have this honour anyway,” he said.
The medal is a far cry from Abbot Phuoc Tan’s introduction to the Australian way of life.
In 1980, an 11-year-old Phuoc Tan fled Saigon with his family and made it to Australia the following year as a refugee who could not speak English.
“We didn’t have much choice,” he joked. “Whoever gave us a home, we took it.”
Communication proved a barrier early on, and a young Phuoc Tan and his friends would debate over who would go and purchase movie tickets because they had trouble understanding – and being understood by – adults.
“We were saying ‘who is willing to go and purchase the tickets?’ even though we wanted to see the film so much. Eventually it was me who approached the ticket booth,” he said.
Abbot Phuoc Tan spent time in both Adelaide and Canberra before returning to Melbourne in 1996 to tend to the Vietnamese and Buddhist community in the West.
He is now president of the United Vietnamese Buddhist Congregation of Victoria and vice-president of the World Fellowship of Buddhists.
Abbot Phuoc Tan has also participated in a host of fundraising activities, including the Rotary Overseas Medical Aid for Children and the Lord Mayor’s Charity Fund.
He has also chaired the Maribyrnong All Faiths Network and took part in the revegetation of the Maribyrnong River Valley.
His on-going goal is to help bridge the gap between his community and the “mainstream” community.
“This community is very active – they believe and have faith in my ideas and leadership so we can do a lot and I hope that that will continue to grow,” Abbot Phuoc Tan said.
“We could narrow it down to one group or one activity, but my approach is more to have a good network and support one another and not only will that get the work done well, you can build up relationships and that’s a good investment for the future.”
Abbot Phuoc Tan will officially receive the medal at a state ceremony later this year.
