Driving along Edensor Road and neighboring Bibbys Place on the border of Bonnyrigg and St Johns Park in the City of Fairfield, South Western Sydney, visitors pass through one of the most distinctive religious landscapes in Australia: within less than two square kilometers, Vietnamese, Lao, Cambodian, and Chinese Buddhist temples stand peacefully alongside Hindu, Islamic, and Christian houses of worship. At the heart of this multicultural corridor, at 148 to 154 Edensor Road, rises the graceful silhouette of a Vietnamese monastery with upturned tile eaves, a seven-story stupa towering above pine canopies, and an open-air Buddha garden raked with white gravel as still as a mirror.
This is Phap Bao Temple (Tổ đình Pháp Bảo, 法寶寺, Chùa Pháp Bảo), a celebrated monastery initiated in the early 1980s by the Most Venerable Thich Bao Lac, established on Edensor Road in St Johns Park and Bonnyrigg in 1984, and expanded to its full architectural scale between 1989 and 1993. For over four decades, it has served both as a sanctuary of Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhism and as an intellectual academy housing the Phap Bao Library, a bilingual publishing press, and the Phap Bao Vietnamese Language School.
IThe meaning of the Dharma Treasure and the scholar-monk founder Thich Bao Lac
Phap Bao Temple belongs to Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhism, transmitting the Linji Chúc Thánh (Lâm Tế Chúc Thánh) Chan lineage of central Vietnam (Quảng Nam and Đà Nẵng) in a synthesis of meditation, Pure Land devotion, and academic education. The central altar of the Main Hall enshrines Shakyamuni Buddha, flanked on the left and right by Manjushri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattvas together with Avalokiteshvara, Ksitigarbha, and Dharma Protectors. Across the outdoor meditation gardens and within the seven-story stupa are enshrined sacred relics of the Buddha, a statue of Vipassī Buddha (Tỳ Bà Thi Phật, the first of the Seven Buddhas of Antiquity), Amitabha Buddha, and ancestral patriarchs.
The name Phap Bao (法寶, Dharma-ratna, Treasure of the Dharma) designates the second of the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha). Whereas the Buddha Jewel is the awakened teacher and the Sangha Jewel is the noble community that sustains practice, the Dharma Jewel encompasses the entirety of the teachings, the truth of dependent origination, ethical discipline, and contemplative methods taught by the Buddha over forty-five years to transform suffering. Naming the monastery Phap Bao in Australia both honors the historic Pháp Bảo Pagoda in ancient Hội An (Quảng Nam Province, the founder's homeland) and embodies a commitment to scripture translation, library building, book publishing, and Vietnamese language instruction as vessels transmitting wisdom to younger generations born overseas.
The founder and intellectual architect of Phap Bao Temple is the Most Venerable Thich Bao Lac. According to official congregation records, he was born Lê Bảo Lạc in 1942 in Duy Xuyên District, Quảng Nam Province, and entered monastic life in 1957 at Linh Ứng Pagoda in the Marble Mountains (Non Nước, Ngũ Hành Sơn, Đà Nẵng) under Master Thích Trí Hữu, receiving the Dharma name Đồng An, style Thanh Nghiệp, and title Bảo Lạc. Ordained as a Bhikkhu in 1964 at Vietnam National Pagoda in Saigon, he was deeply involved in Buddhist student movements and co-founded the Huyền Trang Student Hostel and Temple in Saigon. In 1974 he traveled to Japan for university studies, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology of Religion from Komazawa University in Tokyo in 1980.
In early 1981, at the invitation of the Vietnamese Buddhist Association of New South Wales, Most Venerable Thich Bao Lac moved from Japan to Sydney. Combining classical Sino-Vietnamese Buddhist erudition with Japanese academic methodology, he authored and translated dozens of books on Buddhist philosophy, history, literature, and poetry in Vietnamese and English, founded the Phap Bao Journal (Đặc san Pháp Bảo) in 1982 as the first Vietnamese Buddhist cultural periodical in Australia, and served as President of the Executive Council of the Unified Vietnamese Buddhist Congregation of Australia and New Zealand.
Visitors looking up the address of Phap Bao Temple often notice that some official documents place the monastery in St Johns Park while many community guides and cultural maps place it in Bonnyrigg. In fact, the property at 148 to 154 Edensor Road lies directly along the suburban boundary dividing St Johns Park (north of Edensor Road) from Bonnyrigg (south and southwest, where Fairfield City's cluster of Asian temples is concentrated). Both designations, Phap Bao Temple St Johns Park and Phap Bao Temple Bonnyrigg, refer to the exact same monastery on Edensor Road.
IIFrom a temporary house in Lakemba to a listed cultural heritage landmark in Bonnyrigg
Spanning more than four decades, the history of Phap Bao Temple illustrates the cultural perseverance of the Vietnamese community in South Western Sydney, transforming an empty suburban allotment into a heritage-listed religious and educational complex recognized by New South Wales authorities.
- 1981Establishment of the Phap Bao congregation in Lakemba and Youth FamilyIn early 1981, Most Venerable Thich Bao Lac arrived in Sydney from Japan, established a temporary shrine in Lakemba, officially named it Phap Bao Temple on Prince Siddhartha's Renunciation Day, and founded the Phap Bao Buddhist Youth Family in August 1981.
- 1982Launch of the Phap Bao Journal (Đặc san Pháp Bảo)The temple published the inaugural issue of Đặc san Pháp Bảo, pioneering Vietnamese-language Buddhist literary and scholarly publishing on the Australian continent.
- 1983 to 1984Founding of the permanent site on Edensor Road (St Johns Park - Bonnyrigg)After securing a nearly 4,000-square-meter parcel on Edensor Road through the NSW Housing Commission, Most Venerable Thich Bao Lac and devotees began construction in 1984 of Australia's first purpose-built Vietnamese Buddhist temple.
- 1989 to 1993Major expansion of the Main Hall, 7-story Stupa, and Vietnamese SchoolBeginning in 1989, the monastery undertook a comprehensive architectural expansion, completing the Main Hall, Library, and Vietnamese Language School and holding the grand ceremony enshrining Buddha relics in the 7-story stupa during the Vu Lan festival of 1993.
- 2000Inscription on the Fairfield City and NSW Cultural Heritage registersRecognizing its pioneering historical role and architectural synthesis of Vietnamese Mahayana, Japanese Zen, and Australian suburban design, Phap Bao Temple was listed on local and state cultural heritage inventories in 2000.
- 2000s to presentGenerational succession and monastic network expansionMost Venerable Thich Bao Lac established the Da Bao Forest Monastery in regional NSW and passed day-to-day abbacy of Phap Bao Temple to younger monastics including Venerable Thich Pho Huan and Venerable Nun Thich Nu Giac Anh.
When reviewing historical sources on the founding date of Phap Bao Temple, the library notes three complementary milestones recorded in different archives. First is 1981, when the congregation and the name Phap Bao were formally established at the temporary house in Lakemba. Second is 1984, when Most Venerable Thich Bao Lac relocated the temple to the nearly 4,000-square-meter site on Edensor Road (St Johns Park and Bonnyrigg) and erected the initial purpose-built sanctuary recognized in New South Wales heritage registers. Third is the period from 1989 to 1993, when the expanded Main Hall, the seven-story relic stupa, the outdoor statue garden, the Phap Bao Library, and the Vietnamese Language School classrooms were constructed and consecrated during the Vu Lan season of 1993.
IIIVietnamese-Japanese architectural harmony, the 7-story Stupa, Library, and Vietnamese School
Set on an allotment of approximately 4,000 square meters along Edensor Road, Phap Bao Temple has drawn wide interest from Australian architectural historians for its refined fusion of traditional Vietnamese Buddhist architecture (upturned eaves, triple gate, and twin dragons flanking the Dharma wheel akin to central Vietnamese pagodas and Vinh Nghiem Pagoda) with Japanese Zen aesthetics (reflecting the founder's six years of study in Tokyo, expressed through raked white gravel gardens, stone lanterns, koi ponds, and wide timber-framed verandas) integrated into an Australian suburban setting.
Entering through the Triple Gate, the spatial sequence moves smoothly from active community areas to quiet contemplation: at the front and side lie the open-air Buddha statue garden, the Avalokiteshvara lotus pond, and the seven-story stupa, at the center stands the Main Buddha Hall, and to the rear and wings stand the meditation hall, Phap Bao Library, multipurpose hall, and classroom wing of the Phap Bao Vietnamese Language School.
Built with traditional terracotta-orange upturned eaves paired with wide verandas and natural-light timber-and-glass doors inspired by Japanese Zen temples. The serene interior enshrines a lofty statue of Shakyamuni Buddha upon a lotus pedestal, framed by parallel couplets and horizontal boards composed in Chinese and Vietnamese by Most Venerable Thich Bao Lac.
Rising prominently within the temple grounds is an octagonal seven-story stupa with curved eaves hung with bronze wind chimes at every tier. Completed and consecrated with the enshrinement of sacred relics of the Buddha and holy monks during the Vu Lan festival of 1993, the stupa serves as the vertical landmark of Edensor Road.
The meditation garden beside the Main Hall is landscaped as a tranquil spiritual park with white gravel beds, natural boulders, podocarpus pines, and a water-lily pond. Enshrined outdoors are statues of Vipassī Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha delivering the Dharma, and Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva standing upon a lotus above the water.
One of the monastery's crowning institutions is the Phap Bao Library, housing thousands of volumes of the Chinese, Vietnamese, and English Tripitaka, dictionaries, Vietnamese history and literature collections, and a complete run of the Phap Bao Journal published since 1982. It serves as an open research resource for lay practitioners, university students, and scholars of Buddhism in Australia.
Operating continuously since the early 1980s and expanded into permanent classrooms between 1989 and 1993, the Phap Bao Vietnamese Language School and the Phap Bao Buddhist Youth Family (founded in August 1981) have taught Vietnamese reading and writing, traditional music, and filial ethics to thousands of second- and third-generation youth in Sydney.
| Feature | Specification and date | Reference sources |
|---|---|---|
| Origin of temple name | 1981 in Lakemba (named after the historic Pháp Bảo Pagoda in Hội An) | Phap Bao Temple (phapbao.com.au), Quang Duc |
| Establishment on Edensor Road | 1983 to 1984 on a nearly 4,000-square-meter allotment | Phap Bao Temple archives, Fairfield City Heritage |
| Expansion and 7-story Stupa | Expanded from 1989, relic stupa consecrated in Vu Lan 1993 | Phap Bao Temple chronicles, Quang Duc Web |
| Cultural publication | Phap Bao Journal (launched 1982, first Vietnamese Buddhist magazine in Australia) | Phap Bao Library (phapbao.com.au) |
| Heritage listing | Fairfield City and NSW Cultural Heritage Inventory (listed 2000) | Fairfield City Local Environmental Plan Heritage |
| Satellite coordinates | 33.8770° S, 150.8814° E | OpenStreetMap (148-154 Edensor Rd, St Johns Park / Bonnyrigg) |
IVThe lie of the land and the facing
Mahayana Buddhism holds that wherever ethical conduct, meditation, and the Dharma are practiced, that ground becomes a pure sanctuary without reliance on fortune-telling geomancy. Even so, examining the setting of Phap Bao Temple within the geography of South Western Sydney through the library's traditional landform lens reveals a noteworthy convergence of natural and human topography.
Across the terrain of the Fairfield basin in South Western Sydney (coordinates 33.8770° S, 150.8814° E), Phap Bao Temple occupies a level, well-drained rise along Edensor Road cradled between two natural watercourses: Orphan School Creek to the north and east, and Cabramatta Creek to the south. In classical water-method landform reading, land embraced by two streams that curve eastward before joining the Georges River forms a pattern of two waters converging at the source (lưỡng thủy giao nguyên), sustaining a mild microclimate and lush gardens across Bonnyrigg and St Johns Park.
The main facade and Triple Gate open south-southwest onto Edensor Road, while the rear of the monastery rests securely against the quiet residential blocks of St Johns Park to the north. From a human-landscape perspective, the Bonnyrigg - Edensor Road corridor was designated by Fairfield City Council as a dedicated Places of Worship Precinct, where within a few hundred meters of Phap Bao Temple stand the Lao Wat Phrayortkeo, the Cambodian Wat Khemarangsaram, the Chinese Mingyue Lay Buddhist Temple, and neighboring churches and shrines. This gathering of sacred precincts along a single ridge generates a calm, contemplative atmosphere across the entire Edensor Road corridor.
VAnnual festivals, meditation retreats, and Phap Bao Buddhist Youth activities
Major religious festivals at Phap Bao Temple follow the Vietnamese Lunar Calendar, interwoven with weekly educational and youth programs of the Phap Bao Vietnamese Language School and Buddhist Youth Family running on the New South Wales Gregorian school calendar.
| Date (calendar system) | Festival or program | Ritual and cultural content |
|---|---|---|
| New Year's Eve to 3rd day of the 1st month (Lunar calendar) | Lunar New Year's Eve and Tết Nguyên Đán | New Year peace-prayer chanting, greetings to senior monastics, lion dances by the Phap Bao Buddhist Youth Family, release of the Spring issue of the Phap Bao Journal, and New Year blessings. |
| 8th day of the 2nd month (Lunar calendar) | Prince Siddhartha's Renunciation Day and Temple Anniversary | Commemoration of the day Phap Bao Temple received its name in 1981, featuring Dharma talks and community gatherings. |
| 15th day of the 4th month (Lunar calendar) | Vesak (Buddha's Birthday) | Bathing the Buddha ceremony, lotus lantern procession, Buddhist book exhibitions at the Phap Bao Library, and youth cultural performances. |
| 15th day of the 7th month (Lunar calendar) | Vu Lan Filial Piety Festival and Relic Stupa Anniversary | Rose-pinning ceremony honoring parents, robe offering, and circumambulation of the 7-story stupa commemorating the 1993 relic enshrinement. |
| Every Saturday and Sunday (Gregorian calendar) | Phap Bao Vietnamese Language School, Youth Family, and Retreats | Multi-grade Vietnamese language classes, Phap Bao Buddhist Youth Family meetings, bilingual Dharma study, and regular chanting and meditation sessions. |
A cherished hallmark of Phap Bao Temple over four decades is that during Lunar New Year (Tết) and Vesak, alongside the resonance of the Prajna drum and lion dances performed by youth members, devotees visiting the temple receive newly printed Dharma books and the seasonal issue of the Phap Bao Journal as a gift of scholarship. Through this union of sanctuary, library, and language school, families across Cabramatta, Bonnyrigg, Canley Heights, and Liverpool have remained connected to Phap Bao Temple across three generations.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Getting there
- Located at 148 to 154 Edensor Road, Bonnyrigg (bordering St Johns Park), about 4 kilometers northwest of Cabramatta town center. From Cabramatta Station or Canley Vale Station, visitors can take bus route 807 or the T80 Liverpool-Parramatta T-Way bus to the Bonnyrigg stop near Edensor Road and walk 5 to 7 minutes.
- Coordinates
- -33.877, 150.8814
When visiting Phap Bao Temple on Edensor Road, please wear modest, respectful clothing and remove your shoes before entering the Main Buddha Hall and the Phap Bao Library. While walking through the open-air Buddha statue garden and around the seven-story stupa, please step quietly, avoid treading on the raked white gravel meditation beds, and do not pick lotus flowers from the pond. Visitors wishing to consult books in the Phap Bao Library or enroll children in weekend Vietnamese language classes may inquire at the temple office on weekends.
Nearby places in the library
VIIContribute To This Page
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?Quick Questions
Who founded Phap Bao Temple in Sydney and when was it built?
Phap Bao Temple was founded by the Most Venerable Thich Bao Lac, an eminent scholar-monk and graduate of Komazawa University in Tokyo. The congregation began in 1981 in Lakemba, moved to the Edensor Road site in St Johns Park and Bonnyrigg in 1984, and underwent major construction from 1989 to 1993, culminating in the consecration of the 7-story relic stupa and educational complex.
Why does Phap Bao Temple's architecture blend Vietnamese traditions with Japanese Zen elements?
Founding Abbot Thich Bao Lac grew up and ordained in central Vietnam (Quảng Nam and Đà Nẵng) and later studied for six years at Komazawa University in Tokyo (graduating in 1980). In designing Phap Bao Temple, he combined traditional Vietnamese upturned tiled roofs with wide timber verandas, raked white gravel gardens, and koi ponds inspired by Japanese Zen monasteries.
What role has Phap Bao Temple played in preserving Vietnamese language and Buddhist literature in Australia?
Since 1981 and 1982, the temple has operated the Phap Bao Buddhist Youth Family, the Phap Bao Vietnamese Language School, and the Phap Bao Library, launched the Phap Bao Journal (Australia's first Vietnamese Buddhist cultural periodical), published dozens of bilingual Vietnamese-English books, and educated thousands of Vietnamese-Australian students.
What is distinctive about the neighborhood surrounding Phap Bao Temple in Bonnyrigg?
Edensor Road and the adjoining streets in Bonnyrigg (Fairfield City) form one of Australia's most notable multi-faith precincts, where Vietnamese, Lao, Cambodian, and Chinese Buddhist temples stand alongside Christian churches and other houses of worship. Phap Bao Temple itself was inscribed on the local and state cultural heritage inventory in 2000.
What is enshrined inside the 7-story stupa at Phap Bao Temple?
The octagonal seven-story stupa with upturned eaves in the courtyard of Phap Bao Temple enshrines sacred relics of Shakyamuni Buddha and eminent monks, consecrated during a grand relic-enshrinement ceremony in the Vu Lan season of 1993.