Umbrella body consisting of Vajrayana Buddhist organizations in Malaysia
Vajrayana Buddhist Council of Malaysia|
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| Abbreviation | VBCM |
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| Formation | 1998 (Officially registered on 12 June 2002) |
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| Type | Umbrella council |
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| Legal status | Council |
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| Purpose | To represent the Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism interest in Malaysia. |
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| Headquarters | 36A (First Floor), Jalan 52/18, PJ New Town, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor |
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Region served | Malaysia |
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President | Chew Eng Ghee |
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Key people | Rev. K. Dhammaratana Thera (Chief High Priest Malaysia) |
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| Website | Official website |
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| Remarks | Vajrayana Buddhist Council of Malaysia on Facebook |
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The Vajrayana Buddhist Council of Malaysia (Malay: Majlis Penganut Buddha Vajrayana Malaysia; Chinese: 马来西亚金刚乘佛教总会; abbrev: VBCM) is a council or umbrella body consisting of member organizations which represents all Tibetan's Vajrayana Buddhism traditions in Malaysia. It also accepts individuals who are inclined towards Vajrayana Buddhism as associate members.[1]
The VBCM is a council body whereby Buddhist Societies from the four Tibetan Buddhist Traditions in Malaysia work together under one umbrella to coordinate the religious activities of Vajrayana Buddhists.[2]
The motto of the council is: "To Uphold the Unity, Harmony and Understanding among Vajrayana Buddhist Organisations in Malaysia."
Background information
In 1998, with the encouragement of the Malaysian Government, a Malaysian Buddhist Coordinating Committee (MBCC) was formed, consisting of several national Buddhist councils.[1]
At that time, there was no council representing the Vajrayana Buddhist organizations in Malaysia. Hence, a proposal to form a council representing Vajrayana Buddhist organizations was first mooted in 1998. The number of Tibetan-based Buddhist organizations also had increased and there was a need for a representation of the Vajrayana Buddhist Community in dealing with the Government and other Buddhist umbrella bodies.
After several years of discussion, a pro-tem committee was formed in April 2000. After many rounds of discussions, the formation of the VBCM was finally proposed with more encompassing aims.
The VBCM was included as a participating member of the Malaysian Buddhist Consultative Council (MBCC) from 2000.[3] Eventually, the VBCM was also recognized and registered by the Malaysian Registrar of Societies (RoS) on 12 June 2002. There were 20 founding member organizations in the VBCM.[1]
In 2008, VCBM supported the call by the Chief High Priest of Malaysia Rev. K. Dhammaratana Thera that politics should be kept out of the coming Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games[2] and has urge all its member organisations, all other Tibetan Buddhist Societies or Centers in Malaysia and the general public, not to disrupt the Olympic torch relay.[4]
