CITYZEN

Buddhist Wisdom, Friendship and Peace for Young Adults

About CITYZEN

CITYZEN is the Young Adults Group (18-35 years old) of The Buddhist Society of Victoria Inc., a non-for-profit organization. Established in 2016, CITYZEN provides young Buddhists a social platform to study Dhamma, practice kindness and join a network of people with similar interests.

CITYZEN Activities

The CITYZEN organises weekly activities for you! We have a combination of online and in-person meetings:

  • Every alternate week, we will have an online Dhamma discussion on a Thursday evening; and
  • Every other fortnight on Saturday afternoon there will be an in-person meeting. The in-person meeting can be in the form of Dhamma, Social and Volunteering activities. Find out more about them by clicking each tab below!

If you have any ideas, suggestions or topics you wish us to organise, please share them with us via this Idea Generator form

Dhamma activities are designed to introduce and develop your Buddhist wisdom. These activities can take place in the following forms:

Online Dhamma Discussion (Noble U)

This discussion is usually led by a monastic (monk or nun) on a Thursday evening. The discussions may be around sutta discussions, issues related to young adults, or stories about the Buddha’s life. If you have any topic you wish to discuss, please share your thoughts with us in the Idea Generator.

In-person Dhamma Discussion

If you can’t join our online discussion because of work or study, don’t worry! We have an in-person Dhamma discussion which usually takes place on a Saturday afternoon. We have invited a range of speakers such as:

  • Monastics (monks and nuns) including Ajahn Brahm and Ajahn Brahmali
  • Lay teachers including ex-monastics
  • Buddhist book writers
  • Other Buddhist young adults

From time to time we also organise a workshop hosted by one of the CITYZEN committees. Why not joining a fun-filled session and share your experiences with other like-minded friends!

And of course, after the sessions, we’ll have an afternoon tea or early dinner together to share and reflect on the discussion. 

Silent Meditation Retreat

What’s a better way to spend your weekend than staying in a monastery and meditating together with other young adults. In this annual retreat, you will observe noble silence to deepen your meditation practice. This is suitable if you who have not done any meditation retreat, but have understood how to meditate.

Learning the Buddha’s teaching can also be fun! This is where we organise the social activities, which are organised in-person. The activities can be in the form of:

Mindfulness activities

We believe you can practice mindfulness in many forms. To assist you in developing your habit to be mindful in your daily life, we organise several mindfulness activities such as mindful walking around the Dandenong Ranges, mindful cooking and yoga.

Games Day 

It’s time for us to test your knowledge about the triple Gems – the Buddha, the Buddha’s teachings (Dhamma), and the Buddha’s disciples (Sangha). Our Games Day can be in the form of an amazing race, an escape room type of activity, or even a treasure hunt.

Picnic and potluck

A peaceful and relaxing hangout activity where you can bring food and drinks to share with each other and exchange your opinions

Movie afternoon

Watch a movie together and reflect on the message which is related to the Buddha’s teachings!

Dhamma Days

Dhamma Days is an annual short, relaxing weekend stay at the Newbury Buddhist Monastery (NBM). There are activities organised for you to learn about the Buddha’s teaching, practice mindfulness, and make friends with other like-minded young adults.

Volunteering is part of our DNA since the beginning! As a CITYZEN member, you will join the many volunteering activities we have organised and been part of! Some of the examples are:

The BSV-NBM’s big events

The Buddhist Society of Victoria (BSV) and Newbury Buddhist Monastery (NBM) organise regular big events such as the Vesak celebrations, Robe Offering/Kathina, and other events. The CITYZEN members have actively been involved in participating on the day of the event such as joining the ushering team, fundraising booth team, and other exciting roles. If you wish to join the planning team, why not!

Other organisations’ events

Pre-COVID-19 we were active in assisting other organisations’ events. This includes the UN Vesak and International Day of Peace. We were also invited to represent the Buddhist youth in the multicultural events attended by other youths from different religions. 

Working bees at the monasteries around Victoria

We organise working bees for a few Buddhist monasteries as well as join working bees of other monasteries when they advertise their working bee activities. 

How To Join Us?

Easy, you can rock up to one of our weekly events! You can also become a member of the BSV to support our operations!

How to find out about our weekly events?

We will post information about our weekly events via:

  1. Instagram (@cityzen_bsv) and/or Facebook page: CITYZEN (https://www.facebook.com/cityzenbsv/
  2. Whatsapp Channel https://chat.whatsapp.com/GoyXM19X5Ha4eIizrxFEEY

 

What if I have more questions?

Please say hi and send your questions to cityzen@bsv.net.au

We look forward to meeting you at one of our weekly event!

"Life is what's happening while you're worrying."

- Ajahn Brahm
Membership Registration