Under zealous effort of the lay Buddhists and YBAM’s assistance, the Buddhist Society of Batu Pahat (BSBP) was established and officially registered in 1986.
The BSBP building was bought with the support of Dharma benefactors. It is located in the residential area of downtown. The main function of the building is to provide a venue for the Buddhists to organise Buddhist activities. 23 committee members are elected from the annual general meeting and they are responsible for managing the building and to plan for the events. The current BSBP chairperson, Bro. Kang Hin Peng, is an experienced leader of the Buddhist organisation.
BSBP is one of the YBAM member organisations. As an organisation established by lay Buddhists, BSBP’s objective is to promote and develop authentic Buddhism and to conduct charitable activities.
There are 12 groups in BSBP conducting various types of events. The most active groups are Dharma Practice Group, Tzu-Chi Group, Education Group, Chanting Group, Dharma Propagation Group and Voluntary Medical Consultation Group. In the early days, BSBP is the first organisation in the district which provided Buddhist funeral service. The service was subsequently changed to chanting service to promote Buddhist funeral. When the operation of the society is on track, BSBP bought a shop lot to operate as a clinic for voluntary medical consultation. It is a charitable clinic run by a qualified traditional Chinese physician.
In 2010, BSBP established the first Buddhist kindergarten in Batu Pahat. The kindergarten instills elements of Buddhist teaching into preschool learning. After that, BSBP started the Dharma class for primary school students, using the YBAM Primary School Buddhist Study Text as the teaching materials. BSBP also shows concern to the underprivileged community. Through the ‘Impoverished Family’ project, BSBP supports the communities in need by providing grocery and education subsidy and medical supplies.
BSBP organises regular Buddhist activities such as chanting, Group Dharma Practice, Dharma sharing, etc. During special ocassions, the society organises special events such as the Chinese New Year Dharma assembly, Memorial Puja, Blood Donation Campaign and Wesak Day Flower Parade, etc.
