Preface

This six-year plan is a long-term strategy formulated by the Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia (YBAM) for its development over the next six years, and it is the main development blueprint for the YBAM from 2023 to 2029. The forthcoming YBAM National Council (NC) will be obliged to actively execute the development directions as outlined in this Plan to realize the vision and mission of the YBAM as follows:

Vision：To develop a society of wisdom, compassion, and gratitude.

Mission：To unite the Buddhist youths and to inspire them in cultivating wisdom, compassion, and gratitude.

This six-year plan will be effective from the adoption by the 23rd Biennial National Convention in 2023, and it is expected to be replaced by the 9th Six Year Plan in 2029 through the 29th Biennial National Convention. The first year referred to in this plan is from July 2023 until June 2024, and so forth for the subsequent years.

Our Principles and Directions

The YBAM bears the responsibility and mission of propagating the Dharma, and hence will strike to adhere to the following principles:

(a) Persist in taking Dharma as our foundation and promoting the three major traditions of Buddhism including Theravada, Mahayana and Tibetan Buddhism.

(b) Persist in propagating Dharma in the community and guiding the public to learn the Dharma.

(c) Persist with both internal cultivation and external propagation of Dharma for the benefit of oneself and others.

(d) Persist with Buddhist youths leading the YBAM and building Malaysian Buddhism.

In the following six years, the YBAM will devote itself to the following development directions to realize our vision: to develop a society of wisdom, compassion and gratitude.

FIRST DIRECTION: SYSTEMATISING TRAINING

Designing targeted and phased training models and content that can be replicated by the YBAM internal, youths, member organizations and others to cultivate outstanding Buddhist talents with a sense of mission.

The target group of this direction will be the YBAM National Council, State Liaison Committees, Standing Committees, staff, committees and volunteers of various Buddhist organizations; as well as secondary school students, college students, teacher trainees and working youths.

SECOND DIRECTION: COMMUNITISING BUDDHISM

Buddhist organizations play a community role in the local area, such as organizing outreach activities and providing platforms for individuals from all walks of life, so that Buddhism can spread throughout the community and let the public be aware of the value and importance of Buddhism and Buddhist organizations.

The target group of this direction will be pre-schoolers, primary school students, secondary school students, college students, teacher trainees, working youths, middle-aged and elderly adults.

THIRD DIRECTION: TECHNOLOGIZING DHARMA PROPAGATION

This direction aims to apply new technology and new media to develop more creative and effective ways of propagating the Dharma. While breaking through geographical restrictions, it also diversifies propagation techniques; allowing more people to learn about Buddhism.

The target group of this direction will be Buddhist organizations and community members.

Organisational Structure and Target Service Groups

– Organizational Structure

The Eighth Six-Year Plan will be promoted and executed by the YBAM’s entire personnel appointed at the time, and supervised by the Eight Six-Year Plan Steering Committee.

The YBAM State Liaison Committees and Standing Committees both play an essential role as a communication bridge in the execution of the plan. They should not only convey the needs and issues of member organizations to the YBAM, but also promote and implement the YBAM’s ideas and related activities with them.

Therefore, the success of the plan depends on the effective coordination, communication and execution of each State Liaison Committee and Standing Committee.

Furthermore, the YBAM hopes that the internal operations will be strengthened through implementing the Eighth Six-Year Plan and thus carry out the plan more effectively.

Caring Approach

The Eighth Six-Year Plan will focus on the caring task for the Standing Committees, State Liaison Committees, member organizations, youths, etc. As a non-profit organization, the YBAM needs the dedication and commitment of many volunteers to promote the cause of Buddhism. Caring for volunteers is thus essential. It not only reflects the Buddhist spirit of compassion and gratitude, but also brings warmth and a sense of belonging to volunteers, establishing a sense of family among all. Caring can be conducted through different modes, such as phone calls, greeting messages and gatherings; to understand each others’ current conditions and provide appropriate assistance. The Eighth Six-Year Plan Steering Committee will look after the head of each Committee, while the head of each Standing Committee will take care of their respective members.

Supervision Methodology

The Eighth Six-Year Plan will be supervised by adopting the questionnaire survey method to collect and evaluate feedback. Questionnaires are designed to be simple, and according to the indicators of each goal. The Six-Year Plan Steering Committee will be responsible for designing questionnaires, submitting the designed questionnaires to the secretariat for review, as well as distributing the finalized questionnaires to the Standing Committees and State Liaison Committees; whom will use them to collect participant feedback. The collected data will be analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively to monitor and evaluate the plan’s overall effectiveness and make corresponding adjustments and modifications in due course.