About
WACANA 2025 is the sixth in its series, the fifth was organised on July 2017.
This year's WACANA is scheduled to be held on Saturday, 20 December 2025 at Menara KEN TTDI, Kuala Lumpur.
Awakening to Community Well-being: Contemporary Approaches
In an age increasingly shaped by urban living and rising individualism, traditional communal values are gradually eroding. This shift often results in the decline in mental resilience and overall well-being. The timeless teachings of the Buddha offer profound solutions to these challenges. In the seminal Dhammapada verse 183, the Buddha described the path of training as “avoiding the unwholesome, cultivating the wholesome, and purifying the mind”.
Most Buddhist organisations conduct programmes that contain elements of the first two but may lack the aspect of “purifying the mind”, resulting in an imbalance in Dhamma practice. Modern audiences also often find it difficult to connect with institutionalised religious structures, and Buddhist organisations may struggle to present the Dhamma in ways that are accessible, relevant, and transformative.
This conference therefore seeks to explore how Buddhist principles taught in Dhammapada verse 183 can meaningfully guide community well-being and development through the holistic practice of all three principles:
WACANA 2025 is convened to achieve these objectives:
- 1 To address the disconnected approaches in effectively bringing the Buddha's teachings to the community.
- 2 To inspire adoption of a holistic, practice-driven Buddhist way of life that results in personal and communal well-being.
- 3 To affirm the teachings of Dhammapada verse 183 (avoiding the unwholesome, cultivating the wholesome, and purifying the mind) as a complete framework for Dhamma practice.