Malaysian Vajrayana

The Vajrayana Buddhist Council of Malaysia, or VBCM in short, is a council or umbrella body consisting of member organizations which represents all Vajrayana Buddhist traditions in Malaysia. It also accepts individuals who are inclined towards Vajrayana Buddhism as associate members.

The VBCM is a council body whereby Buddhist Societies from the four Tibetan Buddhist Traditions in Malaysia work together under one umbrella to co-ordinate the religious activities of Vajrayana Buddhists.

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.

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. At the same time, the number of Tibetan-based Buddhist organizations 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 MBCC from 2000. Eventually, the VBCM was also recognized and registered by the Malaysian Registrar of Societies on 12 June 2002. There were 20 founding member organizations in the VBCM.