After taking Refuge in the Triple Gem on the Holy Day of Vesak, May, 1953, Graeme Lyall served as Secretary of the Buddhist Society of New South Wales from 1953 until 1956. In 1982, he founded the Sydney University Buddhist Society, now known as UNIBODHI, and served as its President until 1986. In 1984, he served a short ordination as a novice monk at the Brickfields Temple, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. From 1986 until 1992, he was President of the Australian Buddhist Mission under its Spiritual Director, Venerable Mahinda. From 1992 until 1994, he was Founder Director of the Buddhist Library and Meditation Centre. From 1997 until the present he is a Committee Member of the World Conference of Religions for Peace (WCRP) New South Wales Chapter.Graeme Lyall was Chairman of the Buddhist Council of New South Wales from 1985 until 2006. Since 2001, he has been a Member of the Executive Council of the World Fellowship of Buddhists, President of the Amitabha Buddhist Association of New South Wales under the spiritual guidance of Venerable Master Chin Kung AM, since 2001 and is the current Chairman of the University Buddhist Education Foundation, which funds Buddhist Studies at the University of Sydney. He is also the Buddhist Chaplain at Parklea, Dilwynia and John Moroney Gaols, teaching inmates meditation and Buddhist philosophy. Having been practicing Buddhism since 1953, he is the oldest surviving Australian Buddhist from this era. He has represented Australia at many international Buddhist conferences and was awarded the Award for Volunteering by the Community Relations Commission for a Multicultural New South Wales in 2001, the Membership of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2002 and the Centenary Medal in 2003.
Among his publications are: Ethnic Buddhists in New South Wales in Atta, Abe(Wade) Ed. Religion and Ethnic Identity – An Australian Study: Vol.3, Richmond, Spectrum, 1990
Buddhism: Australia’s Reaction to a New Phenomenon in Without Prejudice, No.7, April 1994, Melbourne, Australian Institute of Jewish Affairs.
The King Asoka: The Idealistic Leader of Buddhists in WFB Review, Vol.XXXI, No.4, Oct.-Dec., 1994, Bangkok, World Fellowship of Buddhists.
Religion, Racism and Tolerance in Without Prejudice, No.8, April 1995, Melbourne, Australian Institute of Jewish Affairs.
The Rise of the Mahayana in WFB Review, Vol.XXXII, No.1, Jan.-March., 1995, Bangkok, World Fellowship of Buddhists.
Exploring Religion Beck, Margie, Tatz, Pam, Lewin, Ruth (Eds.) 1997, Melbourne, Oxford University Press (Graeme Lyall is the author of the main chapter on Buddhism and sections of several other chapters on cross-religion studies)Second Edition Published 2000
Some other articles appear on his website: http://www.buddhismaustralia.org/articles.htm
