“Anger is the ultimate destroyer of your own peace of mind.” His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama of Tibet For many people anger or any of its siblings – frustration, impatience, annoyance and irritation, exasperation or touchiness – represent giant hurdles to sustaining any form of peace and happiness. Tibetan Buddhism offers a myriad of tools and techniques to create more happiness and reduce suffering in ours and others’ lives. One of the most accessible and clear practices is how to deal with anger by developing patience. Learning how to develop patience can potentially bring quick relief and ..read more

Pictorial coverage of some of many recent events at the Tibetan Buddhist Society Special teachings with Lama Zopa Rinpoche, pictured above and below, in January including the Three Principal Paths and the Green Tara and White Tara initiations. In early January a New Year garden luncheon, was held to celebrate the start of the traditional Australian new year. Volunteers, Parama (left) and Lisa (right), kindly prepared a delicious Bengali feast. The annual pilgrimage by Vietnamese Buddhists was early this year. About 500 pilgrims from our friends at Quang Minh Temple in Braybrook in early Febr ..read more

by Michael Joseph These photographs were primarily taken by Michael Jospeh, who bought a new camera to carefully record these historic first meetings with Loden Rinpoche, the reincarnation of our founder and holy spiritual guide, Venerable Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden. They are presented chronologically from the first meeting with Tibetan Buddhist Society representatives from Australia. Day one – Saturday 24 February 2024 (click here for day two) Arriving in McLeod Ganj from the bus trip welcomed by Ven Manikam (left) and my new guardian, Geshe Penpa Immediately presenting katas Looking intentl ..read more

by Nick Sleeman It is of course very difficult to choose a favourite section of Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden’s Path to Enlightenment in Tibetan Buddhism. Everything is a special teaching, everything a blessing.  I have selected the section on the four immeasurables (pp152 –154), which follows on from a beautiful meditation visualising Shakyamuni Buddha and the field of merit. Having taken refuge and generated bodhicitta, the conventional mind of enlightenment, Geshe-la writes:  “Having generated bodhicitta, we now further prepare the mind by meditating on the four immeasurables ..read more

by Martin Horan One of the most unusual and intriguing traditions within Tibetan Buddhism is that of the identification of reincarnated lamas.  Where a renowned lama passes away, in some cases a child may later be identified as the reincarnation of that lama.  As they mature, the child identified as the reincarnation may continue the Dharma activities of their predecessor.  Probably the best-known example of this tradition is that of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.  His Holiness is considered to be the latest incarnation of a lineage of Dalai lamas extending back to the 1 ..read more

by Ven Cathy Evans As a student of Tibetan Buddhism, I’ve always been a volunteer. I first came to classes in 1985 and moved into the centre shortly afterwards.   Both my parents were community minded and volunteered for the wonderful educational institutions my siblings and I attended. Our family home was full of handmade toys and dolls clothes made for sale at school fetes. This was in the post war years when toys were scarce. It was natural for me to think later of volunteering for the Dharma.  As a young child I would spend time every day making offerings from the garden to ..read more

by Ven Anna Goldstein “Anger is the ultimate destroyer of your own peace of mind.”  His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama of Tibet  For many people anger or any of its siblings – frustration, impatience, annoyance and irritation, exasperation or touchiness – represent giant hurdles to sustaining any form of peace and happiness.   Tibetan Buddhism offers a myriad of tools and techniques to create more happiness and reduce suffering in ours and others’ lives.   One of the most accessible and clear practices is how to deal with anger by developing patience. Learning ho ..read more

by Tim McKibben Love is such an evocative word. Throughout the ages countless poems and songs have been written about it. In many cultures, it’s seen as essential for spiritual growth, and deep down most of us want to know love.   However, often the ‘love’ referred to in literature isn’t love! The word ‘love’ is perplexing because it is used to refer to a variety of different emotions, such as intense desire, liking, affection and caring. For example, you can say I love my children, salt on my chips, or a movie star.  The Buddha cuts through this confusion, explaining that desir ..read more

The Peaceful Land of Joy rose gardens are open to visitors this Saturday 13 April from 10 am to 1 pm. Come and enjoy the glorious autumn blooms of the newly renovated temple gardens. Over 130 new bushes have been added to the collection and they’re all in flower. Why not drop by, wander around, and say hello to the garden volunteers, who will be out tending the 10 acre garden, and will be happy to have a chat and answer any questions you might have. We look forward to seeing you! The Tibetan Buddhist Society is located at 20 Cookes Road, Yuroke – five minutes west of Craigieburn, 15 mins ..read more

by Michael Joseph Loden Rinpoche meeting His Holiness the Dalai Lama for the hair cutting ceremony Since April 2018, and with the guidance of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist Society has been searching for Loden Rinpoche, the reincarnation of Sera-Je Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden.   Geshe Penpa, a student of Geshe Loden’s and resident at Loden Labrang in Sera Monastery, has been instrumental in the search, visiting Ladakh on four occasions. Loden Rinpoche was formally acknowledged by His Holiness in June 2023.  Loden Rinpoche with his guardian, Geshe Pe ..read more