 HH the Dalai Lama and Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden at the Peaceful Land of Joy Meditation Centre
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The Tibetan Buddhist Society continues the Tibetan Buddhist tradition in the West. With centres in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane, the Society holds a variety of classes including instruction on how to meditate, Buddhist philosophy and advanced Vajrayana practices. The Tibetan Buddhist Society’s Melbourne property, the Peaceful Land of Joy Meditation Centre, is a beautiful, tranquil ten acre haven, with 2700 rose bushes in 400 varieties, 2500 trees, flowering courtyards and lake and bird life. |
The renowned Tibetan Buddhist master, meditator and scholar, Venerable Serje Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden, now 84, founded the Tibetan Buddhist Society in Australia in 1979. Geshe Loden (Geshe-la) trained as a monk from the age of seven. He left Tibet for India in 1959 after China invaded his country. To find out more please click here.
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DISCOVER PATHS TO HAPPINESS AT THE BUDDHIST SPRING FESTIVAL - 10am-5pm, 8 & 9 November 2008
Buddhism teaches that happiness depends solely on the state of our mind, rather than the events and circumstances of our lives. Meditation opens practitioners up to the world of the mind and helps transform the way we approach the world so our lives are happier, healthier and more peaceful and satisfying.
During the 18th Buddhist Spring Festival - hosted by the Tibetan Buddhist Society on the weekend of November 8 and 9 - Buddhist teachers will explain the benefits of meditation and offer insights from the rich traditions of Buddhist psychology.
Talks from Tibetan, Thai, Zen and other Buddhist teachers will take place in one of the only traditional Tibetan temples in the Southern Hemisphere, which was blessed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama during his 2002 Australian tour.
The talks provide a taste of Buddhist teachings on compassion, love, karma, enlightenment, impermanence, ethics and concentration. These themes – and especially the way that we can use them through the practice of meditation to change our personal experience – are more deeply explored in subsequent weeks during a Sunday afternoon introduction series.
More than 2,000 people are expected to take part in this community festival at the Tibetan Buddhist Society’s magnificent 10-acre property in Yuroke, located 30 minutes from Melbourne’s CBD. Alongside talks and guided meditations, the festival offers many activities - tranquil gardens to relax and explore thousands of roses in beautiful bloom, browsing at cosmopolitan market stalls, delicious vegetarian fare in an outdoor cafe and a photo exhibition.
A popular highlight of the festival is the non-denominational ceremony for world peace. At 12.00 noon on Saturday 8 November, Buddhist monks and nuns along with members of Christian denominations, political leaders and community representatives join together in prayers for world harmony and universal wellbeing. Festival visitors are encouraged to wander through the 10 acres of landscaped gardens, relax and enjoy the fragrance of 2000 rose bushes in 400 varieties. The gardens also feature tranquil lakes and more than 2500 trees including 23 Californian redwoods, 36 golden robinias, 31 olive trees and weeping mulberries.
Festival highlights include:
• Cosmopolitan market with hundreds of items including Tibetan and local handicrafts, Indian shawls, Thai jewellery, Tibetan and Nepalese blankets, kimonos, books, meditation cushions, bags, ornaments, candles, soaps, and incense;
• Garden tours with Venerable Tim McKibben providing explanations of the many rose varieties, the history of the centre and the art of companion planting and pesticide free cultivation;
• Temple tours explaining the significance of the religious and artistic treasures such as the 18 foot statue of Shakyamuni Buddha, constructed in Nepal;
• Delicious vegetarian food and home-made cakes in a delightful outdoor cafe; and
• Photographic exhibition showing the Tibetan culture in pre-1959 Tibet and giving an account of today’s exiled communities in India.
Entry to the Festival is $6. Children 12 and under are free. There is a facility charge for talks - $10 for one class, $15 for two and $20 for three or four classes per day. Temple tours are $5 and garden tours are free. All proceeds are donated to support the temple.
Introduction Series 1.30pm, Sundays
A new introductory series, Introduction to Meditation, will commence at the Tibetan Buddhist Society on Sunday 22 June from 1.30 - 3.00 pm. The series will be held in the traditional Tibetan temple in Yuroke.
The series will cover progressive stages of spiritual and mental development from the highly regarded text Meditations on the Path to Enlightenment by the Society’s Spiritual Leader, Venerable Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden.
During the series participants will learn about a range of different meditation techniques and how regular meditation can transform your life.
Meditation is a unique tool to help us cultivate a more peaceful and happier approach to life, reduce our negative thoughts and overcome unhelpful habits like anger and dissatisfaction.
Everyone has the capacity to meditate and therefore the ability to find better ways to interact with their family, at work and in any circumstances they encounter.
Learning to meditate is a skill. Step by step we can learn to relax more, understand how our mind works and gradually reveal a new way of observing, experiencing and engaging with the world.
Venerable Geshe Loden brought these excellent teachings to Australia after a lifetime of study and practice in Tibet and India.
Each class will incorporate a talk by an experienced teacher, guided meditation and question and answer session in the traditional Tibetan temple followed by afternoon tea. The facility charge is $10 or $5 concession, with proceeds to support the temple.
Tushita Publications
Venerable Serje Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden has published eight high quality Dharma books based on great Tibetan Buddhist lineage teachings. These books are published through the Society’s own publishing wing, Tushita Publications, and distributed throughout the world. For more information, please click here.
Extensive teaching programme
The Tibetan Buddhist Society supports the learning and practice of Buddhism through an extensive programme of weekly classes, residential retreats and book publishing.
New students start with the Introduction to Buddhist Meditation and Psychology course based on the introductory text Essence of the Path to Enlightenment composed by the centre’s founder and Spiritual Leader, Venerable Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden.
Those with some background in Buddhism or having completed the introductory course can attend the Path to Enlightenment classes on Sundays 4–5.30pm and the Views of Reality philosophy classes on Thursdays 7.30–9pm. More advanced vajrayana classes are held on Monday and Wednesday evenings. For more information, please click here here.
Highest Yoga Tantra Initiations (Yamantaka
and Vajrayogini) and Yamantaka Retreat
Tibetan Buddhist Society
1425 Mickleham Road, Yuroke, Victoria, 3063
(access via Cookes Road) Melways 385 J8
T: (03) 9333 1770 F: (03) 9333 3181 E: contact@tushita.org