CHENREZIG - TIBETAN DEITY OF COMPASSION

Chenrrezig is the name of the Instiute & the embodiment   of a thousand arms of compassion.


Chenrezig Buddhist Institute is located in the hinterland of the beautiful Sunshine Coast. It is the largest of its kind in the Western world. In 2011, the Dalai Lama honoured the institute by formerly opening & blessing the "Garden of Enlightenment', a decorative garden of stupas & shrines built by the residents & volunteers of Chenrezig over many years.

I first visited there years ago when attending a weekend course "Buddhism in a Nutshell.' l had been rostered off for the weekend & saw it as a sign from the gods. Chenrezig is not so easy to find & l got lost. After arriving late & stressed, l quickly ran up the hill & steps from the carpark to the gompa. My attempt to sneak in to the class that was already in meditation, was marred by my breathless panting, amplified in the silence. Very unholy! Who would have thought that the path to spiritually would be so steep & physically exhausting?

The facilitating nun was a Canadian olympic rower & claimed that because of  years of sitting in a boat, she did not feel discomfort in sitting for long periods in meditation. It was explained that Buddhism was centred around the teachings of the Four Noble Truths. The first one being, 'Life is Suffering.' Thinking that it sounded like a negative start to a religion, or rather philosophy, l voiced my opinion, and a debate began. The word 'dukkha' can also mean dissatisfaction, l just thought 'suffering' was a bit harsh. Buddhism encourages debate & Buddha was a convincing debater, of course. He told his students to question everything and to never accept anything on blind faith.
Sure enough in the many years since, life has proved to me that life CAN be suffering. And through the practices & teachings of Buddhism, we can release ourselves of the pain.

For 37 years, those involved with Chenrezig were planning, praying & contemplating, the coming of His Holiness. Established in 1974 after two Tibetan monks conducted a one month meditation course. About 150 acres of an arid pineapple farm were donated & now the institute has grown into a lush tropical retreat. A well respected place of learning, it offers a large variety of classes, short courses & indepth extended courses. Not just a place of learning, it is also a peaceful place to spend the day, or a few days or just a class in meditation. There is an excellent eccletic library & the Big Love cafe serves up delectable vegetarian meals every day. And the best chai & brownies on the coast.

It is the home of a large community of monks & nuns, also a Tibetan Lama and many students & volunteers. An exceptional opportunity to study there, is to volunteer. For exchange for about 30 hrs work a week, the institute offers accommodation, meals & access to classes. At least one month's commitment is required. Or day volunteering is available which is what l do. One day a week in the kitchen, when l'm home, learning more about vegetarian cooking, learning about Buddhism and making good friends from all walks of life from all over the world.

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