Drol Kar Buddhist Centre
| Drol Kar Buddhist Centre | |
|---|---|
 | |
Drol Kar Buddhist Centre | |
| Information | |
| Tradition/Linage | Tibetan, Gelug |
| Main School | Vajrayana |
| People | |
| Teacher(s) | BUORG-Names::Names::Venerable Jampa Drolma |
| Director(s) | BUORG-Names::Names::Venerable Geshe Sonam Thargye |
| Contact Infotmation | |
| Address | 625 Nortons Road Paraparap Victoria 3240 Australia |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | service=google }} {{#geocode:625Nortons RoadParaparapVictoriaAustralia|format=float|service=google}} service=google }}The "_geo" type of this property is invalid |
| Map | {{#display_map:{{#geocode:625Nortons RoadParaparapVictoriaAustralia}}|height=250px|width=250px|zoom=18}} |
| Phone | Phone::03 52661788 |
| Website | Website::http://www.drolkarbuddhistcentre.org.au/ "Website" has not been listed as valid URI scheme. |
| Email::drolkarbuddhistcentre@hotmail.comURIs of the form "Email::drolkarbuddhistcentre@hotmail.com" are not allowed. | |
Drol Kar Buddhist Centre
Drol Kar Buddhist Centre is a picturesque meditation and retreat centre approximately one and a half hours south-west of Melbourne, and only minutes away from the seaside towns of Anglesea and Torquay, the world renowned Bells Beach and the Great Ocean Road. Set in seven and a half acres of charming gardens and bushland, the Centre offers a variety of programs in the Tibetan Mahayana Buddhist tradition including philosophy and meditation classes and retreats.
Drol Kar Buddhist Centre welcomes visitors for participation in the Centre’s programs, individual meditation, walks in the garden, and private consultations (by appointment only). The Centre is open to visitors between 10.00am and 4.00pm on weekdays and weekends. At other times visitors are requested to phone ahead on 52661788 to arrange a visit.
All visitors are requested to make their presence known to the residents before going to the gompa or the garden.
History
Drol Kar Buddhist Centre’s very existence today is greatly attributable to the generosity and kindness of Geshe Sonam Thargye.
A group of Tibetan Buddhist students who were regularly meeting in Barwon Heads met Geshe Sonam through Geshe Sonam’s sponsor when he resided at Sera Jey monastery in India, where he gained his Geshe Lharampa Degree, equivalent to a Professor’s Doctorate . The group requested Geshe Sonam teach them in 1999 and thus sprung forth the first humble Drol Kar Buddhist Centre in what was a previous shop fronting Verner St. East Geelong.
Geshe Sonam and the Drol Kar committee worked towards establishing a larger Buddhist centre in Moolap, Geelong and providing a resident teacher Venerable Tashi Nawang whilst Geshe Sonam founded Nying Jey Projects which supports nuns, monks and children in Tibetan communities. Geshe Sonam developed a direct relationship with His Holiness the Dalai Lama when seeking refuge in Dharamsala in India. Geshe Sonam requested His Holiness give teachings at Skilled Stadium in Geelong in 2002 and whilst here His Holiness blessed the Geelong based Drol Kar Buddhist Centre. The organisation of the visit was partly undertaken with the assistance of the Drol Kar committee, friends and members.
Growth in demand for a yet larger Buddhist Centre soon prompted another move in 2005, this time to the beautiful property of Tushita Paraparap situated between the coastal towns of Torquay and Angelsea and rural Moriac. Yet again His Holiness came to Geelong to teach upon the request of Geshe Sonam and the new Drol Kar Buddhist Centre received His Holiness’ blessings again in 2007.
In 2013, Geshe Sonam Thargye supported by the Drol Kar Buddhist Centre and Quang Minh Temple was delighted to present a day long teaching by His Holiness in Melbourne on Wednesday 19 June. His Holiness taught on the Heart Sutra and Eight Verses of Mind Training. The teaching was conducted at the Quang Minh Temple in Braybrook, Melbourne with the support of the Drol Kar Buddhiat Centre and the Quang Minh community.
Drol Kar Buddhist Centre is a not for profit Incorporated Association with the sole purpose of providing Tibetan Buddhist teachings, dharma practice, meditation and study, in the Mahayana tradition. Resident teacher Venerable Jampa Drolma offers regular Buddhist philosophy classes with senior students facillitating meditation and introductory classes.
Geshe Sonam Thargye is Spiritual Director of Drol Kar Buddhist Centre and oversees the Drol Kar committee of management comprised of members Ven. Jampa Drolma, Karen Mayer, David Mayer, Aine Fallon, Helen MacKenzie, Linda Diggins, Rommy Fisher and Carol Amos.
Sangha
Spiritual Director, Drol Kar Buddhist Centre
Venerable Geshe Sonam Thargye is a Tibetan Buddhist monk in the Mahayana tradition. He was born in Kham, a province in eastern Tibet in 1962. He was ordained as a novice monk at the age of seven. As access to qualified spiritual teachers in Chinese occupied Tibet is very rare, he decided at nineteen years of age, to leave his homeland and travel to India.
This meant making the long, arduous journey across the Himalayas to reach India; a journey involving many dangerous risks from weather, the dangerous terrain, lack of food, and fear of detection by Chinese authorities. After successfully crossing the mountains and entering Nepal, Geshe Sonam made his way to Dharamsala in northern India, where a meeting with the Dalai Lama led to his entering Sera Je Monastic University in South India and commencing the traditional study program for the Geshe degree.
After many years within the monastic system undergoing intensive training in Buddhist philosophy and practice, he graduated in 1994 with the highest degree of Lharumpa Geshe.
After completing his studies, Geshe Sonam decided to return to Tibet to teach in his homeland, where he felt there was a need for qualified teachers. In 1995, he returned to Kham. Whilst in Tibet, he became deeply concerned about the lack of educational opportunities for young Tibetans in both secular and Buddhist studies. He resolved to try to help improve the education system in his home region.
After eighteen months in Kham, unfavourable political circumstances forced Geshe Sonam to leave and return to India. He then completed twelve months’ study at Gyume Tantric University in southern India. During this period, his wish to help underprivileged children in his homeland remained constant. The opportunity to turn his wishes into reality presented itself in 1998, when he was invited to take up residence in Australia and teach.
In 1999, he founded Drol Kar Buddhist Centre in Geelong, Victoria where he is still the resident spiritual director. A short while later he also founded Nying-Jey Projects for Tibetan Communities, an organization which now helps set up and support infrastructure for educational and health services in Kham. He continues to work tirelessly to raise funds to improve the conditions for Tibetans in Tibet and in exile in India.
In 1999, Geshe Sonam initiated a tour to Australia by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The tour took place in May 2002 and His Holiness’ teaching was heard by huge numbers of people in Sydney, Melbourne and Geshe Sonam’s new home city, Geelong. In 2005, he relocated the Drol Kar Buddhist Centre to a beautiful property near the coastal town of Anglesea in Victoria. In 2007, he invited His Holiness the Dalai Lama to visit Geelong for the second time, to bless the new Centre and give teachings in Geelong.
Geshe Sonam has initiated and directed six tours of Australia by Tibetan monks from monasteries in southern India, demonstrating the construction of sacred mandalas, promoting Tibetan culture and raising funds for and awareness of his various projects.
Geshe Sonam has travelled widely throughout Australia, Europe, North America and Asia. He has, however, made Australia his permanent home base, becoming an Australian citizen in 2002.
Resident Teacher, Drol Kar Buddhist Centre
Venerable Jampa Drolma has been resident teacher at Drol Kar since 2009, where she conducts classes in Buddhist philosophy and meditation practices, and also regular retreats at the Centre. Jampa was born in 1972 in Nha Trang, Vietnam. She arrived in Australia at the age of six with her family - parents, five sisters and one brother, as a refugee from the Vietnam conflict. She and her family settled in the western suburbs of Melbourne where Jampa attended a Catholic school. She acquired a Science degree at Monash University and then worked in the field of medical research as an assistant for several years.
During university days, she one day picked up a Vietnamese Heart Sutra (Perfection of Wisdom Sutra) from her mother's collections of books and started reading it. To her surprise, after reading the first paragraph, "I had a feeling as if a light was being switched on. It was as if I had found ‘home’ within myself."
Some of the research work she was doing in immunology conflicted with her belief system as she was working in an environment where animals were being sacrificed for medical research. After five years she resigned and headed to India with Geshe Sonam.
Soon after, she became a Buddhist nun in order to help young people understand the meaning of life. "I know that the younger generation are at times confused and frustrated about life and if they are directed in the correct way, they could make a difference to our future," she says. Her interest in Buddhist philosophy took her to Tara Institute in Melbourne whereby after attending classes with Venerable Geshe Doga, she eventually decided to dedicate her life to the study and practice of Buddhist philosophy.
Jampa was ordained in India in 1999 at the age of 28. She spent the next 5 years studying at Drolma Ling nunnery in India, before returning to Australia to continue her studies. ‘Ani’ Jampa calls herself a ‘mobile nun’. She commutes to Melbourne and stays with family, and stays at Drol Kar part time to prepare for and teach her classes.
