By Garrey Foulkes

In September 1974, the first one month lam-rim course in the West was held at a place called Diamond Valley in isolated bushland 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Brisbane and several kilometers away from 160 acres of land owned jointly by four of the students attending the course, Dr. Nick, Tom and Kathy Vichta and Marie Obst (Yeshe Khadro).

Over 150 people were at the first course which was “under canvas,” the gompa being a large circus style tent (not entirely out of character given some of the personalities in attendance), with course participants dotted around the valley in an assortment of smaller tents all overlooked by the Lamas’ small makeshift hut on a nearby hillside. It was a month filled with amazing stories.

When the course finished, Lama led a procession of course people through the bush to inspect the land next door which had been kindly offered for the establishment of a center. Pujas were done, blessings made and that was it. Chenrezig began with nothing but a name, a piece of virgin land and a lot of visions which had to be quickly transformed into physical energy, plans and capital. Only Lama knew what was going to happen.

During the next two years, the Lamas returned to hold further courses. These were times when a lot of young people were searching for spiritual direction so these courses were well attended. The warm northern winters adding to the attraction saw many people arriving early and leaving late so there was a lot of energy around. The gompa came first followed by the Lamas’ house and a house for visiting teachers. Under the amazing energy of a band of pioneer students, a large amount of work was accomplished on a minimal budget. Access was by four-wheel drive only in the wet season; there was no power, no water and no real roads. A wild assortment of alternative houses mushroomed around the property (along with a pretty wild assortment of mush­rooms). Many people came and went for all sorts of reasons, some stayed longer than others. As the makeshift hippie houses started to topple under the relentlessness of the elements and the white-ants, more stable dwellings began to emerge and people made long-term commitment to the place. By the end of the 70s it was becoming clear that the center had a big future in front of it.

Today, almost 20 years on from those crazy but memo­rable days in Diamond Valley, Chenrezig Institute has developed into a stable and ever-growing Dharma center accepted and respected by the local community and, despite its relative isolation, visited by several thousand people each year, with a mailing list of over 700 and an active teaching schedule

Set high up in the heavily timbered country overlooking rolling valleys with distant views to the “Sunshine Coast” beaches, the property abounds in wildlife. Large towns are only 20 minutes away but Chenrezig’s location makes it an ideal place for meditation and retreat, with many different types of retreat facilities from small cabins deep in the bush to the new retreat hut complex of three very comfortable five meter square [16.5 feet square] huts with a private amenities block alongside.

Over 20 major buildings are now on the property; these include several family houses and smaller residents cabins. A family center and community room (both avail­able for hire to outside organizations) and an assortment of small huts and cabins for rent. On the “hill” is the office, kitchen, dining area, accommodation block and above that the gompa and the Sangha house including the newly started nunnery already comprising of three new huts. If our present nuns’ energy is any indication of what’s to come, then the future of the C.I. nunnery looks very bright.

The center’s teaching program has over the years taken on a wide variety of formats in an attempt to best reach those interested. Throughout its history Chenrezig Institute has been blessed with a steady flow of both visiting and resident geshes and teachers punctuated by regular visits from Lama Yeshe, Lama Zopa Rinpoche and now Lama Tenzin Osel Rinpoche.

The center’s first resident teacher was Geshe Loden with translator Zazep Tulku. Then came Geshe Thingley, Lama Yeshe’s brother, whose wonderful laid-back teaching style seemed very suitable to the Queensland Dharma students’ way of life. The main translator during this period was Anila Tsen-la. This was a period of much change at Chenrezig Institute with over a dozen people making long-term com­mitments to live and work at the center.

Our current resident teacher is Geshe Tashi Tsering from Sera Je Monastery in India who, along with his translator, Thubten Tashi, has been at the center for 18 months and hopefully will remain for a very long time to come.

Other short-term resident teachers and visiting teachers included Geshe Legden, Geshe Lama Konchog, Geshe Lama Lhundrup, Geshe Sopa, Kensur Losang Rinpoche (now resident at Buddha House, Adelaide), Geshe Doga (Tara Institute, Melbourne), Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, Khensur Ugyen Tseten, His Holiness Sakya Trinzen with Dawa Dhundrup and Losang Choedel assisting with trans­lating.

Our resident geshe, Geshe Tashi Tsering, teaches three to four times each week at C.I. and has recently started teaching regularly in Brisbane where there is a population of over one million with an access to advanced teachings. There are two sister centers in Brisbane, the Chenrezig City Centre and the Karuna Hospice, both of which are closely affiliated with C.I. and students are frequently fed from one center to another. People with life-threatening illnesses have been referred to C.I. from Karuna for retreats and nyung nyäs, etc., and many city people come for retreat.

So a lot of attention has been focused on retreat facilities over the past few years and happily the new retreat huts are in fairly constant use.

As the center grows and becomes more refined, more and more people come to simply “have a look around,” so there is a big future here in developing the very beautiful grounds and gardens. There is already a large prayer wheel (Rinpoche has requested an even larger one) and two stupas are nearing completion. Bush walks add to the attraction and importantly most people who visit the center as “tourists” seem to have a genuine interest in what the place is all about.

Regional and international students are always welcome at the center and any enquiries can be made through the address on the back of this issue of Mandala.