His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is both the head of state and the spiritual leader of Tibet. He was born on 6 July 1935, to a farming family, in a small hamlet located in Taktser, Amdo, northeastern Tibet. At the age of two the child, who was named Lhamo Dhondup at that time was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso. The Dalai Lamas are believed to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and patron saint of Tibet. Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who have postponed their own nirvana and chosen to take rebirth in order to serve humanity. For more information, visit Dalai Lama
Lama Thubten Yeshe, Founder, Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition
Lama Thubten Yeshe was born in Tibet in 1935. At the age of six, he entered the great SeraMonasticUniversity, Lhasa, where he studied until 1959, when the Chinese invasion of Tibet forced him into exile in India. Lama Yeshe continued to study and meditate in India until 1967, when, with his chief disciple, Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, he went to Nepal. Two years later he established Kopan Monastery, near Kathmandu, in order to teach Buddhism to Westerners. In 1974, the Lamas began making annual teaching tours to the West, and as a result of these travels a worldwide network of Buddhist teaching and meditation centers—the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition—began to develop. In 1984, after an intense decade of imparting a wide variety of incredible teachings and establishing one FPMT activity after another, at the age of forty-nine, Lama Yeshe passed away. For more information, visit Lama Yeshe
Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, Spiritual Director, Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahyana Tradition
Rinpoche was born in Thami, Nepal, in 1946. At the age of three he was recognized as the reincarnation of the Lawudo Lama, who had lived nearby at Lawudo, within sight of Rinpoche’s Thami home. Rinpoche’s own description of his early years may be found in his book, The Door to Satisfaction (Wisdom Publications). At the age of ten, Rinpoche went to Tibet and studied and meditated at Domo Geshe Rinpoche’s monastery near Pagri, until the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959 forced him to forsake Tibet for the safety of Bhutan. Rinpoche then went to the Tibetan refugee camp at Buxa Duar, West Bengal, India, where he met Lama Yeshe, who became his closest teacher. The Lamas went to Nepal in 1967, and over the next few years built Kopan and Lawudo Monasteries. In 1971 Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave the first of his famous annual lam-rim retreat courses, which continue at Kopan to this day. In 1974, with Lama Yeshe, Rinpoche began traveling the world to teach and establish centers of Dharma. When Lama Yeshe passed away in 1984, Rinpoche took over as spiritual head of the FPMT, which has continued to flourish under his peerless leadership. For more information, visit Lama Zopa
Geshe Ngawang Samten
Geshe la was born at Panchamari, MP, India. At the age of nine, he entered the Sera Monastic Institute and took the vows of monk ordination with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. In 1998 and 1999 he sat for the Geshe Lharampa (Doctorate in Buddhist Philosophy) exam, and in 1998 he was selected as a lecturer in the Gelug tradition at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath. For more information, visit Geshe Samten
Venerable Margaret McAndrews
Venerable Margaret is affectionately known as Ani Marg and is part of the Chenrezig Nuns Community in Queensland. Presently Ani Marg is the most senior nun at Chenrezig Institute and is well respected by all for her even mindedness, approachability and care she portrays towards all in the community as if she was their mother. Ani Marg was one of the original Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition(FPMT) and Chenrezig nuns, she took ordination with Trijang Rinpoche in 1976,having had taken Rabjung vows the previous year.Ani Marg has taught at FPMT Centres both in Australia and Internationally. Chenrezig Institute
Venerable Jampa Dekyi
Venerable Jampa Dekyi was born in Australia in 1945. Having moved to the Solomon Islands at the age of 14, for the following 25 years this was ‘ home’ alongside her late husband. Dekyi has 3 sons, a daughter and 1 granddaughter (who was born on the anniversary of the first turning of the wheel). Having met the Buddhadarma in Australia in 1992, after attending her first meditation session, Dekyi instantly had the wish to become ordained. This happened in May 1993 where Jampa Deyki took Rabjung vows with Geshe Tashi tsering at Chenrezig Institute, and in October of the same year she took Getsul ordination with Khensue Rinpoche. Over the past 15 years Jampa Deyki has studied most of the Basic Studies Programme topics including the amazing 8- months Lam Rim Chen-mo. Jampa Dekyi was the resident teacher at Vajrayana in Sydney for 5 years and also for 1 year at Kadam Sharawa in Gosford. Dekyi then had a short stay at Hayagriva Centre in Perth before travelling to Tushita Meditation Centre where she was the resident teacher. She is now back in Australia and will be leading some pujas and courses for us over the year. Dekyi’s wish is to share the beauty, depth and practical compassion of the Buddhadarma with all who have an interest.
Jampa Jaffe
Jampa (Gendun) Jaffe has been teaching Buddhism for over twenty years, being the resident teacher and Tibetan interpreter at Buddha House, South Australia in 1988-1995. American by birth, he was a monk in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition for seventeen years and has studied for over fourteen years in India at the Tibetan Library of Works and Archives and the Buddhist School of Dialectics. In 1997 - 2004 Jampa was the teaching assistant in the FPMT's Masters Program in Italy. In 2005 he completed a solitary one year retreat. He now lives in New South Wales.
Wai Cheong Kok
Wai Cheong has completed the first 7 year FPMT Masters program at Lama Tsong Khapa Institute in Italy followed by a four month retreat in New Zealand and so is fully versed in Buddhist philosophy, both sutra and tantra. For more information, visit Wai Cheong Kok
