Siddhartha's Intent

In 1984 a young Tibetan Buddhist master, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, arrived in Australia unexpectedly and unannounced.  It was his first trip outside India. At the request of a handful of new Buddhist students, he gave his first teachings in Australia.

This year we celebrate the Silver Jubilee of that first historic visit.

Shortly after Rinpoche's arrival in Australia, a small network of students began to host his teachings. This disparate group grew into the Manjugosha Centre which, a few years later, evolved into the Buddhist Education Foundation which in turn became Siddhartha's Intent Australia (SIA) in 1989.

Since then SIA has grown considerably and now provides a structure that accommodates the threefold Buddhist method for growth - study, enquiry and meditation. SIA's approach is based on compassion for sentient beings as the motivation for all spiritual endeavours.

The hub of SIA activity is the Brunswick Heads Centre in northern New South Wales. The centre has a continuous program of talks and courses on the practice and theory of Buddhism, as well as regular weekly and monthly meditation and practice programs. Please contact us to request our regular activity bulletins.

SIA is also involved in many other activities. It:

- Facilitates Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche's and other Buddhist masters' teaching programs in Australia.

- Organises local seminars and courses of Buddhist philosophy and meditation practice in northern New South Wales, Sydney, Brisbane, the Blue Mountains and Canberra.

- Collaborates with Southern Cross University and NORBEN (Northern Rivers Buddhist Education Network) in presenting free Buddhist based programs in the community.

- Administers Vajradhara Gonpa, SIA's secluded mountain retreat centre on 200 acres of beautiful natural bush land near Kyogle, NSW.

- Is establishing The Siddhartha School (TSS) in Lismore, New South Wales to offer a new model of education for children from pre-school upwards - a secular education based on Buddhist principles. The TSS motto 'Pratitya Samutpada' is Sanskrit for 'dependent origination', signifying that the constructs of our world are based on natural laws of cause and condition. Through an awareness of cause and effect, the school seeks to empower the students, teaching them they are vital in shaping the world they live in and encouraging both personal and universal responsibility.

- Produces and distributes analogue and digital audio and video recordings of seminars and teachings.

Learn more about Siddhartha's Intent Australia

Calendar of regular activities in Australia