Karuna Hospice Service is an in-home palliative care organisation guided by Buddhist teachings on death and dying, providing palliative and spiritual care to those with life-limiting illnesses and their carers and families.  They have an inclusive policy to care for people of all beliefs, cultures, and identities.  

It was founded in 1992 in north Brisbane, with the blessings of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the co-founder of the Federation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) and Chenrezig Institute in Eudlo, Southern Queensland.ⁱ While working as a physiotherapist in Brisbane, Australian Tibetan Buddhist monk Venerable Pende Hawter found that his patients and their families wanted to know more about Buddhism, particularly when they were confronted with illness and death. As part of their end-of-life and grieving processes he started bringing them to the Chenrezig Institute. Venerable Pende then established Karuna, and Cittamani Hospice Service in 1994, with guidance from Lama Zopa. From 1997-2015 Yeshe Khadro was Karuna’s director.  Most recently Venerable Lozang Tsultrim undertook the role of spiritual care practitioner.ⁱⁱ    

Since 2005, Karuna has been located within Rosemount House, a heritage-listed building on the site of the Rosemount Hospital. It’s tropical gardens and stupa are adorned with prayer flags. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has been its spiritual patron since 2007.ⁱⁱⁱ    

By Anna Halafoff, Ruth Fitzpatrick 

Keywords: Buddhist centres, Federation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), Yeshe Khadro, death and dying, Lama Zopa Rinpoche