Tara Institute (TI) is a Tibetan Buddhist centre affiliated with the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), established by Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the first Tibetan Buddhist monks and teachers to visit Australia. Originally named Tara House, it was founded in the mid-1970s by a group of the Lamas’ Australian students including Beatrice Ribush, the mother of Nicholas Ribush who introduced many Australians to the Lamas and Tibetan Buddhism and went on to lead Wisdom Publications and the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive for the FPMT.  Tara House was first situated in Carlton, then Kew, and relocated to a repurposed old mansion that previously served as a Catholic home and school for girls in Brighton in 1983.ⁱ  

Venerable Konchog Donma, an American nun, first ran the centre, and Geshe Dawö became the first Tibetan resident teacher in 1980. Venerable Geshe Lobsang Dorje Doga succeeded him in 1984 and remains TI’s resident Lama to this day. TI hosts regular Buddhist teachings, meditations, rituals, healing courses, social events, and activities for children.ⁱⁱ 

By Ruth Fitzpatrick and Anna Halafoff