About Us

Welcome To Hayagriva Buddhist Centre

Hayagriva Buddhist Centre is a centre for Buddhist learning and practice following the Tibetan Gelugpa Buddhist tradition. It is located in Kensington, a suburb of the city of Perth in Western Australia.

It is affiliated with the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) – an international organisation of more than 160 centres, monasteries, nunneries, retreat centres, and charitable projects around the world. The FPMT was founded in 1975 by the late Lama Thubten Yeshe (1935 – 1984) and is under the spiritual guidance of Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche who consults closely with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Our resident teacher since October 2021, Australian Venerable Thubten Chökyi, was ordained in 2006 by Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche having been his student since 1990. Venerable Chökyi has held several senior posts at FPMT centres in Australia and international positions within the FPMT.

Our Centre has been operating for more than 25 years, is a non-profit organisation incorporated under the Associations Incorporation Act 2015 (WA), is financed by donations and run by volunteers.

Contact us on phone +61 (0)8 9367 4817 or send us a message here.

Centre Office open    10am – 2pm,   Monday through Saturday*
*Centre opening hours are subject to volunteer availability. Please phone to confirm.

“The purpose of Dharma centre organisation is for you and your friends to learn more, to deepen your understanding, to help each other, to inspire each other and most importantly to develop realisations of the path to enlightenment.”
Lama Zopa Rinpoche, FPMT Spiritual Director, April 2006

Meditation Hall (Gompa) Etiquette

Some behaviour (such as not wearing footwear in the Gompa) is based on eastern tradition but it is mostly to benefit your mind by cultivating respect for the Buddhist teachings which liberate from suffering. It is respectful to arrive on time and remain for the complete session Dress modestly: skirts below the knees, shoulders covered and modest necklines Please leave your head uncovered Please turn mobile phones off or to silent The teacher sits higher than the students out of respect for the teachings Please stand for the teacher to enter the hall and sit after the teacher sits down Prostrations are optional though placing your palms together at the chest shows respect for the teachings Respect statues and Dharma books as they represent the Buddha’s teachings. For example, don’t put Dharma material directly on the floor, step over it, place it where you sit, or point your feet at the altar, teacher or holy objects Feel free to use a chair if sitting cross-legged is or becomes uncomfortable Maintain silence, especially during teachings, meditations and pujas At the end of the teachings stand before the teacher gets up Pets are generally not allowed into the gompa and office/kitchen area for health and safety reasons. Should they require special prayers in the case of illness or death, please contact the Spiritual Program Coordinator at spc@hayagriva.org.au or our Centre on 9367 4817 to arrange a visit.

Timeline of Hayagriva Buddhist Centre

1970's		Australian students travel to India and Nepal in the 1970s and receive teachings from Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Like students from around the world who had contacted Buddhism in the East, when they return home, they want a local Centre to support their Buddhist practice.
1977		The beginning was low key. In 1977 an American nun, Ven Konchog Domna, from our associated FPMT Centre in Melbourne visits Perth to give teachings. She is the first of a number of teachers to visit Perth.
1987		In 1987, Lama Zopa Rinpoche gives permission for an FPMT Centre to start in Perth to be named Hayagriva, a wrathful aspect of the Buddha of compassion, Chenrezig. After that visiting teachers are invited to teach in venues hired for the occasion.
Late 1980's		In the late 1980s the Centre moves to a unit above the business of a student in Belmont.
1996		In 1996 the Centre moves to an office of another student in Burswood.
1997		The Centre buys a house in East Victoria Park as a teacher’s residence and hosts a resident Tibetan lama, Geshe Senghe, who teaches here for three years.
2001		The Centre buys its current temple in Banksia Terrace, Kensington. In the early years the Centre has a number of resident western teachers for varying periods as well as visiting Tibetan lamas.
2002		Australian-born monk, Ven Thubten Dondrub, becomes our resident teacher.
2004		The Wheel of Life Hospice is formed and based at the Centre.
2009		The Centre purchases the house next door to our temple as a residence for our teacher.
Jun 2012		Geshe Ngawang Sonam joins Ven Dondrub to teach at the Centre.
Dec 2012		Ven Dondrub is appointed as the resident teacher of Buddha House, the FPMT centre in Adelaide.
Dec 2020		Geshe Sonam decides to return to India and retire from his role at Hayagriva due to ill health.
Oct 2021		Ven Thubten Chökyi is appointed resident teacher at Hayagriva Buddhist Centre.