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More than 500 people (and several dozen other sentient beings) visited Buddha House during our hosting of The Maitreya Project's "Heart Relic Tour". The majority of our guests were first time visitors to Buddha House. Both Buddhists (with significant numbers of attendees from Mongolian, Tibetan, Vietnamese and Chinese Buddhist communities) along with non-Buddhists were well represented, providing for a truly multicultural/multi-faith event.

Friday night's opening ceremony was hosted by Buddha House Director Cathy Davis and Spiritual Porgram Coordinator Lyndy Abram. They introduced Geshe Jampa Gyaltsen from The Tibetan Buddhist Institute, who then offered the opening  blessings. Geshe Gyaltsen was accompanied by TBI Director Chris Ridley. Next, Christian celebrant Christine Byrnes read a passage from the Bible, and spoke about universal peace, compassion and harmony. Finally, the Heart Relic custodians Andy Melnic and Venerable Siliana presented information about the provenance of the relics and offered Lama Zopa's message of universal peace, the primary dedication of the tour.

Hosting the Heart Relics created a wonderful atmosphere of peace, harmony, compassion and kindness in the gompa.  Our youngest visitor was a 17 day old girl, and our most unusual visitor was a silver ferret.

Many visitors spent time writing sections of the Sanghata Sutra, circumambulating the relics, and then received blessings. Thanks to the tireless efforts of so many dedicated volunteers, the entire tour ran very smoothly. Special thanks to Jane Horton and Fiona Rice who undertook the task of coordinating the volunteer roster.

Buddha House Centre for Advanced Buddhist Studies, in Adelaide, was privileged to host Venerable Lobsang Namgyel in late 2011. He taught Discovering Buddhism modules Death and Rebirth and Transforming Problems, led Medicine Buddha and Vajrasattva practices, and ran an introductory class in Reiki. Many students found his style engaging and inspiring, and the centre atmosphere was enthused.

Venerable Namgyel reinvigorated students, and several are maintaining correspondence with him.

The accompanying photo was taken at his last class at Buddha House.

Photo by Lisa McGlade

One of the great benefits of being a member at Buddha House is the ability to borrow for our extensive library on Buddhism. Over time, however, some books can be inadvertently misplaced. If you've forgotten to return something (or perhaps it's embarassingly overdue) now is a good time to do so. Have a look through your bookcase, and you can return any overdue borrowed books to the center, without any question or comment.

The Library Amnesty will continue throughout March. The office will be sending out lists by email of borrowed books, to assist members in locating overdue items

Aini Bowering is founder of the monthly BH Bush Walking Group and has been leading these popular trail hikes for the past 15 years. Aini started the group as an initiative to help generate a greater sense of community involvement amongst BH members and visitors.

“Many significant and enduring friendships have been forged during the course of the hours spent sharing the various trails we've covered during our fifteen year journey. Not one month has been missed in all that time, even when I couldn't personally lead a walk. The group has always been filled with a spirit of happiness and genuine fun” stressed Aini.

Sadly, Aini is no longer able to do extensive walking, because of difficulties with one knee. This month's walk will be the last under Aini's leadership.

The Group is seeking a new leader to help continue this popular long time tradition for Buddha House. Anyone wishing to do so, should contact the BH office on 8333 2824 or reply with an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .