Tibetan Buddhist Society Melbourne

Many of us find the experience of volunteering at the Tibetan Buddhist Society (TBS) rewarding, highly meaningful and fun (see the volunteer stories below). Volunteers can:

• connect to others and develop friendships within a community of like-minded people
• be a part of collective activities that will offer benefit to others far into the future
• engage in practical and positive Buddhist activity. From a Buddhist point of view, supporting and sustaining a Buddhist centre and the vision of a holy teacher like Geshe Loden, is an extremely positive and powerful activity
• spend time in the peace and beauty of the 10-acre grounds and awe-inspiring traditional Buddhist temple
• have some fun and laughs along the way

Buddhism emphasises compassion, kindness and inclusion. At the Tibetan Buddhist Society (TBS), we are all volunteers, and we aim to care for and support each other as best we can. 

In practical ways this means that morning tea and a home-made lunch are prepared for the Saturday gardeners and maintenance/temple cleaning volunteers at our Melbourne centre. TBS also hosts a yearly thank-you event for all volunteers.   

We’re always looking for ways to give back to our volunteers. Recently we had some very special events where eminent Buddhist teachers visited the Melbourne centre. We made sure that all volunteers (both those helping at the events and other regular volunteers) had the opportunity to attend a special group audience and morning tea with the visiting teacher.  

In addition, because at festivals and special events volunteers are often the last people able take their seats for teachings, whenever it is possible priority seating is reserved for them at the front of the temple.

Open to new ideas and projects

We aim to support our new volunteers by pairing them up with someone more experienced until they learn the ropes, and encourage and support our experienced volunteers to take on increasing levels of responsibility in areas of their interest. Experienced volunteers are welcome to propose and pursue independent projects after consulting with members of the community. Examples include the redevelopment of the gardens in the west and central courtyards of the residence, and around the temple courtyard.  

Those interested in contributing to the management and development of the TBS are also invited to join the teams responsible for various operational aspects of the centre and/or participate in our biannual community meetings, which are open and advertised to everyone on our mailing list. 

We are always open to suggestions as to how we can make the volunteering experience more enjoyable and meaningful, whether a person sees it as an aspect of their Buddhist practice or simply as a means of connecting with a community of like-minded people. 

And, because in any community, even Buddhist ones, miscommunications can occur, if volunteers have an issue that they need to raise, we aim to resolve them fairly, respectfully and confidentially. Our code of conduct and complaints process are designed to help us do that. 

Here are a few stories reflecting the experience of some of our volunteers over recent years: