Lama Tendar
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Lama Tendar is a Tibetan Buddhist monk, teacher and sound healing practitioner, he is the founder and Spiritual Director of the Medicine Buddha Centre.
Born in the Kham region of Eastern Tibet, he entered monastic life at the age of 12 when he was ordained as a novice monk at Dego Somdupling Monastery. Shortly afterwards, he travelled to Lhasa, where he studied at Gyuto Ramoche Monastery for seven years, learning the ancient art of Tibetan tantric chanting, prayer and meditation.
In 1989, he made the three-month journey on foot across the Himalayas, via Nepal to join the Tibetan community in India. There, he continued his studies at the Gyuto Tantric University in Northern India, completing his degree in Buddhist philosophy with first division honours in the specialisation of Sacred Buddhist Arts.
During this time he became proficient in tantric harmonic chanting, sound healing, meditation, sand mandala and ritual small sculpture making.
In 2000, he began travelling throughout Europe as chant master with the Gyuto Monks of Tibet on the Millennium Europe Tour.
In 2001, Tendar visited Australia for the first time, travelling extensively with the Gyuto Monks. During this period, he served as Chant Master, leading the group at numerous events where they created large sand mandalas, demonstrated traditional butter sculpture techniques, and taught meditation practices to groups.
He was part of the group of monks who conducted workshops in Mt Martha, where they taught children how to create yak butter sculptures and flowers, created a large sand mandala, and offered dharma readings and meditations.
SEE ATTACHED ARTICLE HERE - 2001
In 2003, Tendar returned to Australia through a humanity program, arriving in Melbourne as a refugee under an agreement between the Australian Government and The Central Tibetan Administration under the leadership of His Holiness Dali Lama representing the rights of the Tibetan diaspora.
He enjoyed the kindness and hospitality of Catholic Priest Father John, as a resident of the Interfaith household, known as Trika, attached to Stella Maris Church in Beaumaris, Victoria.
Trika, meaning “three” in Sanskrit, the ancient language of India, and was home to Father John, an Indian Swami; and Tibetan Monk Lama Tendar. Together, they taught at St Bede’s Catholic College, sharing knowledge and fostering the inter-faith values of peace, understanding, and mutual respect.
During this time, Tendar taught meditation, Tibetan language, Tibetan sacred art, and undertook a variety of community outreach and personal healing with individuals.
Lama Tendar became an Australian citizen in June 2005.
In 2007, Tendar had a rare opportunity to return to his homeland of Tibet, where he saw his family for the first time in almost 20 years.
It was a deeply moving and memorable experience, but it was also there that he saw the desperate need for education and healthcare for the children in his homeland.
Returning to Australia, he formed the Tibetan Children’s Fund in 2008 for the purpose of providing education and healthcare for the children in his home village in Kham.
The fund provided essential health services and support to communities, creating a lasting positive impact on the lives of many families.
Believing that every child should have access to education and basic healthcare, the Tibetan Children’s Fund helped the local village monastery rebuild a school using funds raised through the program.
In 2010, with the support and generosity of the Sangha, Tendar founded the Medicine Buddha Tantrayana Meditation Centre at Frankston South. It is a dedicated Tibetan Buddhist centre and has firmly established itself as a centre for authentic Vajrayana training and practice, enriching the lives of countless people in the 15 years it has been operating.
Tendar has independently released four albums of chanting and music, that are available as a CD disc and as digital downloads from the Medicine Buddha centre.
In 2014 Lama Tendar was the was the recipient of inaugural Dharmachakra Award for 'Advancing Education' by the Buddhist Council of Victoria.
Known for his kindness, big smile, sense of humour and capacity for immense generosity, one of the most endearing characteristics of Tendar is his great ability to reach out to people of different backgrounds and touch their hearts with his warmth and caring nature. It is this enormous capacity to love and ability to give his energy to people that has won him the adoration and respect of so many loyal friends, devotees and students.
His work is dedicated to awakening innate wisdom and compassion within individuals, enabling them to realise their full human potential for the ultimate benefit of all sentient beings.
“At the end of the day, my wish is every day, to make one person happy and to benefit as many people as possible.”
Lobsang Tendar
Teacher & Healer
Since arriving in Australia, Lama Tendar has supported countless people through Buddhist blessings, healing practices, and the training of students in the art of healing.
In Western culture, teaching and healing are often seen as separate disciplines; in Buddhist practice, however, these distinctions dissolve. The mind is understood as the source of much suffering and illness, and healing arises through learning to apply the Buddha’s compassion to ourselves and to others.
Habitual patterns, afflictive emotions, and poor physical health can lead to stagnant or resistant energy, which is understood as a root cause of physical disease and mental suffering. Traditional Tibetan Energy Healing seeks to restore balance by enhancing the flow of subtle energy, reducing blockages, and promoting holistic wellbeing across body, mind, and spirit.
From the luminous awareness of Great Compassion and Great Wisdom, Lama Tendar assists others in transforming and transmuting their body, mind and spirit toward healing and optimal health.
We are deeply fortunate to have the opportunity to attend the Medicine Buddha Centre to receive or study Tibetan Buddhist Tantric Healing—a practice drawn from an unbroken lineage transmitted from teacher to student over many thousands of years.
This living tradition has been passed to Lama Tendar, who actively applies these healing methodologies to relieve the suffering of all beings. Through his generosity and compassion, he has dedicated his life to sharing this sacred knowledge with others.
Lineage Masters
Lama Tendar’s foundation in healing began in his early years in Lhasa, where he was fortunate to meet his first teacher, Gen Thupten Dhampa—a true Tibetan healer who spent more than thirty years in cave retreat, cultivating wisdom and compassion and attaining profound realisations for the benefit of all beings.
In the Tibetan tradition, healing arises from the union of wisdom and compassion, transmitted through living masters within an unbroken lineage spanning thousands of years.
These highly realised teachers embody pure morality, deep wisdom, and great compassion, having fully undertaken the training of their own minds and those of their students. This depth of transmission is a rare and precious feature of the Tibetan guru lineage system.
Since becoming a monk at the age of twelve, Lama Tendar studied and trained under the close guidance of his teachers- authentic and fully qualified Tibetan medicine healers and masters - first in Tibet and later in India.
Through years of disciplined study, rigorous practice, and personal dedication, he became a qualified Lama and healing master in his own right. Like his teacher before him, Lama Tendar is a holder of wisdom, compassion, and healing energy, practising tirelessly for the benefit of all sentient beings.
