30 years of Kadam Dharma in Australia

30 years of Kadam Dharma
in Australia

As we celebrate 30 years of Kadampa Buddhism in Australia, we look back over the development of the Centres throughout the country - from the fledgling years in Perth to the vibrant national community that exists today.

30TH ANNIVERSARY...

The 30th anniversary of Kadam Dharma in Australia was recently celebrated in Perth with a weekend full of events, including a sold-out public talk, a course titled Faith: How to Rely Upon a Spiritual Guide, Offering to the Spiritual Guide prayers and the installation of precious Deer and Dharma Wheel adornments.

Gen Rabten, addressing the community during this event, conveyed how delighted and proud Venerable Geshe-la would be of everything that the Australian community has accomplished - both the outer development of its locations and activities, and the inner development of our own spiritual insights.

Here’s the story — from the very beginning to today

EARLY YEARS IN PERTH

The first center opened in 1995, as Dharmapala Kadampa Buddhist Centre (KBC), in the remote west coast city of Perth, following a request from a student of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche who’d recently moved from the UK. Beginning in a house in Ardross, a community steadily grew and further flourished upon the arrival of our now-National Spiritual Director Gen Kelsang Rabten in 2002.

As the wheel of Dharma continued to turn in Perth, the center moved to properties of ever-increasing size, and broadened its reach with branches throughout the city and events in towns throughout the south-west of the state.

in the beginning....

Now occupying a 125 year old historic house with a purpose-built, modern meditation room completed in 2014, Kadampa Meditation Centre (KMC) Perth is both a precious place in the hearts of those who’ve cherished its presence in their lives for decades, and an inspiring discovery for those seeking more peace, happiness and meaning in their lives.

Now...

KADAM DHARMA APPEARS ON THE EAST COAST

A few years after KMC Perth was established, a Kadampa living in the UK returned home to Australia and, for a short while, trialled running classes on the Gold Coast. Later, at Venerable Geshe-la’s request, another student came to Sydney with a view to starting a center on the east coast. This led to Mahasiddha KBC, the second center in Australia, opening in Sydney in 2001.

NKT - AUSTRALIAN - 2026First Sydney centre - Paddington

From that small seed, the center began to grow and a dedicated Sangha community started to form. With the help of some energetic English backpackers, who were doing a working visit at the center, thousands of leaflets and posters promoting the classes were distributed throughout the city. This led to a massive boom in interest and, from there, the center grew from strength to strength. In 2012, after a long search for a permanent home, the center - under its new name KMC Sydney - moved into its current location in Surry Hills where it continues to be an inner city refuge for those seeking inner peace and a meaningful life.

Now...

NATIONAL CENTRE

At the request of Venerable Geshe-la, who described Australia as having ‘unusual karma for Dharma’, Gen Rabten moved to the more-populated east coast of Australia to search for a site for a national center.

NKT - AUSTRALIAN - 2026KMCA location shot

An idyllic location appeared in the lush forest of the Dandenong Ranges, an hour outside of Melbourne, and work swiftly began to transform the former camp into a place that was to become the heart of Kadampa Buddhism in Australia - a place of spiritual pilgrimage for practitioners throughout the country.

A VIBRANT NATIONAL COMMUNITY

Today there is an ever-growing national community in Australia who, through sincerely practicing Buddha’s teachings in their own hearts, have an extraordinary collective potential to flourish Kadam Dharma in the country in the years and decades to come.

A dedicated presence at International Festivals, the Aussies are known for their commitment to attending teachings, engaging in retreats, and contributing to our organization internationally, whatever the distance that needs to be travelled.

NKT - AUSTRALIAN - 2026Fall 2025 Aussie group photo

NKT - AUSTRALIAN - 2026Gen-la Jampa Gen Lhachog temple adornments

THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE CENTeRS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY

Since the creation of KMC Australia, many centers have developed throughout the country. We thank Venerable Geshe-la from the depths of our hearts for his inconceivable kindness in making the development of Dharma in Australia possible.