Chenrezig Institute

You will experience an opportunity to live and offer service in a Buddhist community with like minded people set on 160 acres of natural bushland. You will gain merit by helping in the Big Love Cafe preparing delicious vegetarian meals and helping to keep our accommodation clean and inviting for our guests. Volunteers can participate in daily Buddhist practices, meditations, teachings from our Tibetan Geshe and Western teachers, yoga and beneficial retreats.

Our Buddhist Centre is home to a monastic community of monks and nuns, plus we have a resident Teacher (Geshe) from Tibet currently living at Chenrezig Institute. We offer vegetarian meals in the Big Love Cafe, a variety of accommodation and regular dharma teachings in the Gompa (temple). In addition, the Well-being Centre offers secular activities including yoga and meditation on a weekly basis. We are situated in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland in Queensland Australia and the centre started from humble beginnings back in 1974 when two Tibetan Lamas came to Australia to start a Tibetan Buddhist centre in the West. We have grown into a large centre with a flourishing study program as part of a worldwide organisation and rely on volunteers to help us run the core tasks at the centre. We have opportunities for live-in volunteers who can commit to a minimum of one month volunteering. At present we are in need of volunteers with experience in food preparation, barista and baking. In addition, we need help in housekeeping which involves preparing and cleaning guest accommodation and bathrooms plus keeping our Wellbeing Centre clean and beautiful for our retreat and yoga guests. We can offer single room accommodation, lunches when the cafe is operating and access to Buddhist teachings in exchange for 25 to 30 hours work in the shop, cafe and housekeeping. If you are from overseas, please ensure you can obtain a valid visa and appropriate health insurance. We also follow a COVID safe plan to minimise any health risks to our volunteers, residents and guests. Our Volunteers enjoy the tranquil setting, living amongst a monastic community plus engaging in other activities including the Buddhist teachings, exploring opportunities in the Art Studio, attending meditations, nurturing walks amongst the rainforest and meeting people from all over the world and making new friends. We are very grateful for everyone who offers their valuable time to support us. The dedication, energy and skills of our volunteers, enables us to offer a place of refuge, reflection and learning for everyone who comes to the Centre.