More than two decades after the vision for a nunnery at Atisha Centre began to take shape, Machig Labdron Nunnery welcomed Sangha, benefactors, volunteers and supporters from across Australia for its opening and consecration weekend.
A new chapter in the flourishing of the Dharma in Australia was celebrated from 17–19 July 2026 with the official opening and consecration of Machig Labdron Nunnery at Atisha Centre in Victoria.
The opening fulfilled an aspiration stretching back more than two decades. Atisha Centre newsletters from 2002 record longstanding interest in establishing a nunnery at the Centre, alongside Venerable Thubten Tardo’s wish to create a facility where older nuns could be supported. When these aspirations were put to Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche, he encouraged both to proceed. A working group of nuns was formed, and a site on the hill between Atisha Centre and the Monastery was identified for the future nunnery.
Later that year, at the request of Venerable Tardo, Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche bestowed the name Machig Labdron Nunnery. Machig Labdron was the great Tibetan yogini associated with the Chöd tradition and the Prajnaparamita teachings on emptiness. The early vision described the nunnery as a place of “rest, retreat and renewal” for Buddhist nuns: a peaceful home for older nuns, a refuge for those needing time for practice and renewal, and a base for nuns working for the benefit of FPMT and the wider community.
In 2016, Venerable Tenzin Tsapel offered her service to Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche to further the project. A master plan was developed with a courtyard nunnery for the original site; later a two story building near the Lama Yeshe Village. When that also fell through plans were drawn up for a two-storey building near the existing cabins. During the planning process Ian Green offered the nunnery the flat site that had previously been used for large retreats. The new location proved ideal. Planning approval and construction were completed in April 2025.
As the building neared completion, Geshe Rabten advised that a full nunnery consecration would require the gompa to be complete with a consecrated Buddha statue. A Buddha statue was ordered through Kopan Monastery together with a set of rolled mantras, and was filled and consecrated at the nunnery. An altar and Dharma desks were built, and the many thangkas and statues offered to the community were arranged throughout the gompa.
The new gompa was first blessed by His Eminence Ling Rinpoche, who approved the names “Yeshe Gompa” for the temple and “Zopa Ling” for the accommodation. A month later, His Eminence Jhado Rinpoche visited, accepted tea and rice offerings, and gave blessings and advice before the Kalachakra Dharma program at the Great Stupa and Atisha Centre.
The three-day nunnery consecration in July was both a joyful celebration and an opportunity to reflect on the extraordinary kindness of the founding lamas, teachers, benefactors and supporters who had carried the project forward. Venerable Geshe Doga of Tara Institute served as Vajra Master — especially fitting as he had also been Atisha Centre’s first geshe. He shared stories of those early years and praised Ian and Judy Green for their decades of effort, including the Green family’s gift of land and the enduring benefit created through that generosity.
Geshe Rabten, who had guided the community through many years of the project, expressed his joy at seeing the nunnery complete and home to six resident nuns. Approximately 90 guests including twenty-one Sangha gathered on each of the three days. Atisha Centre’s courtyard became the lunch venue, with Atisha Centre and the Karen Buddhist Community providing lunch each day on behalf of the nunnery. Clear blue skies and winter sunshine formed a beautiful backdrop to the consecration and pujas.
More than twenty years after the first plans were discussed, Machig Labdron Nunnery now with six dedicated nuns, continues the original aspiration as a place of study, practice, retreat and community, supporting Buddhist nuns and helping preserve and flourish the precious teachings of the Buddha for generations to come.
The Machig Labdron community extends heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped make this vision possible: first and foremost to the Sangha, for their guidance, prayers and dedication; to the benefactors whose generosity helped bring the project to fruition; to the volunteers who devoted countless hours behind the scenes; and to everyone who travelled, attended, made offerings or held the project in their hearts.
May the merit created through this auspicious beginning contribute to peace in our world, the flourishing of the Dharma, the long lives of our precious teachers, and the awakening of all beings.
Learn more about Machig Labdron Nunnery, upcoming events, or ways to support the project.
