The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion is a Buddhist monument near

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

in central

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The basic idea for building the stupa came from

Lama Yeshe Thubten Yeshe (1935–1984) was a Tibetan lama who, while exiled in Nepal, co-founded Kopan Monastery (1969) and the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (1975). He followed the Gelug tradition, and was considered unconvention ...

and then, after Lama Yeshe's death, from Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who decided to model the stupa (''

kumbum A Kumbum ( "one hundred thousand holy images") is a multi-storied aggregate of Buddhist chapels in Tibetan Buddhism. The most famous Kumbum forms part of Palcho Monastery. The first Kumbum was founded in the fire sheep year 1427 by a Gyantse p ...

'') on the Great Stupa of Gyantse which is 600 years old.Lisa Clausen
"The Great Bendigo Stupa"
''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 15 November 2014. When completed, the stupa's exterior will be an exact replica of the Great Stupa of Gyantse. It will be high and its four sides will each be long, making it one of the largest Buddhist monuments in the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and state (polity), states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

. Buddhists say that viewing the stupa will help purify the mind.Dharma City
, ''Nova Magazine'', 2013. The stupa has been designed to last 1,000 years. The interior has teaching rooms, a central temple, a library and 80 ornate shrine rooms. It houses the 2.5 metre Jade Buddha for Universal Peace statue, the world’s largest gem-quality

jade Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

statue. There is a vast collection of Asian sacred relics and statues on display at the stupa's exhibition centre.

References

External links

Official websiteJade Buddha for Universal Peace website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Stupa Of Universal Compassion Stupas Buddhism in Australia Buildings and structures in Bendigo Buddhist temples in Australia Bendigo

See also

References

External links