New temple on agenda

By Kirra Livingstone

A BUDDHIST study, retreat and meditation centre perched on the edge of the Blackall Range has revealed bold plans to expand its institute with a new Gompa temple.

The Chenrezig Institute is working closely with community members to ensure plans for the new temple are achieved respectfully and with parties happy with the outcome. Although it could be years before funding is achieved for the project, organisers are working towards achieving their dream of constructing the temple on their grounds at 33 Johnsons Rd, Eudlo.

The Institute at Eudlo is proposing to construct a second Gompa temple at the highest point of its property, where it will deliver the centre’s teachings and workshops as well as serving as a refuge for natural disasters.

Chenrezig director Steve Alberts said the consultation with the community has been positive.

“An exciting new proposal that we are putting forward is the new Gompa temple and we are in proposal stage at the moment,” he said.

“We are very transparent with that, we’ve had community engagement meetings that we generated from our side, not through necessity or obligation..

“(From those meetings) there were a couple of concerns about truck movements, traffic flow. We took onboard their concerns and needs.”

Chenrezig architect, Rob Neill, told GC&M News about further detail on how the institute plans to address the community’s concerns of the proposal, which would be mainly during construction.

“The site has a limited access that we are proposing at the top but it does have access with Upper Rambert Road, so that the existing koala habitat within the centre,” he said. “We saw that as the least worst location… the least impactful and the most beneficial.”

Chenrezig is a non-forprofit organisation and even if they put a proposal in to the Sunshine Coast Council today, it would still take years to raise money and gain government grants to build the temple.

The Buddhist sanctuary is motivated to continue to grow the facility, and offer a development which is a really big thing, sprucing up what we have and building new structures… to service the needs of aging population, enticing new young people in as well to grow the centre and give them a community and improve disability access,” Steve said.

“We are looking at ways to engage starting with eco tourism, doing some offside events, wellbeing and mindfulness type projects, we are developing some outreach programs as well.”