Traditional Dharma

These are being freely provided for personal study, but we also aim to raise funds for the Rumtek Nuns. Texts are downloadable as PDF files formatted in A4 for ease of printing. Traditional bound copies are also available for purchase at the centre.  
Because of our creative efforts to develop plainsong texts and spoken word, new versions may appear. This is an ongoing process and this page will reflect that process.

Three Pujas Practice Text - (PDF File)
This text from Coorain includes three separate liturgies intended for group or individual recitation. Some g explanatory notes are included. The pujas are to Green Tara, Amitabha and Medicine Buddha.

Three Pujas Plainsong  - (MP3 File)
 A recent recording of Coorain practitioners reciting the Three Pujas text. This version is from April  2016. 
Bodhicitta Puja - (PDF File)
This is a beautiful collection of traditional prayers, offerings and invocations. They are aimed at activating and strengthening 'The Heart for Awakening', a quality known in Dharma as Boddhicitta. The introduction contains a brief history of the lineage at Coorain.

Bodhicitta Puja Plainsong - (MP3 File)
In this version from April 2016, we have omitted reciting the long mantra of Namgyalma in Sanskrit. It will appear in future versions

Theravada Puja - (PDF File)
This is a teaching text recited weekly at Origins. It presents and clearly explains the most fundamental teachings of the Buddha such as the Four Truths and the Eight-fold Path. It contains traditional Pali language with translation and elucidation in modern English.

Theravada Puja Plainsong - (MP3 File)
As recited in the Rotunda at Origins in April 2016.

Mahakala Puja - (PDF File)
Mahakala is an aspect of Chenrezig, and a powerful embodiment of fierce compassion.
The Puja is an invocation of courage and determination to act for good, as well as a tool
for confronting and transforming negative emotion.

Mahakala Plainsong - (MP3 File)
This version is from April 2016. We have omitted the drums and bells that are indicated in the text, due to the sensitivity of our recording equipment. Hopefully they will appear in future versions.

Khadampa Seven Point Mind Training - (PDF File)
The Khadampa teaching is a an important but almost forgotten source of the Karma Kagyu tradition.         
It was given to the warring rulers of Eastern Tibet in the 11th century CE by the Bengali sage Atisha,          to  return dharma to this region and end a bitter conflict. Emphasising the harmony of all peace-oriented teaching, it empowered the lay community and enabled dharma to integrate with indigenous culture. Through practice it establishes an immediate and powerful compassion. The text explains the seven  points in a variety of ways and is intended for both study and recitation.

Traditional Mindfulness Text: Mahasatipatthana - (PDF File)
This is a collection of instructions and discourse on classical mindfulness practice.
It contains a clear explanation of the method, practice notes and advice,
as well as well as teachings on common obstacles and hindrances to practice.
The text is suitable for beginners but is particularly intended for those wanting
to share the method with others.



The Twenty-One Verses of Tara - (PDF File)
This short text is a prayer to the different aspects of Tara that manifest as sources of wisdom and guardians of the natural world.

The Twenty-One Verses of Tara Plainsong - (MP3 File)
This recording by Coorain practitioners is from April 2016.



Foundation Training Text  - (PDF File)
This is a teaching aid for the Ngon-Dro, the foundation work of the Karma Kagyu lineage. It is a codified and tested method for training the imagination in the service of Dharma. Ideally this work should be done under the guidance of an experienced teacher. The text contains detailed practice notes and a glossary.

Videos from Rumtek
Filmed and edited by Em during a recent stay at the Nunnery in Sikkim, these show the Karma Kagyu nuns and monks of Rumtek performing traditional Buddhist ceremonies for the community, providing guidance and spiritual wellbeing. The Nuns often give refuge to girls in need. We have offered essential support to the nuns for some years now. Any donations go entirely to their practical welfare.
The videos can be watched on the page or downloaded to your computer.
Building A World Peace Pagoda
This traditional Burmese structure has been a distinctive and much cherished feature at Origins since its construction in 2001. The project was a massive undertaking, involving visitors from Burma, members of the Mon Burmese community in WA and many local volunteers. This 20 min video was shot and edited to a professional standard by Alan Clark and gives an informative account of the process - from groud-breaking  to final adornments, and the dedication ceremony and celebration. Origins continues to commemorate the completion each year during the first weekend of December. 

Dharma Innovations

Here we will be offering creative work that represents the evolution of dharma. Friends and practitioners around the world are finding new approaches to the teachings in ways that reflect our contemporary situation, whilst acknowledging and respecting traditional lineages.

Novayana - Cecilie Kwiat podcasts
This website is run by a Canadian Dharma group that shares the same lineage as Coorain. Cecilie Kwiat was an early student of Namgyal Rinpoche who became a much beloved teacher. This website has an archive of her recorded talks available for download where she expounds an accessible, universalist dharma teaching.



Sacred Art & Theatre from Coorain
Broadly speaking, Tibetan 'sadhanas' are practices that imagine archetypes and symbols to explore the themes of awakening compassion.They belong into the global culture of sacred art and theatre. Creative response is an essential feature of this type of practice, usually experienced within each individual. Here, each particular sadhana has been workshopped by a group of Coorain practitioners and expressed as 'shrine installations'. This slideshow is a record of some of the collaborative artworks created over a three-year period.

Rain as Blessings Fall - Music by Leila Adu
Leila Adu is a New Zealand composer and singer respected for her wide-ranging, informed and original approach to music. In 2015 she wrote a symphonic song cycle to the wonderful plainsong 'Blessings Fall as Rain' by the late Ven. Kalu Rinpoche, and revised in English by Lama Chime at Coorain. Leila called her piece "Rain as Blessings Fall'. Its premiere performance was on June 20th 2015, with Leila and the Wellington Symphony Orchestra where Leila is a resident composer. She is currently completing a PhD at Princeton University and performs globally.


'Zines from Rumtek Nunnery - (PDF Files)
Here is a fascinating and heartwarming glimpse into the daily lives and stories of these women and girls through their own words and images. They have previously been available in hard copy at Origins, but have been scanned and reproduced in PDF form to share and raise awareness. This is a valuable project, facilitated by friends of the Centre, and will be developed further.


Diamond Vessel - Poems by Romy Steffel  (PDF File)
These poems arose from the practice of Vajrasattva, the Diamond Being - a Tibetan Buddhist teaching on purity. Contemplating the iconic, symbolic form of Vajrasattva (included at the back of the poems) allows a creative response to arise. This collection is a free-form expression of such a response.
Thankas by Anunda Mertz
Anunda has also contributed art to Common Cause
Freely given time, material goods and financial support make up the everyday economy of Origins Centre.